Mississippi State bowl practices began Friday. More than likely, the Bulldogs’ search to replace the most prolific quarterback in program history started the same day.

Coach Dan Mullen said throughout the season this year that there will be an open competition at quarterback heading into next season. Perhaps its not even out of the question to see multiple quarterbacks start for Mississippi State in 2016.

At this point, freshman Nick Fitzgerald appears to be the favorite. He received the bulk of the snaps in garbage time against Northwestern State and Troy. Fitzgerald was 11-for-14 with 78 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions this season.

As the stats indicate, he played well, but it is difficult to tell if he is Dak Prescott’s replacement. After all, Northwestern State and Troy are not Ole Miss and Alabama.

Sophomore quarterback Elijah Staley also received playing time in 2015 and appears to be close in the running to Fitzgerald. Staley also plays basketball at Mississippi State.

He will participate in all the bowl practices and travel to Charlotte for the Belk Bowl, but after that, he will turn his focus to basketball. It will be intriguing to see whether playing two sports will hurt Staley’s chances of starting at quarterback.

Also in the competition is true freshman Nick Tiano. But the wild card is junior Damian Williams. The junior redshirted this season to have two more years without Prescott on the roster.

Williams has the most in-game experience of the four candidates. As a freshman and sophomore, he completed 37-of-70 passes for 434 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. If Mullen wants experience, Williams would be his choice.

Unless one of these quarterbacks stands above the rest in bowl practices and through the summer, it is possible Mullen could use a multiple quarterback system. He has done that on different occasions at Mississippi State

In 2011, senior Chris Reif shared the position with sophomore Tyler Russell. Reif attempted 190 passes to Russell’s 129.

Two years later as a senior, Russell was the starter during Week 1 but suffered a concussion and couldn’t play for a month. Prescott started while Russell was sidelined.

After Russell returned, Prescott continued to receive a majority of the snaps, but Russell played some, too. In the final nine games, Prescott and Russell had 182 and 93 pass attempts, respectively.

Starting two different quarterbacks is not ideal for lots of reasons. There are advantage to having one clear leader under center. However, it remains a possibility for Mullen and Mississippi State in 2016.

Either way, Mullen’s search for Mississippi State’s next quarterback has already started.