STARKVILLE — In Brian Johnson’s eyes, everything his quarterbacks do is a teachable moment.
Whether a play has been executed to perfection or there is a poor pass that leads to an interception, every snap of the ball should help his quarterbacks get better.
The Mississippi State quarterback coach has a position battle on his hands this spring with the departure of Dak Prescott. Redshirt junior Damian Williams, rising sophomores Elijah Staley and Nick Fitzgerald and redshirt freshman Nick Tiano are trying to earn the starting job. But early on, there have been some hiccups.
“Sometimes those are the best teaching moments, when you don’t perform to your maximum ability each and every day,” Johnson said. “For those guys in particular, it was good to get everything corrected on film, see their mistakes and it’s a good chance to exhibit some leadership skills of owning not playing very well, not looking for reasons and try to put blame for not playing well.”
The quarterbacks got a wake up call this past Saturday in a scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium. The four signal callers combined to throw six interceptions, with Tiano not throwing an interception. Johnson said the turnovers were the biggest disappointment and said that needs to be corrected before this Saturday’s 11:10 a.m. open scrimmage. He was pleased with a couple of plays his quarterbacks made, but said consistency needs to be shown.
Fitzgerald, who took snaps with the first offense on the first drive, completed 8-of-20 passes for 118 yards and an interception. He did have a 22-yard rushing touchdown, but he admitted he made too many mistakes.
The Richmond Hill, Georgia, native got to see those mistakes on film and said that has been the best way to go about correcting those mistakes.
“Anytime you can go in and watch film on your own, you can critique yourself,” Fitzgerald said. “Anytime you’re with your coaches, they can critique you more for something you didn’t see that maybe they saw.”
After redshirting in 2014, Fitzgerald saw action in eight games last season, completing 11-of-14 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Staley redshirted with Fitzgerald and played in two games last season, completing 3-of-5 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.
In the scrimmage, Staley threw a 40-yard touchdown to Keith Mixon on his opening drive, but finished with two interceptions and a fumble.
“I had three turnovers and that’s all that matters,” Staley said. “You’re down pretty bad after three turnovers but I’ve got room to improve and I’ve got time.”
The Marietta, Georgia, native, who missed last spring with a knee injury, completed 14-of-23 passes for 167 yards.
Williams played as a freshman and got the start against in-state rival Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg. He was the backup as a sophomore behind Prescott, but was redshirted last season. Being the most veteran quarterback has not translated onto the field so far. He struggled in the scrimmage, completing 2-of-11 passes for 27 yards and three interceptions. He did rush for 18 yards on four carries.
Tiano completed 5-of-10 passes for 36 yards and rushed for 23 yards on seven carries.
Prescott, who broke 38 school records, left some big shoes to fill, but the young quarterbacks are eager to prove they can be the starter.
Even through it’s a competition, Fitzgerald said they are like brothers supporting each other and trying to make everybody better.
Staley agreed with that assessment.
“We’re just focusing on maximizing our effort and getting better every day,” Staley said. “We’re all trying to compete to get the position, but we’re all just trying to get better day by day and be the best we can be.”
Along with losing a playmaker, the Bulldogs also lost a leader in Prescott. He took over the team in 2014 and led them to a 9-0 start and a No. 1 ranking for five weeks. He was a captain last season and was the face of the program.
The team has some veterans who are leading, but ultimately the quarterback will be looked to as a leader. Fitzgerald said he is trying to gain the trust of his teammates.
“(I’m) just getting extra work with them and hanging out with them off the field,” Fitzgerald said. “Anytime we’re on the field, I’m talking to them, trying to get to know them a little better and trying to build that relationship on the field and that way it kind of translates to off the field.”
There is still one more week of spring drills, the Maroon and White game April 16, an entire summer and a month of fall camp to decide who the starting quarterback is going to be.
Johnson said he hopes there is a natural separation, but said the battle could last for a long time.
“We’ll let it go as long as we need to continue to get a great comprehensive evaluation of everything, of every aspect of each and everyone’s game and make the decision that puts us in the best position to win some football games,” Johnson said.
The quarterbacks may have made mistakes Saturday and every day in practice, but Johnson wants them to learn from those and apply it to the next practice or the next scrimmage. Although the season is five months away, the lessons learned at practice and in film sessions this spring are valuable.
“It’s all about just the mind-set every day of coming out and competing and leaving practice a better player than when you stepped on the field,” Johnson said. “Nobody’s going to win the job with one throw in practice. It’s all about consistency, consistency in performance, consistency in your leadership and consistency in your attitude each and every day.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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