STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen didn’t know what to expect Wednesday.
After the Bulldogs had five days of general practice that consisted of working on fundamentals, getting the veteran players time to rest their bodies and the younger players a chance to get some much needed extra repetitions, Mullen didn’t know how they were going to handle the transition back to gameplanning.
But after going through practice on Wednesday, Mullen was pleasantly surprised. Mullen and MSU (5-7) play Miami (Ohio) University (6-6) 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 26 (ESPN), in the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“I thought our guys on Wednesday did a great job,” Mullen said after Friday’s practice. “We had a great practice Wednesday, so I was really pleased with that. They flipped the switch back into game week and that was fantastic. We were a little slower (Thursday). I don’t know if it was a weather based type of deal. We had a really good day (Friday). When we walk off the field (Saturday) we should be just about ready to go play that game.”
The Bulldogs wrapped up practices Saturday and report in St. Petersburg Wednesday afternoon. They begin practice at the bowl site Thursday and will have three days of hard practice (Thursday-Saturday) and a day of just a walkthrough (Sunday).
Sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who is 183 of 335 for 2,287 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and has a team-high 1,243 yards rushing on 177 carries and 14 touchdowns, liked what he saw from his team when they made the transition.
“We’re looking good. The offense looks great and the defense is shutting it down, so I think we’re going to be fine,” Fitzgerald said.
MSU hasn’t played since a 55-20 victory over in-state rival Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg on Nov. 26. Mullen gave his team two weeks off so they could rest and study for finals.
Fitzgerald said he liked the time off because it gave him time to heal up but he was anxious to get back on the practice fields and continue his development as a first-year starter.
First-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon said they had to dust some things off when they made the transition to the gameplanning phase.
“We weren’t spending a bunch of time in the meeting room preparing for a certain style of offense,” Sirmon said. “Now you’ve got to switch gears a little bit and the guys will be OK. We’ve got a good plan in place for the practice structure and how we’re getting ready.”
But Sirmon feels good about where the team is and knows if they had to play today, the team would be ready.
“You could go drop the ball down anywhere you want — put it in the parking lot and we’d be ready go. We will start to essentially just refine the second week down there,” Sirmon said.
Along with practices, the Bulldogs will have several non-football activities they will experience. Between visiting a children’s hospital and going to Busch Gardens, the Bulldogs will have a lot of other things on their mind.
That’s why Mullen wants his team to be ready when they leave Starkville.
“You want to make sure the guys know the gameplan and are confident in the gameplan when you get there, so when you’re there you’re really just redoing the practices you’ve already done to build up that confidence,” Mullen said. “If we have to make a tweak or change within we will, but hopefully we’ve got most of those changes done this week.”
n In other football news, after a story by Monday Morning Quarterback surfaced mentioning Mullen as a possible surprise candidate for the L.A. Rams opening, Mullen said he has not talked to the Rams.
After finishing a cold practice, he joked that he would love to be in L.A. for practice right now. However, Mullen said he is happy at MSU but couldn’t see himself turning down an NFL gig if that opportunity ever presented itself.
“One of these days and I wouldn’t expect it to be now, but I think just like any coach, you’d love the opportunity at some point to be at the highest level of football in the NFL,” Mullen said. “If that opportunity ever presented itself, anybody would seriously consider it. I was pretty shocked by that too but I’m flattered. That would be great, a heck of a deal.”
The Rams fired Jeff Fisher Tuesday after he signed a two-year extension earlier this month.
Mullen said last week that MSU is working on a contract extension for him but nothing has been made official.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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