Mississippi State Football and Its Biggest Questions for 2016

How will Mississippi Sate handle the quarterback position in 2016?

As important as everything else we have talked about up to this point is, nothing comes close to this. What will Dan Mullen do about the quarterback next season?

Many assume it has already been answered. Nick Fitzgerald will be the starter next year and it isn’t even close in most people’s minds. I’m not nearly as confident the Bulldogs are as settled at quarterback as many think we are.

The two backups for this season threw a combined total of 19 passes. Fitzgerald threw 14 in relief of Prescott, and Elijah Staley threw five. While both looked great, that isn’t enough to be highly confident the Bulldogs won’t miss a beat at the position in 2016.

Adding to this is Mullen won’t let one sit on the bench if he thinks they can contribute. He brought them both on to the team because he thinks they both can play. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see him play multiple quarterbacks.

Throw in the fact Damian Williams also is still on the team and things get even more complicated. Williams redshirted this season to save himself a season without Dak Prescott in front of him. Some have suggested Williams might transfer, but unless my understanding of transfer rules is off, since he used his red shirt year in 2015, he would lose a year of eligibility in 2016 if he transferred.

And don’t expect Dan Mullen to give any real indication on how the quarterback position is playing out until the first game of the season. Almost every coach who has a quarterback graduates plays the cards close to his vest when talking about the replacement in the offseason. Dan Mullen will do the same this year.

There are numerous things the Bulldogs will have to face in the coming offseason. It’s just eight more months until we start to find out the answers.