Following in Dak Prescott’s footsteps would be a tough task for even the most gifted college quarterbacks. After some initial setbacks early in his career as the starting quarterback for Mississippi State, Nick Fitzgerald burst onto the scene late last season and silenced any doubt regarding the future of the position in Starkville heading into the 2017 season.

While it’s easy to compare the two quarterbacks based on their accomplishments on the field in Starkville, one aspect most observers won’t ever get a chance to witness is the level of leadership both players command in the locker room and in the huddle. Fitzgerald did a phenomenal job last season, considering it was his first meaningful action of his college career, but his head coach has suggested he still has some distance to go before catching Prescott in terms of leadership.

During his Tuesday media availability, which kicked off the start of fall camp for Mississippi State, Dan Mullen was asked about his quarterback’s progress in the largely unseen area of his game.

“I think he’s improving on it but again, like we said, this is his first time in this role that he’s in now, coming in and being the starter,” Mullen said. “I want to see how he takes the reins in each stage. This was his first offseason as the starter. This time last year, he was competing for the job. I think he’s improved on it but he’s also going through a learning curve of how do I lead? This is going to be his first training camp as the starting quarterback.

“I expect his leadership to be much better this year than it was last year, and I’ve seen that from him, but I still think he’s going through the learning curve of being the leader. This time next year, I expect him to be at a much higher level because he would have been through it.”

Mullen’s comments suggest he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from his quarterback this offseason but he fully understands there are things you simply cannot teach someone until they’ve been through the fire themselves.

Should Fitzgerald manage to take his game to another level, both on the field and in the terms of leadership off the field, the gap between the last two Hail State quarterbacks will only continue to shrink — although it won’t happen overnight.

“I’ve seen him work to be a much better leader,” Mullen said, “but he’s still going through it as a first-time being the starter.”