re: Starting MSU QB

I just posted below a conversation with Dan Mullen. Here it is again.

“We had lost a lot of seniors and everybody was picking us to finish dead last in the SEC West,” Mullen said. “But what do we do? We win nine games (9-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC).”

Mullen faces a similar rebuilding program in 2016; this time, he’s going to have to do it without Prescott, one of only four players in FBS history to pass for 9,500 yards and rush for 2,000 yards. But Mullen strongly believes in the strength of the program he has built.

“There are two aspects to this,” said Mullen, who was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Florida before arriving in Starkville in 2009. “First of all, we’ve recruited well. And our staff does a really good job of developing the talent that we have. Second is the belief among our players. This guy may be gone and that guy may be gone, but inside of our building the expectations never changes. Our guys expect to win.

“There are guys in this program who have worked their tails off and have been waiting for this opportunity. There are a bunch of touchdown receptions, passing yards, rushing yards and sacks available for somebody who wants to claim them. They have a chance to seize a role, and I believe they are going to do it.”

The conversation, of course, begins at quarterback, where Nick Fitzgerald played in seven games last season and was 11-of-14 for 235 yards. Fitzgerald (6-5, 227), a sophomore, is an impressive physical specimen.

“He’s got a lot of natural talent,” Mullen said. “He was our most athletic quarterback. He was our best running quarterback. A lot of people look at me funny when I say that because of what Dak did. But Nick is bigger, more athletic.

“He’s also learned a lot by being able to watch Dak Prescott.”