Video: Mullen speaks after MSU’s scrimmage (stats included)

The Mississippi State Bulldogs held an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday as part of their spring practice schedule, giving players a chance to show the progress they’ve made this spring while giving coaches a chance to chart the development of certain players or position groups on the team.

Above is a video of Dan Mullen’s post-scrimmage media availability, and below are the unofficial stats from Saturday’s scrimmage courtesy of SDN’s Bulldogs Blog. The blog noted the stats are unofficial and were compiled by the media members on hand for the scrimmage.

Dak Prescott appeared to play like his usual self, registering one touchdown through the air and another on the ground. His backup, Nick Fitzgerald, who has impressed throughout the spring, continued to impress with more than 260 yards through the air and a pair of touchdowns.

Brandon Holloway didn’t play and Ashton Shumpert averaged only 2.5 yards per carry on the day, but Aeris Williams and Dontavian Lee combined to rush for 151 yards and two touchdowns to pick up the slack. De’Runnya Wilson was also sidelined during the scrimmage, but four other players amassed at least four receptions apiece to keep the passing game afloat.

New starting safety Kivon Coman led the team in tackles, and junior college transfer Johnathan Calvin added three sacks. Defensive tackle Chris Jones, one of the team’s top returning players despite a mild sophomore slump a year ago, added a pair of tackles for loss in a strong showing on Saturday.

Here’s a full rundown of the stats and the scoring summary from Saturday’s action:

Scoring Summary

Devon Bell 38-yard field goal

Aeris Williams 21-yard pass from Nick Fitzgerald (Westin Graves kick)

Dak Prescott 2-yard run (Bell kick)

Bennie Braswell 8-yard run

Donald Gray 5-yard pass from Nick Fitzgerald

Dontavian Lee 39-yard run

Ashton Shumpert 3-yard pass from Prescott

STATS

Passing

Dak Prescott: 22-33, 229 yards, 1 TD

Nick Fitzgerald: 21-39, 263 yards, 2 TD

Rushing

Dontavian Lee: 15 carries, 90 yards, 2 TD

Aeris Williams: 21 carries, 61 yards

Ashton Shumpert: 14 carries, 35 yards

Dak Prescott: 6 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Malik Dear: 6 catches, 78 yards

Fred Ross: 6 catches, 71 yards

Fred Brown: 4 catches, 45 yards

Aeris Williams: 4 catches, 46 yards, 1 TD

Gus Walley: 2 catches, 37 yards

Tackles

Kivon Coman: 7

Chris Rayford: 7

Kelan Chairs: 7

J.T. Gray: 7

Zach Jackson: 6

Richie Brown: 6

Johnthan Calvin: 6 tackles, 3 sacks

Beniquez Brown: 6

Josiah Phillips: 6

Chris Jones: 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack

Nick James: 2 tackles for loss

Zach Jackson: 6

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.