STARKVILLE — Tommy Stevens’ first start at Davis Wade Stadium was scripted perfectly.
In just over one quarter of play, Stevens led Mississippi State on scoring drives of 61 and 81 yards, respectively, to vault the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 in their home opener against Southern Mississippi. He had completed all nine of his passes. The MSU faithful gleefully willed his performance with the clanging of cowbells.
It was quickly greeted with deafening silence.
Racing out of the pocket, Stevens was drilled into the ground. He hobbled off the field and headed to the locker room for further diagnosis. His shoulder was separated.
In weeks to follow Stevens showed flashes of brilliance, sure. But those momentary glimpses were brutally marred by further physical ailments. A high-ankle sprain against Tennessee limited his production on Rocky Top. A broken rib and punctured lung against Abilene Christian forced him to miss the Egg Bowl.
After transferring to MSU to rejoin his former offensive coordinator at Penn State, Joe Moorhead, the experiment turned bleak. But now a few months removed from his time in Starkville, Stevens has quickly become one of the more intriguing late round quarterback prospects available in the 2020 NFL Draft.
“Playing quarterback in this system you have to learn protections, you have to know formations, you have to know fronts, pressures and coverages, pre- and post-snap reads,” Moorhead told The Dispatch Tuesday. “But I think the trickle up, some of the (run-pass-option) elements that you saw Kansas City doing and Baltimore doing and (Stevens’) exposure to that just brings added value.”
After wowing onlookers at the Manning Passing Academy last summer, Stevens again showed his arm talent during the East-West Shrine Bowl on Jan. 18 in Tampa, Florida. Completing 7-of-10 passes for 102 yards and one interception, he added another 11 yards on two carries. Coachable by nature, scouts were enthused with his ability to process information.
“The thing that you notice very quickly about Tommy is what a hard worker he is,” East-West Shrine Bowl Executive Director Bob Roller told The Dispatch. “That’s going to go so far for him. Scouts love that work ethic and the fact that he was able to listen clearly to what they were saying. He had a good week.”
Following the all-star game, Stevens remained in the Sunshine State — working out at D1 Training in Tampa to prepare for his impending pro day after not being invited to the NFL Combine.
Working through the same program that groomed future first round picks DeAngelo Williams, Daniel Jones, Jimmy Graham, Michael Oher and Tim Tebow, Stevens set personal bests in every event except the bench press during his recorded workout. Of note, his 4.49 second 40-yard dash ranked a tenth-of-a-second faster than any quarterback that ran at the combine.
“I actually ran 4.50 the first time and I was pissed,” he quipped. “That was the best forty I’d ever ran and I was upset. The next one I was able to get the 4.49, so I was really fired up about that.”
With his impressive athleticism on display, NFL scouts began to take notice of Stevens in their attempts to mimic the versatile sub-packages the New Orleans Saints have created for former Brigham Young signal-caller Taysom Hill.
On paper, the role fits Stevens. At Penn State, he lined up everywhere from quarterback to receiver to running back. In all, he compiled nearly twice as many rushing yards (506) as he did passing yards (304) in his 23 career games played. Stevens also added another 14 receptions for 62 yards and two touchdowns during his time in Happy Valley.
With that in mind, he told The Dispatch had MSU’s pro day proceeded as planned before it was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, he was scheduled to work out as both an H-back and a tight end.
“When I say the ‘Taysom Hill role,’ it was Tommy Stevens playing that role at Penn State before any of that happened,” Moorhead said. “I think there’s a lot of value in Tommy as a pure quarterback if he gets on a practice squad and somebody wants to develop him because the one thing he lacks is experience and game reps. But I think he’s ready right now to come in and play a role in that slash-quarterback-receiver-tight end (role) and kind of do all those different things.”
As of Monday, Moorhead said Stevens had heard from teams with interest in him as both a quarterback and other varying offensive roles. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler — who’s covered the NFL Draft for the better part of a decade — told The Dispatch he sees the former MSU and Penn State quarterback as a project in the late rounds or a priority undrafted free agent, but one that a patient team may get plenty out of down the line.
As for Stevens, he’s just looking to get a shot after a welcome reunion in Starkville turned sideways.
“I’ve done similar things in the past and I think that’s kind of gonna be what’s expected of me in the next level,” Stevens said of playing a hybrid role. “…I’m fine with it, man. It doesn’t really bother me any. I still think that I can play quarterback in that league, I think that’s my future. But hey, you know how it is, roster spots — you’re going to do whatever it takes.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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