MSU Football Goes Through First Spring Practice
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State football returned to the familiar site of the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex with its first spring practice as the Bulldogs worked out in shorts and helmets Thursday afternoon.
MSU will practice in helmets and shorts Sunday before putting the pads on next week for two workouts prior to spring break.
“I love football,” ninth-year MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. “It’s so much fun to be out there doing ball. It’s been a great offseason pushing guys and conditioning but man I love football. When you get back out there, it’s a lot of fun.”
Mullen discussed the two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this spring in junior Nick Fitzgerald and true freshman Keytaon Thompson as well as the center position the Bulldogs must fill that could include Martinas Rankin, Harrison Moon and Elgton Jenkins.
“What you want isn’t to find the replacement,” Mullen said. “What you want is to find two or three guys that can get it done for us. You have to have at least three centers. We’re going to have some different guys in there rotating for us.”
Thompson took his first MSU snaps just months removed from leading his Landry-Walker High School team to a Louisiana Class 5A state championship in New Orleans and earning Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
“For a guy going through his first practice, I thought he did a heck of a job today,” Mullen said. “There was plenty for him to get rattled about, but he never looked confused.”
Below are quotes from Mullen’s media session:
Head Coach Dan Mullen
March 2, 2017
On how this spring will work…“You basically start at the end, work backwards and then see how it fits. We’ve split up on offense and defense once or twice before. Last time we only did two practices before Spring Break. This year we’re going up to four. I want to see how that works out. Hopefully we can keep guys a little bit fresher. If anyone gets banged up, there’s a little bit of recovery time in there. We’ll see how it goes.”
On whether the quarterbacks will play through contact this spring…“The defense won’t be getting near the quarterbacks this spring. Last year they got whacked around a little bit, but no one is touching them this year. But those guys will get their work in.”
On freshman QB Keytaon Thompson’s first spring practice…“For a guy going through his first practice, I thought he did a heck of a job today. There was plenty for him to get rattled about, but he never looked confused. It was happening fast for him, but there was never a look of confusion. I’ll be honest with you, for most freshman quarterbacks, there’s just a look a pure confusion on their face the whole time. He did a heck of a job today.”
On players who are limited this spring due to injuries…“I think Elgton [Jenkins] and Deion [Calhoun]. Michael [Story] was going today. Alec Murphy got hurt. I don’t know how that happened. He’s going to be out for a little while. I think that’s it.”
On the center position…“We have Martinas [Rankin] playing at center right now. Elgton [Jenkins] has gotten some work in there as well. Obviously, being out this spring, he won’t get as much work right now. We also had Harrison Moon in there too. We had some guys in there rotating. What you want isn’t to find the replacement. What you want is to find two or three guys that can get it done for us. You have to have at least three centers. We’re going to have some different guys in there rotating for us.”
On new quarterbacks coach Brett Elliott…“Brett was here for a few years. I like guys to coach quarterbacks a certain way. There’s only certain guys that I wouldn’t have to spend a ton of time with them. He knows what my expectations are. He knows how I coach the quarterbacks. I think that makes the transition very easy.”
On quarterback Nick Fitzgerald this spring…“Everything is different for Fitz this spring. He’s always competing for a job. Keytaon [Thompson] came and he wants to play. So he’s always going to be competing for the job. I think he has confidence from having played through a season and knowing what to expect. You have a different demeanor in the way that you prepare because you know what you’re preparing for. Last year, he was trying to compete and win the job, but he didn’t really know what he was competing for and preparing himself for. Now he’s been through it and he knows what he’s preparing for.”
On Brett Elliott’s growth as a coach…“When you’re quality control, you aren’t coaching. But yes, you can see it. Being a coordinator and a quarterbacks coach for the past two years, he’s always had the knowledge, but now he has the comfort. That’s one reason that I wanted him to leave was to go away and get that comfort of running your own room. Fortunately for him, he got the advantage of being a coordinator for two years and run the offense and run the meeting. You can see that in his coaching development.”
On seeing Todd Grantham’s defense for the first time…
“I don’t look at it that way because we were both installing. We’re 0-0 at the end of the spring. I don’t get too much into winners and losers because as far as coaching goes, we aren’t coaching to win or lose the spring. We’re coaching to develop this team.”
On what he wants to see from Nick Fitzgerald this spring…
“I want to see a guy that’s very confident with what’s going on the field. I want to see him improve his leadership and improve his decision making. I want to see him get through reads more quickly and taking the check down and not trying to force things. I want him to have a better overall understanding of the field. I want him to be able to look one way and already know what’s going on the other side of the field. He shouldn’t need to look to know what’s going on because I know what we’re doing on offense and what they’re doing on defense. So if I want to get to a third or fourth read, I already know what’s going on.”
On how bowl practices helped the momentum of the program…
“We have a young team. We don’t have a lot of seniors, but we have some experienced guys that have played a little bit. I think the guys that haven’t played a lot, the bowl certainly helped them transition from redshirting to being in the rotation this year.”
On the recent announcement of his new contract extension…
“That’s a nice deal. I’m grateful. As people know, I love being here at Mississippi State. We’ve built the program the right way from the ground up. I think having the athletic and university administration believe in that has helped us continue going in that same direction. We’re always striving to be better, striving to win championships. It’s great for me and I’m excited to be here for many years to come.”
On senior offensive lineman Martinas Rankin being a leader…
“Absolutely, he has a bigger role because he’s a senior. He’s the only senior on the offensive line. He has to step up. He didn’t have to be a leader last year. Now he is the veteran guy so he has to step up and be leaders of that group.”
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State football returned to the familiar site of the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex with its first spring practice as the Bulldogs worked out in shorts and helmets Thursday afternoon.
MSU will practice in helmets and shorts Sunday before putting the pads on next week for two workouts prior to spring break.
“I love football,” ninth-year MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. “It’s so much fun to be out there doing ball. It’s been a great offseason pushing guys and conditioning but man I love football. When you get back out there, it’s a lot of fun.”
Mullen discussed the two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this spring in junior Nick Fitzgerald and true freshman Keytaon Thompson as well as the center position the Bulldogs must fill that could include Martinas Rankin, Harrison Moon and Elgton Jenkins.
“What you want isn’t to find the replacement,” Mullen said. “What you want is to find two or three guys that can get it done for us. You have to have at least three centers. We’re going to have some different guys in there rotating for us.”
Thompson took his first MSU snaps just months removed from leading his Landry-Walker High School team to a Louisiana Class 5A state championship in New Orleans and earning Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
“For a guy going through his first practice, I thought he did a heck of a job today,” Mullen said. “There was plenty for him to get rattled about, but he never looked confused.”
Below are quotes from Mullen’s media session:
Head Coach Dan Mullen
March 2, 2017
On how this spring will work…“You basically start at the end, work backwards and then see how it fits. We’ve split up on offense and defense once or twice before. Last time we only did two practices before Spring Break. This year we’re going up to four. I want to see how that works out. Hopefully we can keep guys a little bit fresher. If anyone gets banged up, there’s a little bit of recovery time in there. We’ll see how it goes.”
On whether the quarterbacks will play through contact this spring…“The defense won’t be getting near the quarterbacks this spring. Last year they got whacked around a little bit, but no one is touching them this year. But those guys will get their work in.”
On freshman QB Keytaon Thompson’s first spring practice…“For a guy going through his first practice, I thought he did a heck of a job today. There was plenty for him to get rattled about, but he never looked confused. It was happening fast for him, but there was never a look of confusion. I’ll be honest with you, for most freshman quarterbacks, there’s just a look a pure confusion on their face the whole time. He did a heck of a job today.”
On players who are limited this spring due to injuries…“I think Elgton [Jenkins] and Deion [Calhoun]. Michael [Story] was going today. Alec Murphy got hurt. I don’t know how that happened. He’s going to be out for a little while. I think that’s it.”
On the center position…“We have Martinas [Rankin] playing at center right now. Elgton [Jenkins] has gotten some work in there as well. Obviously, being out this spring, he won’t get as much work right now. We also had Harrison Moon in there too. We had some guys in there rotating. What you want isn’t to find the replacement. What you want is to find two or three guys that can get it done for us. You have to have at least three centers. We’re going to have some different guys in there rotating for us.”
On new quarterbacks coach Brett Elliott…“Brett was here for a few years. I like guys to coach quarterbacks a certain way. There’s only certain guys that I wouldn’t have to spend a ton of time with them. He knows what my expectations are. He knows how I coach the quarterbacks. I think that makes the transition very easy.”
On quarterback Nick Fitzgerald this spring…“Everything is different for Fitz this spring. He’s always competing for a job. Keytaon [Thompson] came and he wants to play. So he’s always going to be competing for the job. I think he has confidence from having played through a season and knowing what to expect. You have a different demeanor in the way that you prepare because you know what you’re preparing for. Last year, he was trying to compete and win the job, but he didn’t really know what he was competing for and preparing himself for. Now he’s been through it and he knows what he’s preparing for.”
On Brett Elliott’s growth as a coach…“When you’re quality control, you aren’t coaching. But yes, you can see it. Being a coordinator and a quarterbacks coach for the past two years, he’s always had the knowledge, but now he has the comfort. That’s one reason that I wanted him to leave was to go away and get that comfort of running your own room. Fortunately for him, he got the advantage of being a coordinator for two years and run the offense and run the meeting. You can see that in his coaching development.”
On seeing Todd Grantham’s defense for the first time…
“I don’t look at it that way because we were both installing. We’re 0-0 at the end of the spring. I don’t get too much into winners and losers because as far as coaching goes, we aren’t coaching to win or lose the spring. We’re coaching to develop this team.”
On what he wants to see from Nick Fitzgerald this spring…
“I want to see a guy that’s very confident with what’s going on the field. I want to see him improve his leadership and improve his decision making. I want to see him get through reads more quickly and taking the check down and not trying to force things. I want him to have a better overall understanding of the field. I want him to be able to look one way and already know what’s going on the other side of the field. He shouldn’t need to look to know what’s going on because I know what we’re doing on offense and what they’re doing on defense. So if I want to get to a third or fourth read, I already know what’s going on.”
On how bowl practices helped the momentum of the program…
“We have a young team. We don’t have a lot of seniors, but we have some experienced guys that have played a little bit. I think the guys that haven’t played a lot, the bowl certainly helped them transition from redshirting to being in the rotation this year.”
On the recent announcement of his new contract extension…
“That’s a nice deal. I’m grateful. As people know, I love being here at Mississippi State. We’ve built the program the right way from the ground up. I think having the athletic and university administration believe in that has helped us continue going in that same direction. We’re always striving to be better, striving to win championships. It’s great for me and I’m excited to be here for many years to come.”
On senior offensive lineman Martinas Rankin being a leader…
“Absolutely, he has a bigger role because he’s a senior. He’s the only senior on the offensive line. He has to step up. He didn’t have to be a leader last year. Now he is the veteran guy so he has to step up and be leaders of that group.”
