STARKVILLE — Dan Mullen hasn’t had to worry about who was going to play quarterback or who was going to lead the Mississippi State football team the last two seasons.
Whether it has been on the field or in the locker room, Mullen has relied on Dak Prescott to set the tempo for the Bulldogs. Prescott’s record-setting ways have helped elevate MSU’s program and have attracted national attention.
But Mullen and the Bulldogs will have to find a new quarterback in the spring.
“I don’t expect one person to pick up all of Dak’s leadership,” Mullen said. “But there’s a lot of opportunities for other guys to pick up Dak’s leadership.”
MSU (8-4) will get a final chance to play with Prescott as its leader it when it takes on North Carolina State (7-5) at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30 (ESPN), in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Prescott will receive the majority of snaps in practice as MSU prepares for the bowl game, but Mullen is using the early bowl practices to look at the younger quarterbacks on the roster.
Prescott, who has broken 38 school records in his four years in Starkville, has been impressed with what he has seen from all of the quarterbacks.
“They are really talented,” Prescott said. “I’ve told them I think they are better than I was at their age. They have talent, they have size, and they have speed, so it will be a very exciting competition between the three.”
Prescott, the 2014 and 2015 winner of the Conerly Trophy as Mississippi’s best college football player, accounted for 73 percent of MSU’s offense and 74.5 percent of its touchdowns this season. The team captain was the only player in the Southeastern Conference to lead his team in passing (3,413) and rushing (541) yards in the regular season. He also broke his single-season marks for completion percentage (66.9 in 2015; 61.6 in 2014) and yards per game (284.4 in 2015; 265.3 in 2014).
In the SEC, Prescott led the conference in completions (226), completion percentage (67.1), passing yards (2,528), touchdown-to-interception ratio (17:4), passing yards per game (316.2), and total offense (363.2). In games vs. ranked teams, Prescott led the SEC in completions (87), completion percentage (63.5), passing yards (889), and yards per game (296.3).
But being a leader means doing more than piling up gaudy statistics. Prescott said leadership is hard to teach. He said it isn’t said but it is something that is seen through actions. That’s what he is trying to pass down to the young quarterbacks.
“It’s the way they react when they throw a bad pass or when they throw an interception,” Prescott said. “Do they get down or do they allow their teammates to see that things are not getting to them? (It’s) just really their demeanor and their attitude around the players.”
Redshirt freshman Nick Fitzgerald served as Prescott’s backup this season. He saw action in seven games and was 11 of 14 for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow redshirt freshman Elijah Staley, the third-string quarterback, played in two games and was 3 of 5 for 51 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 18 yards.
Fitzgerald graduated early from Richmond Hill High School in Georgia and went through bowl practices with MSU in 2013. He also went through spring practice in 2014. Staley arrived in Starkville in the summer of 2014.
“I think he’s (Fitzgerald) a guy right now that’s getting to watch how Dak does stuff,” Mullen said. “I think he learned during the season how to prepare the right way.”
Mullen said Fitzgerald is coming along as a leader.
Fitzgerald said all the quarterbacks knew the early bowl practices were going to provide a chance to work on their fundamentals and to gain confidence before spring practice.
As for the competition right now, they aren’t worried about it.
“It’s even right now,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re all just trying to work and get our skills up. We’ll worry about all that competition stuff later on.”
Staley signed with MSU as a dual-sport athlete in 2014. He arrived wanting to play basketball, and practiced with the basketball team last year, but he never dressed out.
Staley has been practicing with the basketball team this month and has traveled with the team to its last two road games, including a 90-66 loss to Florida State on Wednesday.
Staley has practiced with the football team once this month.
“It’s just a matter of staying sharp mentally and understand what we’re doing,” MSU quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson said. “He just has to maximize all his reps and mostly just maximize his time. Now that school’s out, he has a chance to focus and get done what needs to get done.”
Johnson said Staley has handled his time well. He will be with the football team when it arrives in Charlotte on Dec. 26.
Without Staley, junior Damian Williams, who is redshirting this year, and freshman Nick Tiano have taken more snaps at practice. Williams saw action as a freshman and a sophomore. He has thrown for 434 yards and four touchdowns, and has rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Johnson said they are rotating the snaps and trying to get all the quarterbacks the same number of snaps.
“Reps are invaluable,” Johnson said. “I think the more reps you get, the more confident you are. It’s there for these guys to get out there, get acclimated, understand the timing, understanding what we’re trying to get done, going out there and performing at a consistent level every day and just showing consistency through each practice.”
Tiano, who played at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the top quarterback in the state of Tennessee for the 2015 recruiting class. As a senior, he threw for 2,096 yards and 16 touchdowns (three interceptions).
“He’s extremely intelligent,” Johnson said. “He has such a great work ethic and demeanor. He carries himself in such a great way. I’m excited for his future. I think he has a ton of potential to be very, very successful in our program.”
n In related news, Copiah Lincoln Community College cornerback Lashard Durr and defensive tackle Tre Brown signed National Letters of Intent with MSU on Wednesday.
Durr, the No. 45 player in the ESPN JUCO 50, had 32 tackles (two for loss), a sack, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and an interception this season. The three-star cornerback from Harrison Central High School signed with MSU in 2014 before enrolling at Copiah-Lincoln C.C.
MSU was the only offer for Brown, who played high school football at Ackerman High.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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