QB finds strength in mental acuity
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Andrew Breiner watched it unfold Monday evening. He held his breath. Nick Fitzgerald didn’t.
The senior quarterback faced a heavy pass rush during Mississippi State’s third practice of the preseason. Breiner, MSU’s quarterbacks coach, expected Fitzgerald to eat it. With QB’s being “off limits” and there being no harm in losing yards in training camp, everybody expected Fitzgerald to give himself up and take a sack. He didn’t.
Fitzgerald stepped up in a crowded pocket and pushed to his right. The rush now behind him, he looked to the sideline and saw green grass. He took off unharmed. Breiner sighed in reassurance. He thinks Fitzgerald did too.
“I even saw on his face a sense of relief like, ‘Hey, I’m good,’” Breiner said.
In fact, Fitzgerald says he’s great. Except for the extra tape wrapped around his right ankle, there have been no signs during training camp to suggest Fitzgerald suffered one of the worst injuries ever seen in college football eight months ago. Everyone wants to know how Fitzgerald will fare in a game situation for the first time since being carted off the field in the Egg Bowl. They ask about his ankle and if he won’t truly feel like he’s ‘back’ until he gets hit for the first time vs. Stephen F. Austin Sept. 1.
“I’m back before that happens,” Fitzgerald said.
He knew time would dictate the physical flow of his comeback, and judging by his play during camp, time spent resting and recovering prevailed. Fitzgerald decided to attack the mental side of his comeback more fervently. He has been tasked with learning an entirely new offense with head coach Joe Moorhead’s arrival. He wanted to absorb as much as he could as quickly as he could.
Fitzgerald said as the offense installs a new segment of the playbook every day during fall camp, some of his teammates’ heads might start to spin. That’s why the senior leader took it upon himself to have it all figured out before they suited up.
He labeled Breiner as “extremely smart” regarding how he dissects the different “puzzle pieces” on the field. Breiner knows where certain defensive players will shift in different schemes and subsequently knows where his quarterbacks should go with the ball. It’s rubbing off on Fitzgerald.
“With receivers, he’s talking about different routes and different looks, making sure they know what he sees from his point of view,” Breiner said. “He’s letting them know when to make adjustments and when the ball is coming to them so they can be aware of it.”
As for the physical components, Fitzgerald clearly isn’t hesitant. Moorhead said he wanted to put his quarterback in team drills during spring ball because he looked confident and strong. But the first-year head coach ultimately restrained himself.
“Didn’t want to get too far out in front of the skis,” Moorhead said.
Fitzgerald is plenty comfortable on his skis now. Much of that results from a combination of patient rehabbing and ardent studying with Breiner. The biggest transformation for Fitzgerald, though, won’t materialize until September. Fitzgerald is aware of the changes. And instead of easing into them or even shying away from them, he’s taking them head-on, just like he did with the pass rush he faced during Monday’s practice.