Moorhead sizes up Bulldogs for a ring
Ninth in a series previewing the 2018 SEC football season
ATLANTA — After Joe Moorhead was hired as Mississippi State’s head coach in late November — but before the official announcement — he sent a text message to Bulldogs starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.
“He said, ‘Hey, this is Joe Moorhead. I’m going to be your new head coach,’ ” Fitzgerald recalled at
SEC football media days last week.
“‘For starters, I want you to clear off a spot on your mantle for the Heisman Trophy, and
I want you to learn what your ring size is right now, because you’re going to need it.’ ” Heisman Trophy? Two Mississippi State players have finished in the top 10 voting for the Heisman. Dak Prescott was eighth in 2014 and Tom “Shorty” Williams 10th in 1941. Championship ring? Mississippi State won its only SEC championship in 1941. The Bulldogs did share the West title with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 1998 but lost to Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.
But Fitzgerald found nothing false about the boldness of Moorhead’s statements.
“What he said wasn’t fake,” said Fitzgerald, a senior going into his third season as the starter after replacing Prescott. “It was true confidence that he has in himself as a coach and the staff he brought in.
“I didn’t exactly know how to take it at first, but once I met him and have been around him, I could see it was real. He’s kept that same energy going for the past seven months.”
So Fitzgerald can picture himself being in New York to accept the Heisman Trophy?
“I’m not saying that’s where I’ll be,” Fitzgerald said. “But I like the fact that [Moorhead] has that kind of confidence in me.”
Moorhead also told defensive linemen Gerri Green and Jeffery Simmons, and tight end Farrod Green to learn their ring sizes when they met him at the airport after he first arrived in Starkville, Miss.
“We looked each other and laughed, then looked down at our hands,” Gerri Green said. “I was looking at my ring finger, going, ‘Ah, I really don’t know my size. But I’ll find out.’
“That confidence Coach Moorhead has is great, and I think it’s going to be contagious for our entire team.”
As Penn State’s offensive coordinator the previous two seasons, Moorhead helped the Nittany Lions go 11-3 and 11-2 and rank No. 5 and No. 9 in the final College Football Playoff polls.
Fordham made three consecutive
Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances from 2013-2015 with Moorhead as head coach.
Moorhead said he is confident Mississippi State can make the playoffs, too.
“Hopefully, when things go well we’ll be back here in Atlanta the first weekend in December competing for the conference championship, and certainly the opportunity to head into the College Football Playoff,” Moorhead said. “Our goal is to be the best Power 5 team in the state, to be the best team in the SEC, and ultimately compete to be the best team in the country.”
As a junior, Fitzgerald completed 159 of 286 passes (55.6 percent) for 1,782 yards and 15 touchdowns, and he rushed 162 times for 984 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Moorhead said Fitzgerald reminds him of Nittany Lions senior quarterback Trace McSorley.
“I think there’s a lot of
similarities from an intangible standpoint,” Moorhead said. “Both guys are very intelligent. They understand the game very well. They’re incredibly competitive.
“Both are guys that can make all of the throws. Both guys can help win with their legs in the run game.”
Fitzgerald praised Dan Mullen — who left Mississippi State after nine seasons to become Florida’s coach — for helping him develop as a quarterback, but he’s excited to play for Moorhead.
Last season, Penn State ranked sixth nationally in scoring offense (41.6 points per game), 19th in total offense (460.3 yards) and 23rd in passing yards (290.2).
“You’re going to see a lot more deep shots down the field this year,” Fitzgerald said. “His scheme is going to help me. His play-calling, the concepts that he has, the way we read them.
“It just seems more natural to me. It’s a little easier for me to make those reads.”
Fitzgerald said he likely won’t have as many rushing attempts, especially of the power variety up the middle.
“Having 25 to 30 carries a game every single week really takes a toll on your body,” he said. “There were some Sunday mornings when I woke up and I couldn’t move.
“I did what I had to do to make sure that we had the best opportunity to win the game, but I think this year you’ll see a lot less designed quarterback power plays up the middle. There will definitely be designed quarterback runs, but I think you won’t see me pounding my head against a wall as much.”
Fitzgerald was running with the ball when he suffered a disclosed right ankle on the second series against Ole Miss last season.
With Fitzgerald out of the game, the Rebels pulled a 3128 upset, though the Bulldogs came back to beat Louisville 31-27 in the Taxslayer Bowl with backup quarterback Keytaon Thompson filling in as a starter.
Fitzgerald practiced in the spring on a limited basis. Moorhead was careful not to expose him to any contact.
“Toward the end of May, I really felt like I was 100 percent,” Fitzgerald said. “Honestly, if the spring game had been a real game, I could have gone out there and played.”
The Bulldogs return 17 starters from a 9-4 team. They have played in a bowl game each of the previous eight seasons.
“Part of our task as a staff is to elevate the program — which has a very solid foundation — from good to great,” Moorhead said. “We’re embracing the expectation level.
“We feel no one rises to low expectations. So we talk about a championship standard.”