The quarterbacks at Mississippi’s three most prominent universities have all faced the challenge of replacing standouts – and look like they’re up to it.
Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald last season had the unenviable task of replacing the greatest Bulldog signal caller ever, Dak Prescott, now starring for the Dallas Cowboys. This year, Shea Patterson at Ole Miss follows Chad Kelly, an NFL-caliber talent who was second-team all SEC in 2016, while Southern Miss’s Kwadra Griggs comes after four-year starter Nick Mullens, who holds a host of Golden Eagle records.
How have they answered the bell?
First, in Starkville Fitzgerald has proven himself a worthy successor to Dak. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, he has the build plus the speed to be an elite SEC quarterback. And he showed that as a sophomore, throwing for 2,423 yards with 21 touchdowns versus only 10 interceptions while also running for a remarkable 1,375 yards and 16 scores.
He’s picked up right there as a junior, throwing for two scores and running for two more Saturday as the Bulldogs routed No. 12 LSU 37-7.
“There is nothing more fun than just going out there and kicking someone’s butt,” Fitzgerald said afterward.
No doubt.
For Patterson at Ole Miss, it’s going to be slower. The team is weakened following Hugh Freeze’s departure and the crippling NCAA investigation. The Rebels blew a 16-7 halftime lead at California Saturday night and fell 27-16 as Patterson threw three picks. But the sophomore from Shreveport, La., also showed glimpses of why he was the nation’s top quarterback recruit. He passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns, including two beautiful deep balls that hit receivers in stride and put Ole Miss up against a tough opponent on the road.
It’s going to be a difficult season for the Rebels. But Patterson’s talent provides needed hope for fans.
In Hattiesburg, Griggs has clearly proven himself the starter after a back-and-forth preseason with Keon Howard. The redshirt junior from Greenwood has completed 58 percent of passes for 681 yards and seven scores in three games. Perhaps most importantly, he’s only been intercepted once. He played gamely against Kentucky and has now led the Golden Eagles to wins over Southern University and Louisiana-Lafayette.
Of the three quarterbacks, I know the most personally about Griggs because I was a reporter in Greenwood when he was in high school. Griggs started for the varsity squad at quarterback as an eighth grader. That’s enough to create a big head on anyone, but a teacher there told me then that he was a good kid who could handle it.
So there you have it – the inside scoop on USM’s newest potential star from his middle school teacher.
