Mississippi State Football: Nick Fitzgerald taking advantage of Manning camp
After leading the conference in total offense last season, Nick Fitzgerald is using the Manning Passing Academy to learn more about what it takes to be a successful SEC quarterback.
In year one of the post-Dak era, Mississippi State opened the season with a quarterback battle between Nick Fitzgerald and Damian Williams. Damian Williams saw the majority of the snaps against South Alabama, while Fitz led the Bulldogs to victory against South Carolina the following week.
The battle continued in the third week of the season, as Fitz struggled in Death Valley, but Williams almost led State to a come-from-behind victory against the Tigers. Finally, Mullen settled with the younger and more athletic Fitzgerald for the rest of the season.
There were some ups and downs throughout the season, but Nick Fitzgerald showed the potential to excel in Mullen’s spread offense and become an elite SEC signal caller. He showed his ability off in games versus Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss.
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Fitzgerald looks to build on his solid redshirt-sophomore campaign. He has used the Manning Passing Academy as an opportunity to learn from the Manning family about what it takes to be an elite passer in the Southeastern Conference.
Julie Boudwin of the Times-Picayune wrote on Fitz’s experience at the Passing Academy:
"Fitzgerald said he’s using this weekend to gain as much knowledge from all the Mannings.“Definitely acting like a sponge,” he said, adding, “Anything and everything they say or do I just try to watch and listen and learn anything I possibly can from this. They’re incredible quarterbacks and an incredible family and they’re putting on a great camp so I’m enjoying it.”"
Going into his second year as the guy in Starkville, Fitzgerald is hoping to lead the Bulldogs to more victories this fall. He has the run game locked down, as he recorded the third-most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season in SEC history. To become truly elite, he needs to take his accuracy and decision-making to the next level.
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We are officially less than seven Saturdays away from football in Davis Wade Stadium!