It takes work
MSU’s Mullen says quarterbacks must use own time wisely to become successful
Nick Fitzgerald, Dak Prescott, Tim Tebow and others just didn’t arrive at coach Dan Mullen’s front door one day and become great quarterbacks.
Even though Mullen knew the talent was there in those signal callers and that’s why he recruited them, the development into solid players in the Southeastern Conference didn’t come easy.
Mullen said it takes hard work to be successful in the SEC and much of it comes when the coaches aren’t watching.
“They have to put in time on their own if they want to get themselves to be a highperforming player in the Southeastern Conference,” Mullen said on Monday’s SEC Spring Football Coaches Teleconference. “If you are going to play quarterback, you’ve got to put in the extra time with technique, film study and understanding every part of the game. There is a lot going on for guys as they grow and as they develop, you’ll start to see the strides that they make.”
Mullen said it can be difficult at times to see some of the most important factors that make a good quarterback on film.
When it comes to processing information and seeing leadership capability, it can only be found through spending with a player.
For Mullen, there is more to a quarterback than how fast they can run or how far they can throw a football.
“There are so many of the little things you look for in the traits of a quarterback,” Mullen said. “That’s what’s hard to evaluate.
“What you’ve got to do is hope you get to know them and their personality and do as much research as you can on them so you know what you are getting as far as a complete package at quarterback. You can see how far he can throw or how accurate he might be, but there is more to playing the position than how you throw the football.”
One of the most important times of the year for Fitzgerald is what’s happening right now and into the summer.
Fitzgerald has to pick up a football on his own, remember what he’s been taught in practice and brush up on those things before fall camp begins.
Offensive coaches can’t be around to help Fitzgerald in that process.
“This is a huge summer for Nick Fitzgerald,” Mullen said. “I thought he had a much improved spring this year and it was his best performance in spring, but he has to take a huge step forward before we get into training camp and he’s got to do that on his own. We can’t be out there working with him on the field.
“It’s the commitment the guys are going to put in on their own so they can continue to improve when the coaches can’t work with them.”
Mullen said some of the things Fitzgerald should be working on is timing, balance, re-
lease points, release angles and off-balance throws.
The reps that Fitzgerald gets in the summer will help bridge the gap between April and August.
To develop into the type of quarterback that can succeed in the SEC, Mullen said they need to get 10,000 reps and that can’t be accomplished in the practice time allotted.
It’s the same for Fitzgerald as it would be for a professional golfer, tennis player or basketball player to stay sharp in Mullen’s mind.
“You can’t expect a golfer on the PGA Tour, who hasn’t picked up a golf club in three months, or a tennis player who hasn’t picked up a racket, or a basketball player, who hasn’t dribbled a basketball in three months, to go out and perform at a high level,” Mullen said. “It’s continuing to work on his balance, his footwork and things he’s worked on to improve from one year to the next, so you have to go do that on your own and that’s just technical.
“Off the field, it’s the mental development of how fast you can process information. It’s studying, recognizing and understand coverages and reads within in the offense. The faster you understand those things, the better you are going to be. It’s a never ending cycle and you are always working.”