The legendary NFL coach John Madden is credited with saying, “if you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none.” But Mississippi State has succeeded with a two-quarterback system before — and the Bulldogs might be well-equipped to do so again.
The year was 2012. MSU’s starting quarterback was Tyler Russell, a junior who had split time with Chris Relf the previous season and was primed for a breakout campaign. Russell started every game that autumn on a team that started 7-0 before stumbling down the stretch and finishing 8-5.
But waiting in the wings was a redshirt freshman dual-threat from Louisiana who would eventually become the most decorated player in program history. Rayne Dakota “Dak” Prescott was used situationally that year, accounting for four touchdowns through the air and four more on the ground. The following season, Prescott started seven games as Russell battled injuries, which set the stage for Prescott to break out as a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2014.
The first part of that story should sound familiar to Bulldogs fans. Will Rogers is in his fourth season starting behind center, but Vanderbilt transfer Mike Wright has also taken some snaps, mostly in short-yardage and goal-line situations that call for designed runs and speed options.
Last week against Western Michigan, Wright saw his first extended playing time in the maroon and white, completing seven of 10 passes and recording a rushing touchdown in his third straight game. Nobody is suggesting that Wright is the next Prescott — he is a senior, after all — but the way MSU used Prescott early in his collegiate career can provide a blueprint for how the Bulldogs move forward with their two quarterbacks this year.
In fact, it’s already happening. Prescott’s first rushing touchdown came in the 2012 season opener against Jackson State with MSU comfortably ahead when he faked an end-around handoff and barreled behind the left side of his offensive line for a 5-yard score. All three of Wright’s touchdown runs as a Bulldog have come on option plays, and his first, against South Carolina, also featured a receiver coming in motion across the formation.
Prescott’s first touchdown pass came in a mid-October home win over Tennessee. With an empty backfield, he faked a run to the left, dropped back three paces and found a wide-open Marcus Green in the end zone from 13 yards out.
It looked similar to Wright’s longest throw of the day against the Broncos. He had attempted just one pass with MSU prior to that game, which went for a 4-yard touchdown in garbage time of a blowout loss to LSU. But Wright entered for Rogers in the first minute of the second half with the Bulldogs facing second-and-10 at the Western Michigan 39, and he faked a handoff to running back Seth Davis before hitting a wide-open Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin for 29 yards.
Of course, all of this is moot if the shoulder injury Rogers sustained in the fourth quarter of last week’s win causes him to miss significant time. In that case, Wright would step in as the starter, which he did 11 times across his sophomore and junior seasons with the Commodores, with true freshman Chris Parson, another dual-threat option, as the backup.
For now, though, head coach Zach Arnett, offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay and company might want to take a look at some 10- or 11-year-old film to help figure out how best to use Wright as a complement to Rogers. The Bulldogs’ offense is still at its best with Rogers as the starter, but Wright gives them the ability to avoid sacks and pick up chunk plays on both scrambles and designed runs.
The Western Michigan game served as a good model for how MSU can balance two very different quarterbacks, albeit against a weaker defense than what the Bulldogs will typically see in Southeastern Conference play. But Russell and Prescott have already shown that such an arrangement can work in Starkville.
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