We Need Another Quarterback
Mississippi State has taken a QB in every recruiting class since 2009, but we are almost out of them. At the most important position on the field, State is down to just two.
In 2011, MSU had Chris Relf (Sr), Tyler Russell (So), Dylan Favre (RFr) and Dak Prescott (TFr). But with Relf graduating and Favre leaving for community college, it left the Bulldogs with only two. So Mullen scrambled and signed Nick Schuessler for the 2012 class.
Jamil Golden walked-on in the summer to make it four QBs, but Schuessler left the team to walk-on at Clemson, bringing it back down to three. Around that same time Cord Sandberg committed to the 2013 class, but ever since his baseball stock has been rising.
Last week it was announced that Jamil Golden would be leaving the team for community college, apparently grades are the issue. That puts State in the same position they were in last year – just two QBs on the roster. Except this is a little more urgent because one of them is a senior.
Cord Sandberg is still committed to MSU, but I’d put the chances he ever runs out of the Scott Field tunnel at about 10%. He is a great baseball player, and if he does get drafted in the 1st or 2nd round, it will be hard to pass up that signing bonus.
I’m sure Sandberg will sign in February, but it’s always smart to ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’. To do this, State has got to sign another QB.
Two prime candidates: Josh Dobbs and John O’Korn.
Dobbs is from Alpharetta, GA and is committed to Arizona State. He had an unofficial visit the weekend of the Auburn game, but hasn’t said he’ll take an official one to Starkville yet. It appears as though Dan Mullen himself will be visiting the young man this week to get a grasp on whether or not he will visit, or the Bulldogs should move on.
O’Korn is from Ft. Louderdale, FL and is committed to Houston. I don’t think he has ever been on State’s campus, but I think he has interest (S-E-C). No scheduled visits to Starkville yet, but we might see him take one if Mullen moves on from Dobbs this week.
Other than those two, I’m not too sure. But the pressure is on to get another QB, and a decent one at that. Looking ahead to 2014, you don’t want to have a mediocre redshirt freshman backing up Dak Prescott. If he were to get hurt the whole season could go down the drain. But, who knows, maybe Sandberg will come anyway. Even if he does come I’m not sure he’d stay past 3 years (before getting drafted in MLB again), but at least it would buy us some time.
Assuming Sandberg does go pro in baseball and MSU lands either Dobbs or O’Korn, you’d still have to think Mullen would go after a Juco QB next fall to provide some depth, because we know this next year is Russell’s last.