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Mullen to face latest quarterback protégé
Mississippi State’s Fitzgerald might be one of best coach developed
GAINESVILLE – Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald might be UF coach Dan Mullen’s greatest quarterback creation.
Mullen’s reputation as a quarterback guru was put to the test when he signed the lightly recruited Fitzgerald as the heir apparent to Dak Prescott.
Five years later, Fitzgerald is breaking records, including those of Prescott and Tim Tebow, another Mullen protégé.
When Mullen’s Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) visits his former Bulldogs (3-1, 0-1) Saturday, slowing down Fitzgerald will be critical. It will not be easy.
“He brings so many different things to the table,” Mullen said. “You have a big guy that can throw the ball over the field, but can run by you and run over you just as easily. It’s a huge challenge when you have a guy that has all of that in one package.”
Fitzgerald arrived to Starkville in January 2014 as a two-star recruit who played the triple option at Richmond Hill (Ga.) High School.
Working with Mullen and learning under Prescott, Fitzgerald slowly evolved into a dependable dual-threat quarterback and later into a dangerous one.
Fitzgerald enters Saturday’s matchup as only the third player in SEC history with at least 35 passing and rushing touchdowns. The others? Tebow and Prescott, of course.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Fitzgerald, though, soon could be in a league of his own as a running QB. His 16 100-yard rushing games, including two this season for the No. 23 Bulldogs are the most in SEC history.
With 2,772 rushing yards, Fitzgerald is 176 yards shy of Tebow’s record for a quarterback (2,947).
“One of the things is he’s big, he’s physical and he’s extremely fast,” Mullen marveled. “I think that’s the deceptive part of it is all the sudden you think I’ve got an angle on him, and you don’t. He’s running away from everybody.
“And then he has the physicality to run between the tackles and the speed to run on the outside.”
The Gators’ one brush this season with a mobile quarterback did not go well.
During Kentucky’s 27-16 upset win Sept. 8 in the Swamp, sophomore Terry Wilson ran for 105 yards on 10 carries and threw touchdowns of 29 and 54 yards.
Wilson also benefits from the presence of tailback Benny Snell, who ran for 175 yards against UF and leads the SEC in rushing.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State senior Aeris Williams has failed to build on a 1,000-yard season in 2017, while Kylin Hill has been slowed by injury since rushing for 211 yards during a Week 2 win against Kansas State.
When forced to carry the load himself, Fitzgerald can be stopped and forced into obvious passing situations, where at times he struggles. Mullen developed Fitzgerald as a passer, but the 22-year-old can suffer bouts of inaccuracy and interceptions.
Fitzgerald completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 15 touchdowns and 11 picks in 2017, solid but unspectacular numbers. But he also ran for 986 yards and 14 scores.
A week after Fitzgerald was just 16-of-32 passing and had an interception during a 28-7 loss to Kentucky, the Gators also will look to force him to throw like the Wildcats did. Following consecutive 100-yard games, Fitzgerald managed just 20 yards on 16 carries — he was sacked three times for 23 yards.
While the formula to slow Fitzgerald obvious, executing it will be the hard part.
UF defensive coordinator Todd Grantham knows what the Gators are up against after seeing it each day in practice last season in Starkville.
“Nick’s an NFL quarterback,” Grantham said. “He’s got home run speed when he runs the ball, and you look at his arm strength, he’s got a really strong arm. And they got guys that can protect, so we understand we’ve got a challenge.”
But knowing an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses goes only so far, especially against a talent like Fitzgerald.
“I’m not playing,” Grantham added. “The guys got to play.”
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Edgar can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com