STARKVILLE — For all the standout quarterbacks Todd Grantham has concocted defenses against in his 27-year coaching career, he’s had a good number of them as practice opponents, too.
Grantham, in his first year as Mississippi State football’s defensive coordinator, is convinced he has another one in returning starter Nick Fitzgerald.
In proving his point, Grantham compared his current practice adversary to his last one: the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Grantham was Louisville’s defensive coordinator last year.
“Nick’s a really good quarterback. He has a lot of attributes that Lamar has from an athletic ability standpoint,” Grantham said. “He throws a nice ball outside.”
Fitzgerald finished 2016 with similar numbers to Jackson in completion percentage (both around 55 percent) and touchdowns per pass attempts, both throwing touchdowns on roughly six percent of their attempted passes.
Grantham is well versed in butting heads with prolific quarterbacks in practice. His four years as Georgia’s defensive coordinator before going to Louisville coincided with the four years Aaron Murray spent as the starting quarterback. Murray ended his career as the Southeastern Conference’s leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns while becoming the first SEC quarterback to throw for at least 3,000 yards in four seasons.
Grantham added he has also been impressed with the offensive coaching staff’s efforts with Fitzgerald’s potential backup, early enrollee freshman Keytaon Thompson, and the strides he has made in spring.
Multiple fronts
Defensive lineman Cory Thomas said Tuesday that MSU has been experimenting with four-man and three-man defensive lines in spring. He said in a four-man front, he has been lining up inside alongside Jeffery Simmons and has seen some time as the lone interior lineman in the three-man front.
Defensive line coach Brian Baker said junior Braxton Hoyett is another candidate to fill into a noseguard role in the three-man defensive line, but only after he gains a better expertise of his responsibilities in the base four-man front.
To a certain extent, the same can be said for the entire position group as it toys with the three-man front. Ideally, Baker said the Bulldogs could switch between the two seamlessly to fit specific situations.
“Once they’re comfortable with it, yes. That’s the whole idea of the scheme, to be able to stretch the offense out a little bit my moving our guys from different alignments,” Baker said, “but it’s only effective if those guys understand what they’re supposed to do as part of those alignments, and that’s the part of the process we’re in right now.
“The good thing is, they have the skill set to do it.”
Proving time for offensive line
With injuries claiming projected starters Elgton Jenkins and Deion Calhoun for the entirety of spring, MSU has been practicing with a smaller number of offensive linemen than usual. The interim has forced some position changes, such as tackle Martinas Rankin moving to center, but MSU head coach Dan Mullen views the depleted numbers as providing a benefit other than versatility in existing personnel.
“There’s five guys treating themselves like starters this spring. There are guys that are trying to compete for the starting job and then there’s two more adding to it,” he said. “So you have to feel good about having ten offensive lineman which gives you the depth that you need to get through a season.”
Scrimmage update
Saturday was MSU’s second intrasquad scrimmage in Davis-Wade Stadium, its last before next weekend’s Maroon & White Game.
“It was good. Last week the defense came out on top. Today the offense really started making some plays and came out on top,” Mullen said. “Our key, what I want to see, is really good football being played. On both sides of the ball.”
Mullen also stressed the importance of the final full week of spring practice leading up to the spring game, in which it will not install more offensive or defensive concepts. Mullen said he is looking for confidence and, “really clean football at the end.”
Mullen said wide receiver Donald Gray, MSU’s No. 2 pass catcher in 2016, did not scrimmage. Mullen pointed out his absence provided another opportunity for younger players — among the possibilities redshirt freshmen Reggie Todd and Osirus Mitchell, and sophomores Deddrick Thomas and Jamal Couch — more chances to prove themselves.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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