Based in part on his immediate success with the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott is viewed by many as the best Bulldog of all time.

The Mississippi State program dates back to 1895, by the way. So why, pray tell, are some hoping for Prescott’s immediate successor, Nick Fitzgerald, to be equally good? Once-in-a-lifetime quarterbacks are just that: once in a lifetime.

Nevertheless, Fitzgerald is arguably the most intriguing player in the entire SEC. Unpolished as a first-year starter in 2016, he still threw for 21 touchdowns and ran for 16 more — his 37 total TDs led the conference. If he can develop into the kind of passer Prescott ultimately became, he could be unstoppable.

But how realistic is that? If Fitzgerald departs Starkville not nearly as accomplished or decorated, that doesn’t automatically mean he was a failure. Prescott’s standard may be impossible for him to replicate, and that’s not a criticism.

Here are some of my favorite comments from this past week. The MSU fans who hated me last year are beginning to come around.

 

"If Fitz will just throw with the right pace on the pass, he will be much improved. Last year, he threw everything as hard as he possibly could until he settled down. What set Dak apart from Fitz’s first year was throwing ‘catchable balls.’ My expectations are I think he will." -- Irenaus

This is a common complaint for young quarterbacks, especially ones with elite arm talent that you just can’t coach.

I observed this quite often last season with Georgia’s Jacob Eason. He tried to throw every pass as if it needed to travel through a brick wall first. The Bulldogs were far from sure-handed, but their QB deserved some of the blame.

Austin Allen of Arkansas, by contrast, can’t spin it anything like Eason in terms of pure RPMs. But when it comes to touch and timing, Allen has clearly learned to make the most of what’s been attached to his right shoulder. He knows when to serve the ball with some extra mustard and when to put a little more air under it.

As a pocket passer, Fitzgerald was much more Eason than Allen this past year. Like UGA’s, Mississippi State’s receivers were unreliable at times. It wasn’t all their fault, though. Some throws are easier to catch than others.

Mullen has worked wonders before. I'd be optimistic if I were a Bulldogs fan. That being said, I'd be realistic, too.

Still, just like Prescott got tired of being compared to Tim Tebow, Fitzgerald has probably gotten tired of being compared to Prescott.

The fact of the matter is that Fitzgerald can’t try to play like Prescott. Fitzgerald can only try to play like Fitzgerald. They may be operating in similar offenses designed by coach Dan Mullen, but this is football, not cloning.

Prescott was a much more advanced signal caller as a senior than he was as a sophomore. Originally, he didn’t make many post-snap reads and could always tuck it and run if his primary target wasn’t open. But by the time his eligibility was up, he could survey the field and pick defenses apart from the pocket.

Asking Fitzgerald to make that much of a leap is borderline unfair. Prescott was special, both on and off the field. While Fitzgerald may never be special as a field general, there’s certainly reason to expect improvement.

Mullen has worked wonders before. I’d be optimistic if I were a Bulldogs fan. That being said, I’d be realistic, too.

"This is exactly what Guice needs to hear: that he won’t do it. He’ll do it now. His style of play is 'run angry.' That’s what gives him the edge. LF7 ran angry, too, and it always got him extra yardage. I think Guice will do it." -- Bunker Buster

I pointed out in a column Wednesday that only three players dating back to the ’50s have led the SEC in rushing two seasons in a row.

That doesn’t bode well for LSU tailback Derrius Guice, who unexpectedly won the conference’s rushing crown in 2016. With Leonard Fournette in and out of the lineup, Guice was magnificent as a substitute starter.

Understand that I believe Guice may end up being a better back than Fournette, which is saying something since Fournette is considered to be the most talented ball carrier in Tigers lore. Guice might not have the same brute strength, but he has more top-end speed and superior vision in the midst of chaos.

In the column, I was merely pointing out that six decades of data point to Guice not standing atop the pile at the end of the season a second consecutive time. Only Darren McFadden, Herschel Walker and Johnny Musso did that.

Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Also, I can assure you that anything I write will have zero effect on Guice’s performance at the end of the day.

You’re implying that if I — or someone else who covers the league — had written Guice was a no-brainer to win another rushing title, somehow he wouldn’t be motivated enough on Saturdays to actually do it.

Can a media slight sometimes give an athlete a little extra juice before kickoff? Absolutely, it can. But there’s positively nobody doubting his ability to take over for Fournette in the Bayou Bengals backfield and be equally effective. As a matter of fact, Guice already proved a year ago he can do just that.

Again, I made no such prediction that Guice would come up short in his quest to set the pace in the SEC on the ground again. If you told me that he’ll eventually run for 2,000 yards and get an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony, I’d believe it.

Of the 25 guys who returned to defend their turf, only three repeated. History isn’t on Guice’s side, that’s all.

"This is no surprise to anyone that follows A&M closely and certainly no surprise to any local recruiting targets. Woodward is only repeating what he said earlier this year. He still did not put a definite number on wins. I could see an 8-4 regular season record where they are playing well at the end of the season and Sumlin stays." -- aggierider

Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward may not have mentioned an exact win total that coach Kevin Sumlin must hit in 2017.

However, it’s safe to assume that anything less than nine wins means Sumlin would be wise to pretty up his résumé. Woodward said the Aggies have to “do better.” Well, they’ve been 8-5 three years running.

Does it come as a surprise to anyone that Sumlin is on the conference’s hottest seat? Not really. Not when an 11-2 debut in 2012 seems like an outlier now. He’s gone from 11 wins to nine and then eight, eight and eight in five seasons. Sumlin is paying the price for underpromising and overdelivering right away.

Woodward's comments dominated the headlines on Day 1 of spring meetings. Intentional or not, he turned up the heat on Sumlin.

But I was indeed surprised when an AD said on live TV that his coach is essentially on the way out if he doesn’t improve. Typically, he gets his point across more subtly with a dreaded “vote of confidence” in a prepared statement.

It wasn’t Woodward’s message that caught me off guard. It was his delivery. ADs usually talk less and listen more.

Woodward also specifically said how disappointed he’s been at Sumlin’s late-season collapses. Like I referenced in my column, he’s only 7-9 in November since 2013. His teams have run out of gas.

Additionally, perception is everything. A&M’s competitors are having a field day with these quotes on the recruiting trail. Blue-chip prospects commit to coaches, not schools. They’re also young and impressionable. The more they hear that Sumlin’s days might be numbered in College Station, the more they’ll believe it.

Most of what Woodward said about Sumlin was supportive, plus he was sure not to place all the blame at his head coach’s feet. Everyone in Aggieland needs to do better if they’re going to compete in America’s toughest division.

But Woodward’s comments dominated the headlines on Day 1 of spring meetings. Intentional or not, he turned up the heat on Sumlin.