HOOVER, Ala. — This time last season, Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was just trying to land the starting role in Dan Mullen’s offense. Fast forward a year, and the rising junior is considered to be a dark-horse Heisman candidate with many claiming he is the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.

The statements made by the Hail State contingent during the second day of SEC Media Days did nothing to dissuade that belief.

“His game has grown tremendously,” senior receiver Donald Gray said during his media availability. “Day in and day out he’s always coming in working and asking the coaches how he can get better how can he get more vocal. The little things, as far as the way his energy is walking through the locker room.”

"I think Nick, at this stage of his career, has more potential than Dak did, but we've got to see does he have that mindset, that demeanor, that grind. Dak is one of the hardest working guys I've ever been around -- in life." -- Dan Mullen

If Gray is accurate in his assessment, there should more to come from Fitzgerald in his second season running the MSU offense. Considering he racked up 2,423 passing yards, 1,375 rushing yards and combined to score 37 touchdowns last season, how much more can Fitzgerald improve?

According to Gray, Fitzgerald has just begun to scratch the surface of his immense talent.

“Y’all haven’t seen the beginning of Nick, honestly,” Gray continued. “The sky for him is very, very high. That guy is going to be amazing.”

The team’s head coach agrees, albeit with the caveat of noting the number of spectacular plays from Fitzgerald may be down. That statement shouldn’t worry State fans, as Mullen says that is by design.

"Y'all haven't seen the beginning of Nick, honestly. The sky for him is very, very high. That guy is going to be amazing." -- Donald Gray

“I think you are going to see a much better player than you saw last year. Now, I don’t know if he’ll make all the spectacular plays, but you are going to see a better quarterback this year than you saw last year,” Mullen said.

With Fitzgerald following in the footsteps of Dak Prescott in Starkville, comparisons have been obvious. Considering Prescott left as arguably the best player in the school history and only raised his national profile thanks to his success in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, Fitzgerald’s body of work certainly doesn’t match up at this time.

Despite that fact, Mullen’s comments suggest his current quarterback could one day surpass his predecessor. The key, in Mullen’s mind, is Fitzgerald developing a similar work ethic to the detail-oriented Prescott.

“I think Nick, at this stage of his career, has more potential than Dak did, but we’ve got to see does he have that mindset, that demeanor, that grind. Dak is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around — in life.

“Nick is still learning to be that grinder every single day to take those steps forward, he certainly has the potential there to become a great player.”