Joe Moorhead discusses Tommy Stevens, shares latest on Keytaon Thompson’s possible transfer

Mississippi State was one of those teams where the quarterback competition dominated the offseason storylines. Heading into Week 1, Joe Moorhead was asked a lot about quarterbacks on Wednesday’s SEC media teleconference.

Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens won the starting job and Moorhead was asked about recruiting Stevens, who is now a team captain. Stevens beat out returning backup Keytaon Thompson, who has since entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. Moorhead shared that Thompson hasn’t made a decision yet on his future with the program.

Here’s what Moorhead what had to say about the two quarterbacks, as well as a couple other topics:

• On Stevens being voted a captain: I think he has a great personality, first and foremost he is humble… when guys saw how he worked in the summer and in camp, it dictated — players saw what kind of leader he is.
• On Thompson: We met again, he is still exploring his options… we are scheduled to meet again today or tomorrow and see where things are… we want the best for him.
• Sny update on Kareem Walker? No, not at this time.
• On biggest difference in Year 2: Familiarity with our players, our conference and their familiarity with what we have for them, an increased understanding of what we do
• On recruiting Stevens to MSU: With one year remaining, we wanted to make sure he made the best decision for him. As he went on other visits, his familiarity with our scheme and me, that likely led him to Starkville.
• On whether Stevens is like other first-time starters: I think that’s part of the benefit of what we did with him in 2016 and 2017, and what they continued to do in 2018… He has completed touchdowns, he has run for TDs, he has caught TDs, so he’s not new to that… he has a heightened sense of what he is doing (entering the season).

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.