Its time for Mississippi State to shake things up at the Quarterback position.
Ever since spring football began in March, Bulldog fans have all had a close eye on MSU’s quarterback battle. What started as a four man competition between Damien Williams, Nick Fitzgerald, Elijah Staley, and Nick Tiano became a three dog fight when Staley opted to transfer in early August.
Then came the debacle that was the season opener against South Alabama. It was supposed to be a open try-out against a weaker opponent. But it quickly became the Damien Williams show and ended as the worst loss of the Dan Mullen era.
Entering the second game against South Carolina, Mullen announced Nick Fitzgerald would start and play the whole game. The decision paid off immediately as Fitzgerald led the Bulldogs to a victory and rushed for more yards than any quarterback in Bulldog history. It was officially Fitzgerald’s team and most of the fan base was pleased.
Just a few weeks later, with Fitzgerald entrenched as QB1, the Bulldogs are a runaway train flying of the tracks. MSU sits at 2-3 on the season and bowl eligibility seems to be almost impossible at this point. No true leader has stepped up at any position and the team’s body language suggests they don’t give a damn. That’s why I’m writing this post and officially calling for a changing of the guard in the form of quarterback Nick Tiano.
Before I catch any “Fitzgerald is the man” flak let me say this: Fitzgerald has not really done anything to lose the job per se. But he hasn’t done a lot to prove he deserves to keep it either. He is completing under 60 percent of his passes, 74-129, but State’s receivers have dropped about 1,000 balls this year.
More from Mississippi State Football
- Meeting the Opponent: Week 4 – South Carolina Gamecocks
- Mississippi State football vs LSU: The good, bad, and ugly
- The Wednesday Wrap: Maybe Mississippi State Football Coach Zach Arnett shouldn’t do it his way
- Mississippi State football history vs. South Carolina: Records, streaks, and more
- Mississippi State football bowl projections after Bulldogs crushed by LSU
Fitzgerald’s TD-INT ration is good at 7-1 and his 380 rushing yards are pretty good. But he’s failing to make the correct pre-snap and post-snap reads to be successful, and accuracy has been an issue. The main problem, however, is that he hasn’t stepped up as a leader. This team needs a play-making quarterback who everyone rallies around. Someone who commands the huddle and the other players step up for. That person definitely isn’t Damien Williams and it doesn’t seem to be Nick Fitzgerald.
That’s why I’m calling for Nick Tiano to be the starter. Tiano hasn’t been the unknown factor in the quarterback competition the whole time. He’s a redshirt freshman with all the physical tools you can imagine. He’s big at 6-4 230, and he can run.
What we don’t know about Tiano are the intangibles. Can he command the huddle and elevate the play of the entire offense? We don’t know for sure but why not find out. After an embarrassing loss to Auburn the season is going down in flames so why not evaluate all our assets?
Mullen is not saving this season on the arm of Nick Fitzgerald so Tiano needs to get a shot. And not some garbage time play but actual starts and a vote of confidence from Mullen. He needs to be given the controls to this team without having to look over his shoulder. Maybe the 2016 season is a lost cause but perhaps something can be salvaged if Dan evaluates all the options for 2017 by giving Nick Tiano a chance to see what he can do.