QB Whisperer? Not anymore. Thanks to Dak, Dan Mullen can shout to the world
HOOVER, Ala. — Dan Mullen has long been known as a QB guru.
He can drop names like few other college coaches, from developing Alex Smith into a No. 1 overall draft pick to turning Tim Tebow into a Heisman Trophy winner. Different styles, different leagues, similar dominance.
But Dak Prescott’s overnight NFL stardom has given college football’s “QB Whisperer” a megaphone to shout his message, and Mullen took full advantage Tuesday during SEC Media Days.
So what’s Mullen’s secret?
“First thing you want to look for is intangibles,” he said in laying out how he recruits and develops quarterbacks. “Mental, physical toughness, leadership, decision-making, processing information, all those sorts of things. Then you want to look at certain skill-sets. Do they have skills that are hard to teach? If they have those, those are great because they’re hard to teach. Then you look at do they have the potential to grow in the skills you can teach? If you can find those guys and they have a work ethic and a demeanor, want to improve, you can look and say, ‘I can improve you to this level.'”
The one thing he can’t do is hurry the process. As rapid as Prescott’s rise appeared, it was very much a four-year journey.
“There’s no immediate jump,” he said. “I can’t take you from here to here in a day. It’s a very, very long process, especially at the quarterback position. Drew Brees and Tom Brady are still developing. You understand that.
“I remind Dak Prescott of that now, ‘Hey, you going to be a better quarterback this year than you were last year because you continue to develop every single day to be the best you can be.’
“If you’re at a certain level today, you have the opportunity to be just a little bit better tomorrow. That’s the path you have to take instead of taking huge steps. That’s what we do with quarterbacks.”

Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Mullen has developed enough quarterbacks to get any recruit’s attention, but he concedes Prescott’s NFL success has provided an unexpected boost.
“One, it gets a lot of name recognition,” he said. “You say Dak, it’s hard to be a one-name person. People see that. They’ll go back and they’ll realize, here was this 2-, 3-star player out of high school who wasn’t that heavily recruited. How did he become the guy he is today?”
Mullen is all to happy to explain the process. It starts, he said, with the initial conversation.
“When we get a call from a high school quarterback, we’ll go through the steps of what it takes to go be successful,” Mullen said. “Some people can talk to you about it. I can sit there and say, OK, Alex Smith was a 1-star … I had Tim Tebow, he was a 5-star … Dak was a 2-, 3-star. He was successful.”
Bulldogs fans have seen similar development from Nick Fitzgerald, who was the No. 1,566 player in the 2015 class. Last July, nobody knew whether Fitzgerald would win the starting job. A year later, he’s being mentioned as a dark-horse to win the Heisman.
Just another limb on Mullen’s quarterback tree. The key, he said, is the player’s willingness to grind, to put in the work necessary to transform his game.
“I’m not as concerned with where you are,” Mullen said of recruiting rankings, “but these are the demands and expectations I’m going to have to play the quarterback position. If that’s what you’re looking for, come play for me. …
“These are the things we do well, here’s where we have to improve. This is what I’m going to demand and expect from you. If that’s what you’re looking for … obviously it’s not being talked about, here’s the proof of how it’s worked from all of these different players in the past. If that excites you, come play for Mississippi State.”
Alex Smith has been an average NFL QB and Tebow sucked as a pro. Dak has had one stellar season in the NFL. He at least has the skill set to continue to improve. I don’t want to get too carried away with the QB whisper stuff when the results are what they are.
I think you’re missing the point. All three were in the upper-echelon of college quarterbacks (Tebow likely the GOAT) and were finalists for the Heisman. In terms of pro success, Smith is a two-time pro-bowler and Dak has one under his belt already, not to mention a OROTY. Tebow was middling but all three have won at least one playoff game in the NFL as a starting quarterback. That’s not even counting Cam Newton, who Mullen also coached at Florida. Can you name another coach with that kind of track record at the collegiate and NFL level?
The work with Prescott is less impressive than his work with Chris Relf. I cannot think of any coach who has gotten more from less than Mullen with Relf.
obdog, you have spoken the truth. Most people don’t even mention Dan’s greatest accomplishment…Chris Relf.
So he’s a QB guru, but what about head coach? State had one season (2014) where they looked like a threat, but ended up losing to Bama, Ole Miss and GT. Have all State fans just accepted the ceiling for Mullen’s teams being mediocre in the West?
I don’t think anyone is content with being mediocre. The difference is that State isn’t going to expect it to happen overnight and I’d say State is in much better shape now than when he started. We are finally attracting top QB talent thanks to Mullen and give everyone in the west other than Bama a run for their money every year, even if we fall just short.
It’s real easy being a Bama fan these days, so enjoy the ride.
Overnight!? He’s been head coach for eight years now! That’s my whole point: how long are we gonna wait for this project to produce? He had top 15 or 20 ranked recruiting classes years ago. I just think he’s another OC posing as a head coach.
I would say if State doesn’t get to at least 8 wins this year and have at least 1 win over Bama, Auburn, or LSU then he is on the hot seat.
What are the odds state attracts another coach that will do as well and not immediately jump ship?
I think the guy is a pretty good HC. MSU is not an easy place to recruit. Mullen may be the best they have ever had. He is in no danger of being fired, nor should he be.
I’m not saying he should be fired, just wondering what the expectations are. He’s had great recruiting classes and QBs and hasn’t really come close to winning the West. If all you ever expect is that he does well enough for MSU then that’s accepting mediocrity as I said to begin with.
MSU is not Bama. For Bama, at least under Saban, the expectation is a NC every year. I think it’s easy as a Bama fan to forget how different the perspective of other schools and fans are.
I can’t speak for everyone, but here are my expectations. I expect to be competitive, meaning we have a shot at beating every team we play. And that means I expect to be competitive in the sec west, not finishing last. I expect to go to a bowl every year. And I expect that every few years when experience and talent coincide just right, we are in the mix for an sec west title, and if the breaks fall our way maybe an championship.
I don’t expect to ever see a NC at MSU in football. At least, not at the level we have been recruiting. If something changes and we somehow start seeing top 10 classes, then maybe I will expect more because I think we have the coach to take advantage of that. But convincing that many highly ranked recruits to come to MS takes a lot. Just ask OM.