STARKVILLE — Graduate transfer quarterback Tommy Stevens has yet to record an official pass at Mississippi State.
In fact, the one-time Penn State signal caller hasn’t even made a throw in front of MSU coaches since his arrival in Starkville due to NCAA regulations on offseason practices. But that hasn’t stopped Stevens from making an early impression on teammates.
“He has the perfect mentality for Mississippi State,” senior tight end and Stevens’ roommate Farrod Green said. “Hard nosed, ready to work and he’s just a natural-born leader and guys respect that.”
Defensively, junior linebacker and captain Erroll Thompson has gotten a chance to run 7-on-7 drills with Stevens during the offseason. As noted, no coaches could watch the practice sessions due to NCAA rules, but Thompson has been impressed with his leadership qualities on and off the field.
“(Tommy)’s looking good,” he said. “He’s killing the workouts. He’s doing everything everyone is expecting him to do. He’s a natural-born leader. He’s been great so far.”
Stevens also earned rave reviews at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana this summer for his big-arm and steady demeanor in a group that included Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Georgia’s Jake Fromm and LSU’s Joe Burrow.
Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl and an onlooker at the annual camp, wrote in a tweet July 1, “Biggest surprise of Manning Passing Academy was Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens. Scouts talk about how guys ‘spin it’ and Stevens spun it as well as anyone at the camp. We knew he was big and athletic but he has a live arm.”
And though those around Stevens have sung his praises in the early going, the staunch reality is he has caught nearly as many passes (14) as he has completed (24) in his collegiate career.
This isn’t to say he lacks in talent. Stevens averaged 172 yards per game through the air his senior year at Decatur Central in Indianapolis while completing 60 percent of his passes. He also added 842 yards on 172 carries — offering a glimpse at the dual-threat ability coach Joe Moorhead desires out of his quarterbacks.
Furthermore, Stevens has already spent more time learning the MSU offensive playbook than anyone on the active roster. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons under Moorhead while he was the offensive coordinator at Penn State.
Ricky Rahne, Moorhead’s replacement in Happy Valley, ran a similar scheme to his predecessor in 2018 as well — giving Stevens almost three years worth of experience in the system he is tasked with learning at MSU.
The Bulldogs’ head coach acknowledged this advantage during a chalk talk with reporters in mid-July, stating his new quarterback would know “roughly 85 percent” of the playbook on day one.
“It sounds like he’s been doing a real good job at workouts,” Moorhead said. “I know the players are doing throwing and 7-on-7 on their own, so more than anything we want to get him around the guys and comfortable with Starkville and when we get into camp we can start doing x’s and o’s and start letting the guys compete.”
Stevens enters next week’s preseason camp squarely in the middle of a competition with junior Keytaon Thompson for the starting quarterback role. Thompson has completed 50-of-105 passes in 19 games at MSU for 846 yards and eight touchdowns. He left spring camp at No. 1 on the depth chart.
Moorhead said at SEC Media Days he hasn’t put an exact date on when he’d announce a starter — though he would prefer to do so 10 days ahead of MSU’s Aug. 31 opener against Louisiana in New Orleans.
So while Stevens still has the entirety of fall camp to secure the starting job, early reports indicate a near consensus on the transfer — he can spin it.
“You can just feel the energy when he comes in the room,” Green said. “He’s ready to work. He’s ready to lead. He’s ready for any role that comes.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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