The training camp battle between Tommy Stevens and Keytaon Thompson rages on from Starkville as both players are trying to earn the starting quarterback role in Joe Moorhead’s offense heading into the season opener against Louisana.

Based on what Moorhead had to say during his latest media availability, it sounds like the second-year head coach is close to naming Mississippi State’s starting signal-caller, provided that guy stood out during the team’s most recent scrimmage.

“We kind of had an idea, heading into the scrimmage, where we were, based on all the information available and statistics – completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio, explosive plays and all those things,” Moorhead said on Saturday when asked about the QB competition exiting the team’s latest practice. “You kind of have your gut feel watching it, but we’ll grade it tonight, talk about it tomorrow and make a plan moving forward from there. I think both of them are taking positive steps forward and pushing each other and making each other better. I also think the young guys, particularly Garrett Shrader, are taking nice strides. He had a nice scrimmage today.”

This time last year, there was no debate which quarterback would be leading the offense in Moorhead’s debut season in Starkville, as senior Nick Fitzgerald was one of the leaders of the team. This time around, things are much different in Starkville, which is something Moorhead pointed out during his press conference.

“I think the difference is there’s not an incumbent. Where, Nick Fitzgerald had played a lot of football and won a lot of big games, and kind of had a young guy behind him you were looking to evaluate and develop,” Mississippi State’s coach said. “Now I’d say both are tested guys, and one guy has played in this system for one year and one going on his fourth year. I mean, every depth chart is written in pencil, every spot is open. But that was one where Keytaon Thompson would have had to do something out of the ordinary last year to unseat Nick. Now it’s a true open position battle.”

It may have truly been an open battle but with camp winding down and the season opener now less than two weeks away, it’s time Mississippi State forms a plan for each quarterback heading into the season. Whether that’s naming a starter and letting him run the offense or rotating both players for a few games, Moorhead and his offensive staff have likely seen enough to know what they have in each quarterback heading into the season.

Quarterback competitions running too long has hurt teams in the past and following Mississippi State’s issues with consistency on offense last season, Moorhead cannot allow this competition to do the same to his second Bulldog offense. While MSU should feature a solid defense, the program doesn’t likely have the same caliber of defense that helped carry the team at times in 2018.

Cover photo images courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics