Quarterbacks battle it out in Maroon & White Game
STARKVILLE – The last pass Dak Prescott threw at Davis Wade Stadium went down as an interception. During Saturday’s Mississippi State Maroon & White Spring Game, the NFL draft prospect and former Bulldogs Heisman Trophy contender threw deep to former Bulldog and NFL free agent Anthony Dixon.
Sophomore safety Mark McLaurin picked it.
“He kind of floated it up there a little bit,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. “Maybe he wasn’t quite ready for what was going on out there. He got kind of thrown in to the action right there. They weren’t falling for the banana in the tailpipe there.”
McLaurin admitted he was tipped off on the play.
It was all in good fun as Mississippi State beat itself – 34-21 Maroon over White – but Mullen and staff saw plenty of things they can use to beat somebody else when the 2016 season begins. Four new quarterbacks and a slew of young contributors jockeyed for spots on a chilly day inside Davis Wade Stadium.
“Even though you scrimmage and put them in those situations, it’s different when you fill up the stadium and it’s a game-like situation,” Mullen said. “I saw some guys do some good things. I saw some guys make some mistakes.”
The quarterback battle will go on into the summer – and maybe even the fall.
Saturday, the oldest of the four and maybe the one least expected to win the job, junior Damian Williams was 14-of-20 for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Sophomore Nick Fitzgerald completed 10-of-20 for 127 yards, a touchdown and two picks. For the winning Maroon team, redshirt freshman Nick Tiano was 8-of-13 for 99 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Sophomore Elijah Staley was 5 of 11 for 48 yards.
“I thought they did OK,” Mullen said. “A little up and down at times but you can expect that. What I want to see is how they respond to the downs. To me it’s about consistency of play. All of them have the ability to make plays, run the ball, scramble, but they are learning they need to be a consistent level. Every single snap is the most important thing.”
With its top four receivers all either gone to the NFL draft or recovering from injury (Fred Brown was dismissed from the team), sophomore Malik Dear stated his case.
Dear caught six passes for 67 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown. Gabe Myles caught three passes for 41 yards.
“Give Malik the ball and he’s going to make a play,” Staley said.
Senior defensive end Johnathan Calvin made it tough on Williams and Fitzpatrick. The senior defensive end had four sacks and four tackles-for-loss.
“Defensively we played well,” new defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said. “We were limited on the package but the things that stood out to me, Calvin winning a few pass rush reps. Will Coleman did some nice things rushing the quarterback as well. That was good to see, a four-man pressure hit hme.”
Maroon held White to 2.9 yards on 22 rushing attempts. Coleman, a senior defensive end, had a sack, tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
McLaurin had two interceptions.
“We have learned a lot and I look forward to the season,” McLaurin said. “We are going to come in with a lot of power and we have a lot to show the people.”
WHAT THE BULLDOGS SAID
QB Nick Tiano
“The guys made me look good today. They made some good plays and had some great catches.”
QB Nick Fitzgerald
“Two interceptions, that isn’t always the best. There is still always room for improvement no matter how good I play.
RB Brandon Holloway
“I think Malik (Dear) is amazing. I think he fits wherever he’s put at. He breaks a lot of tackles and always catches the ball.”
Head coach Dan Mullen
“It was a good game. Great opportunity. We got a lot accomplished that we wanted to get done.”