Keytaon Thompson

[CadaverDawg]

I see a lot of people thinking KT will redshirt. I'm going to be severely disappointed if that happens. We need him taking snaps and throwing passes in the second half Saturday.

Things to consider:

Do you really want Rip Kirk coming in vs LSU with the game on the line in a tough spot if Fitz helmet pops off or he gets injured?

If Fitz has a big year & goes pro, do you want our starter to have no experience under his belt next year, but his walkon backup to have that experience instead?

We have a big time QB committed to us. Do you want him to open his options back up since he will now enter MSU with the same classification as KT if he redshirts? Do you also realize that this will also make our big 2019 QB commitment consider his options too?


I think Dan is just telling the media that he is considering a redshirt, but I will be completely shocked if KT isn't on the field for the 4th Quarter Saturday, and clearly is the backup all season. To me it's a no brainer.

[mcain31]

With Dan's QB development reputation, that might not matter. We've got some good future QB prospects lined up

[CadaverDawg]

With Dan's QB development reputation, that might not matter. We've got some good future QB prospects lined up

Possibly, it's just hard to find elite talent that is satisfied with getting 1-2 years max of playing in college. See Tiano & Staley...and those 2 were not even close to the level of Mayden & probably Jones in 19

[smootness]

Do you really want Rip Kirk coming in vs LSU with the game on the line in a tough spot if Fitz helmet pops off or he gets injured? That wouldn't happen regardless. Even if we hope to redshirt Thompson, we will definitely pull it if Fitz goes down. And if he comes out for one play, what does it really matter?

If Fitz has a big year & goes pro, do you want our starter to have no experience under his belt next year, but his walkon backup to have that experience instead? This is a legitimate point,
and it is also a legitimate point in reference to your question above. The question is what is better, a potential extra year of Thompson, or more experience for next year?

We have a big time QB committed to us. Do you want him to open his options back up since he will now enter MSU with the same classification as KT if he redshirts? Do you also realize that this will also make our big 2019 QB commitment consider his options too? Another good point.

I think Dan is just telling the media that he is considering a redshirt, but I will be completely shocked if KT isn't on the field for the 4th Quarter Saturday, and clearly is the backup all season. To me it's a no brainer.

I would probably lean toward playing him, especially because we have Mayden and Jones now lined up behind him, but also because if he is as good as we hope he is, he's not going to be around for 5 years anyway.

[BrunswickDawg]

I don't disagree with your points at all. I actually think we will see Key a good bit this year and he won't redshirt. But, I think having one of either Rip or Logan with some game experience would be more beneficial then Key getting some in this particular game. Where better than a blow out against an FCS school to let a walk-on back up get reps? Getting Key some reps against La Tech - a school much closer to SEC speed than Chas. Sou. - would be much more beneficial.

[kojak]

I see a lot of people thinking KT will redshirt. I'm going to be severely disappointed if that happens. We need him taking snaps and throwing passes in the second half Saturday.

Things to consider:

Do you really want Rip Kirk coming in vs LSU with the game on the line in a tough spot if Fitz helmet pops off or he gets injured?

If Fitz has a big year & goes pro, do you want our starter to have no experience under his belt next year, but his walkon backup to have that experience instead?

We have a big time QB committed to us. Do you want him to open his options back up since he will now enter MSU with the same classification as KT if he redshirts? Do you also realize that this will also make our big 2019 QB commitment consider his options too?


I think Dan is just telling the media that he is considering a redshirt, but I will be completely shocked if KT isn't on the field for the 4th Quarter Saturday, and clearly is the backup all season. To me it's a no brainer.

may be showing my ignorance here. this is one of the many things I would have known 20 years ago that I have no clue about now.

[MStateME13]

Did this proposed rule go through?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/new-redshirt-proposal-would-allow-athletes-to-play-four-games-regardless-of-injury/

It would allow redshirts to play in up to 4 games and still maintain redshirt status. I don't think KT redshirts either way, but with this rule, he could potentially get some experience and still be redshirted.

[jumbo]

we are setup at QB for at least the next 5 years. really no need to RS KT

[Jack Lambert]

I say load up on QB's, red shirt, if we need one to play play him. If one leaves that's a good sign that we still have a better one on campus but Me personally only play him if Fitz is hurt and play the walk on if Fitz needs to come out for a play or we are way ahead.

[Dawg Tired]

Sounds like Rip Kirk is scheduled to RS according to Brett Elliott. That leads me to believe KT plays early. I too think it's a no brainer.

[Perpetual Underachiever]

Did this proposed rule go through?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/new-redshirt-proposal-would-allow-athletes-to-play-four-games-regardless-of-injury/

It would allow redshirts to play in up to 4 games and still maintain redshirt status. I don't think KT redshirts either way, but with this rule, he could potentially get some experience and still be redshirted.

No. This rule is not in effect this season. Dan specifically addressed the issue. Personally, I'd like to see KT early and often, but Dan seems hell bent on trying to save his RS. Guess we'll see in a few days.

[bostondawg]

I'm starting to come around to this argument. However, I want the years on the back end of KT's career, not the front end. Fact of the matter is that not every big name QB we recruit we get will see the field. That's just life at any other SEC school. There's no reason to say that we gotta process these guys to keep reloading. I think Dan really enjoyed getting 5 years out of Dak. It won't always happen due to injury, competition, or kids leaving early, but Dan would absolutely 100% love to get 5 years out of Fitz or KT. I don't think he feels any pressure at all to process them because of Mayden or Jones.

[bostondawg]

I'm starting to come around to this argument. However, I want the years on the back end of KT's career, not the front end. Fact of the matter is that not every big name QB we recruit we get will see the field. That's just life at any other SEC school. There's no reason to say that we gotta process these guys to keep reloading. I think Dan really enjoyed getting 5 years out of Dak. It won't always happen due to injury, competition, or kids leaving early, but Dan would absolutely 100% love to get 5 years out of Fitz or KT. I don't think he feels any pressure at all to process them because of Mayden or Jones.

ETA: If Fitz gets injured, KT absolutely gets his redshirt pulled, and should. Simply stating that if we get a 4/5* QB every year in recruiting, some of them are simply not going to play. It's just life. We can go KT-Mayden-Jones in recruiting years, but I promise you that in college we won't have 3 years with those 3 starters in order.

editing again: I'm obviously very bad at forums. Haha.

[DeviousDawg]

I believe that QB's taking garbage snaps to "gain experience" is not nearly important as most fans believe. If you are taking garbage snaps late in the second half, it's against a shitty team, with a less than half full stadium, in a game that is already considered over according to your coach. Experience is only gained through meaningful snaps. The 2nd string QB is not put into the game during blowouts to gain experience. He is put into the game so that the starting QB is not injured when the game is already won. It's to protect your QB1. KT will not be any better or worse in 2018 because he handed the ball of for a quarter against a D2 team the year before.

1. If Fitz helmet comes off, he only has to come out for one play, or we can call a timeout and Fitz won't have to sit for a play. Either way, this is no big deal. If the next play is one where we cannot afford to have Fitz on the sideline, call a timeout. If it's a 2nd and 3, put Kirk in to hand the ball off to Aeris for a play.

2. If Fitz has a big year and goes pro, then that means that he was healthy the entire season. If he was healthy the entire season, then that means that KT wasn't needed for any meaningful snaps. Would you rather have KT as a 5th year senior, or have him burn that 5th year for some garbage time as a true freshman? Another thing to consider. If you put KT in for garbage snaps to close out a game and he gets hurt, then you are stuck with only 1 QB in Fitz. I wouldn't risk getting my only back up hurt in a game that was already over.

3. There is no way KT redshirting will effect QB commits from the 2018 or 2019 classes. I expect that both Mayden and the Jones will both redshirt if they can just the same as KT this year. If they don't redshirt, then that means KT was injured forcing one of them to start. If anything, Mayden and Jones will realize that even if KT redshirts, they will be one of 3 QB's on the 2019 roster, with each being an injury away from starting. If Mayden reopened his recruitment knowing that there is a chance he will be one of only 2 scholarship QB's next year if Fitz goes pro, then he is scared of competition and won't end up at any P5 school. Most schools have 3 or 4 guys ahead of incoming freshmen. Our roster is very favorable for 2018 and 2019 QB's regardless of Fitz going pro early or KT redshirting.

4. I think Mullen will do everything he can to redshirt KT. Garbage time experience is a myth, and you can't risk injuring your only back up in garbage time. If you have 3-4 scholarship QB's, there is no problem in playing one of them in garbage time, but if you only have 2 scholarship guys, you can't risk getting either hurt in garbage time.

Unless Fitz goes down with a serious injury, I would be shocked to see KT on the field. This is a good thing. Redshirting is never a bad thing.

[jumbo]

we are setup at QB for at least the next 5 years. really no need to RS KT

[JDog13]

I want to see KT redshirt unless he gets starts. I'd rather suffer this year, and have KT ready to rock next year, with full eligibility.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I expect Key to play

[msstate7]

If there's one area of our program that I don't question Mullen on it's the development of our QBs. Whatever he chooses to do with KT, I'm fine with. I'll melt over something else

[mstatefan91]

I think KT plays. No way we keep Nick in for the entire game against Charleston Southern. Who do you throw in if you don't use KT? A walk-on? Doubtful.


If KT doesn't play Saturday then the likelihood that he Redshirts goes way up in my mind. Charleston Southern is a good game to get his feet wet.

[HSVDawg]

I think no matter what view you have, the consensus is that Key needs to play.

If you think his first collegiate snap doesn't need to be in the 4th quarter against LSU in a big spot, then you need to get him early snaps against Charleston Southern.

If you think protecting QB1 is the paramount (as DD34 stated), you absolutely need to play him in every snap where the game is beyond reach. Again, any injury to Fitz that knocks him out for significant time is going to have Key running the Tyler Russell offense for whatever the duration is. That would put our entire offense at about probably 30% capacity, at best. Minimizing risk of injury to Fitz is very important considering that we only have 2 QB's and only one that is SEC proven.

Then you have Shotgun's points about the effect on other recruits and Fitz potentially leaving early.

There really is no compelling reason to keep the RS on him.

[Johnson85]

we are setup at QB for at least the next 5 years. really no need to RS KT

This is just crazy. Dak was a good QB coming out of high school, and we really only got two good years out of him when he was on campus five years. Fitzgerald was raw coming out of high school, but we're only going to get two good years out of him after him staying on campus five years.

Yes, Fitzgerald put up some good numbers his RS Sophomore year and Dak did too (accounting for time he was out on injury), but neither were going to lead us to a big year as a RS sophomore.

I'd much rather have a RS Jr. and RS Sr. year out of each of our QBs. It certainly won't always work out that way, but no way I'm voluntarily cutting off the possibility if we're not forced into it.

That said, I think we'll end up playing Key, but it's a bad thing. If we still had Tiano, I would expect we'd redshirt Key.

[thedawginme]

Play him as you would any second stringer. Main reason is to reduce the chance Fitz gets hurt this year when we're winning but not blowing someone out.

[HSVDawg]

This is just crazy. Dak was a good QB coming out of high school, and we really only got two good years out of him when he was on campus five years. Fitzgerald was raw coming out of high school, but we're only going to get two good years out of him after him staying on campus five years.

Yes, Fitzgerald put up some good numbers his RS Sophomore year and Dak did too (accounting for time he was out on injury), but neither were going to lead us to a big year as a RS sophomore.

We got 3 good years out of Dak. He wasn't the reason we struggled in 2013, nor was Fitz the reason last year. Horrible defensive play calling down the stretch at Auburn + horrible defense against A&M and LSU + Dak having to deal with his Mom's imminent passing against USC were all things that kept us from winning 8 or 9 games in 2013. As for Fitz and 2016, he had the most yards from scrimmage of any SEC QB and the 2nd most rushing yards for an SEC QB ever. Again, not his fault we had Sirmon and a shit OL for the first half of the year. You can't penalize either one for not "leading us to a big year" when both did their part.

[Hot Rock]

Im on the wagon of whatever Dan decides is fine with me on this one.

He wants to redshirt him for a reason, that's good enough for me.. Now go worry about something else.

[RougeDawg]

We got 3 good years out of Dak. He wasn't the reason we struggled in 2013, nor was Fitz the reason last year. Horrible defensive play calling down the stretch at Auburn + horrible defense against A&M and LSU + Dak having to deal with his Mom's imminent passing against USC were all things that kept us from winning 8 or 9 games in 2013. As for Fitz and 2016, he had the most yards from scrimmage of any SEC QB and the 2nd most rushing yards for an SEC QB ever. Again, not his fault we had Sirmon and a shit for brains HC who played Holloway over AWilliamsfor the first half of the year. You can't penalize either one for not "leading us to a big year" when both did their part.

FIFY

[Dawgtini]

Paul Jones has a couple of updates on this topic on 247 that should answer all these questions.

[msbulldog]

I say play him and get the experience, we could end up like Mississippi and have to pull his redshirt and play him the last 3 games with no experience.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

I think your first and second string quarterbacks should both see action in a season. So if Key is #2 (which he is), then he should play.

[PMDawg]

I'm not projecting based on what I want. What I want, or what you want, doesn't matter. I'm going off what Dan has said. In his perfect world, Fitzgerald takes every snap this year and KT gets to redshirt. I'm sure KT wants his 3 years as starter, not 2.

Unlikely it works out that KT gets to RS. But thats the hope.

[Spiderman]

I see a lot of people thinking KT will redshirt. I'm going to be severely disappointed if that happens. We need him taking snaps and throwing passes in the second half Saturday.

Things to consider:

Do you really want Rip Kirk coming in vs LSU with the game on the line in a tough spot if Fitz helmet pops off or he gets injured?

If Fitz has a big year & goes pro, do you want our starter to have no experience under his belt next year, but his walkon backup to have that experience instead?

We have a big time QB committed to us. Do you want him to open his options back up since he will now enter MSU with the same classification as KT if he redshirts? Do you also realize that this will also make our big 2019 QB commitment consider his options too?


I think Dan is just telling the media that he is considering a redshirt, but I will be completely shocked if KT isn't on the field for the 4th Quarter Saturday, and clearly is the backup all season. To me it's a no brainer.

prepare to be disappointed if Fitz stays healthy. A big birdie, not a little birdie told me they really want to RS him. It will be the same deal as last year with Kelly/Say Shay if they can.

[Hasu Dackds]

I would probably try to use Mitch Hood, the JUCO from California, or Rip Kirk in mop-up duty this year. They are both juniors. Mop-up duty vs. Charleston Southern isn't really all that valuable, certainly not valuable enough to pull off a redshirt. I would pull the shirt off Thompson unless Fitzgerald goes down with a serious injury.

[HSVDawg]

prepare to be disappointed if Fitz stays healthy. A big birdie, not a little birdie told me they really want to RS him. It will be the same deal as last year with Kelly/Say Shay if they can.

And that would be a massive mistake if it plays out the same way as it did for them. They lost an entire year of eligibility over 3 games.

[CadaverDawg]

prepare to be disappointed if Fitz stays healthy. A big birdie, not a little birdie told me they really want to RS him. It will be the same deal as last year with Kelly/Say Shay if they can.

Smh. Thanks for the update. Disappointing for sure. But oh well

[Dawg61]

Redshirting Key is stupid. He has already had 8 months practicing with the team. We don't need him getting 20 straight months without seeing real on the field action. That will actually hurt his development. He is ready now. Get him some real reps starting this Saturday.

[LC Dawg]

I know we are not all the way to where we want to be as a program but it feels damn good when two of the main discussions on an MSU message board the week of the opener are about Mullen picking a kicker and whether or not to redshirt our stud freshman qb.

[BB30]

Redshirting Key is stupid. He has already had 8 months practicing with the team. We don't need him getting 20 straight months without seeing real on the field action. That will actually hurt his development. He is ready now. Get him some real reps starting this Saturday.

Ok Dan... haha you act like you are around him on a regular basis and know exactly where he is in his development...If Dan really wants to RS him this year I would guess he has a pretty good reason for it. I think if he felt like the kid was ready he would have no problem playing him. Fitz will be back next year regardless unless he has improved dramatically throwing the football from last year.

[mstatefan91]

I know we are not all the way to where we want to be as a program but it feels damn good when two of the main discussions on an MSU message board the week of the opener are about Mullen picking a kicker and whether or not to redshirt our stud freshman qb.

Don't worry. It'll turn quickly lol

[Dawg61]

Ok Dan... haha you act like you are around him on a regular basis and know exactly where he is in his development...If Dan really wants to RS him this year I would guess he has a pretty good reason for it. I think if he felt like the kid was ready he would have no problem playing him. Fitz will be back next year regardless unless he has improved dramatically throwing the football from last year.

I don't need to be Dan Mullen to know 20 straight months without seeing live action isn't a good idea

[BB30]

I don't need to be Dan Mullen to know 20 straight months without seeing live action isn't a good idea

Honestly, I don't know because I was never a D1 QB but I would think he would get more out of playing against our 2nd team d than he will taking garbage snaps against the Charleston Southerns of the world. He will play if Fitz gets hurt this year regardless but what good does seeing snaps up 48-10 in the 4th qtr with all of the other second and third team guys out there against other second and third team guys do to prepare you for the 1s against LSU and Alabama. It honestly won't make a bit of difference if he doesn't play against Charleston southern and then Fitz gets hurt and he plays against LSU IMO. I could be completely wrong and those snaps against CS's second and third team guys may make him better against LSU and Bama if necessary but I doubt it.

[Bothrops]

Key ain't shirtin'

[Johnson85]

I don't need to be Dan Mullen to know 20 straight months without seeing live action isn't a good idea

You mean exactly what every RS FR QB does??? Damn, think about how Dak and Fitz would have developed without Redshirting their freshman year.

[Dawg61]

This could be a mute point as this is the first year guys can play up to 4 games and still take a redshirt

[Dawg61]

You mean exactly what every RS FR QB does??? Damn, think about how Dak and Fitz would have developed without Redshirting their freshman year.

If they enrolled early and then also took a redshirt than yes but I am guessing that doesn't happen all that often

[DancingRabbit]

This could be a mute point as this is the first year guys can play up to 4 games and still take a redshirt

Moot.

The new redshirt rule has not taken effect yet. Will be voted on this December, I think. It is expected to pass, but won't help us this year.

[CadaverDawg]

Moot.

The new redshirt rule has not taken effect yet. Will be voted on this December, I think. It is expected to pass, but won't help us this year.

Yep. A lot of people think it's already in effect, but not yet.

[Johnson85]

We got 3 good years out of Dak. He wasn't the reason we struggled in 2013, nor was Fitz the reason last year. Horrible defensive play calling down the stretch at Auburn + horrible defense against A&M and LSU + Dak having to deal with his Mom's imminent passing against USC were all things that kept us from winning 8 or 9 games in 2013. As for Fitz and 2016, he had the most yards from scrimmage of any SEC QB and the 2nd most rushing yards for an SEC QB ever. Again, not his fault we had Sirmon and a shit OL for the first half of the year. You can't penalize either one for not "leading us to a big year" when both did their part.

Dak and Fitz were both good for RS sophomores, but they were both limited enough that neither were going to lead us to big years. As gaudy as Fitz's stats were last year, he didn't give us a chance against LSU and left a lot to be desired against Miami of OH.

Both Dak and Fitz were good enough as RS So for the team to be successful, but it would have had to be because of strengths other places, with them just being good enough not to hurt us.

[smootness]

If they enrolled early and then also took a redshirt than yes but I am guessing that doesn't happen all that often

First, why would that matter? Whether you enroll early or not, you're still not seeing any live action that spring.

Second, yes, Dak and Fitzgerald both enrolled early. As did Johnny Manziel, who won the Heisman as a RS Fr. And I can't find if Jameis enrolled early or not, but he also won the Heisman as a RS Fr...after 20 months without seeing live action.

[smootness]

Dak and Fitz were both good for RS sophomores, but they were both limited enough that neither were going to lead us to big years. As gaudy as Fitz's stats were last year, he didn't give us a chance against LSU and left a lot to be desired against Miami of OH.

Both Dak and Fitz were good enough as RS So for the team to be successful, but it would have had to be because of strengths other places, with them just being good enough not to hurt us.

They also needed quite a bit of initial development and were never likely to leave school early, though Dak almost did and Fitzgerald could if he has a monster year.

The question is simply whether we think Thompson is a good bet to stick around for 5 years. If we think he is, then redshirt him. If we think he's not, then play him. It's that simple.

[Offshore Dawg]

Look folks, this is not your fathers MSU where they saw a good QB once every 5 to 8 years. Dan has them coming in yearly. So if KT is ready and is needed he should play. Dawgs no longer have to save a good QB for a later date. But for now if Fritz goes down, where does that leave us with our limited experience at that position.

[HSVDawg]

Dak and Fitz were both good for RS sophomores, but they were both limited enough that neither were going to lead us to big years. As gaudy as Fitz's stats were last year, he didn't give us a chance against LSU and left a lot to be desired against Miami of OH.

Both Dak and Fitz were good enough as RS So for the team to be successful, but it would have had to be because of strengths other places, with them just being good enough not to hurt us.

So you are saying that Dak and Fitz were "just good enough not to hurt us" as RS sophomores? That is comical. Dak, in his very first SEC start ever, pretty much single handedly led us to what should have been an upset on the road of the eventual conference champion and national runner up in 2013. If it wasn't for Jameon Lewis dropping a pass that hit him right in the hands that would have extended the drive and allowed us to run the clock out, or our defense's complete prevent meltdown, that is a W. He single handedly saved our ass in the 2013 Egg Bowl in just one quarter. Fitz led us to an upset of a team ranked in the CFP top 4, hung 55 on OM, and struggled against the same teams that a guy who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie struggled against in the previous 3 years. Just about everything good that happened for our team in 2013 and 2016 happened BECAUSE of Dak and Fitz. Not in spite of them.

[Dolphus Raymond]

Look folks, this is not your fathers MSU where they saw a good QB once every 5 to 8 years. Dan has them coming in yearly. So if KT is ready and is needed he should play. Dawgs no longer have to save a good QB for a later date. But for now if Fritz goes down, where does that leave us with our limited experience at that position.
I was thinking the same thing today. My "old" MSU way of thinking was absolutely redshirt Key; old habits/thought processes are hard to break. However, my "new" way of MSU thinking is attempting to break through. Dan Mullen is absolutely one of the (if not "the") best QB coaches in the nation, and will keep the QB position well stocked. So, if we need him, then we play him.
Friends, the planets are beginning to align in a way I have never witnessed, and the next decade is going to be exciting. Enjoy.

[Johnson85]

So you are saying that Dak and Fitz were "just good enough not to hurt us" as RS sophomores? That is comical. Dak, in his very first SEC start ever, pretty much single handedly led us to what should have been an upset on the road of the eventual conference champion and national runner up in 2013. If it wasn't for Jameon Lewis dropping a pass that hit him right in the hands that would have extended the drive and allowed us to run the clock out, or our defense's complete prevent meltdown, that is a W. He single handedly saved our ass in the 2013 Egg Bowl in just one quarter. Fitz led us to an upset of a team ranked in the CFP top 4, hung 55 on OM, and struggled against the same teams that a guy who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie struggled against in the previous 3 years. Just about everything good that happened for our team in 2013 and 2016 happened BECAUSE of Dak and Fitz. Not in spite of them.

Dak went 7 of 17 against Ok St.
Dak had a phenomenal game against Auburn.
Troy and LSU I would say are throw aways, as they are too bad/good to judge by.
Dak went 7/11 for 75 yards against Bowling Green with 139 yds rushing (how in the hell did we only score 21 points that game???)
Dak went 23/34 for 268 yards against UK and had 33 yds rushing on 16 attempts
South Carolina I think you can throw out based on Dak's mom.
Dak went 14/26 for 149 yds with 2 tds and 1 int. against A&M but had 154 yds rushing
Bama was like LSU.
Dak was injured for Arkansas.
And we know what he did with against Ole Miss

So Dak's stats definitely look better than I remembered; I'm not sure why in the hell we struggled with Bowling Green and Kentucky, and maybe Dak would have been ready against Ok St. if he had expected to be the starter.

But I still remember seeing Fitzgerald play last year, and you're just wrong on that. He just was not good enough at the beginning of the year to lead us to a big year.

That's not a knock on him, but you can't think that we can simply take a true junior and true senior year from a Mullen coached QB and that not be less production than a RS Junior and RS Senior year.

[Johnson85]

Look folks, this is not your fathers MSU where they saw a good QB once every 5 to 8 years. Dan has them coming in yearly. So if KT is ready and is needed he should play. Dawgs no longer have to save a good QB for a later date. But for now if Fritz goes down, where does that leave us with our limited experience at that position.

It's not about saving KT because of a lack of backups. It's about whether we want the option of a RS Senior year from KT. We may not get to make a decision because of our lack of options, but if we had another viable option at backup QB, we wouldn't trade-off a potential RS Senior year just to upgrade our backup position this year.

[Hasu Dackds]

It's not about saving KT because of a lack of backups. It's about whether we want the option of a RS Senior year from KT. We may not get to make a decision because of our lack of options, but if we had another viable option at backup QB, we wouldn't trade-off a potential RS Senior year just to upgrade our backup position this year.
I agree. This whole conversation is a non-factor. If Fitzgerald gets hurt, Thompson plays. If he doesn't, Thompson redshirts. The potential experience he would gain this year in mop-up duty is negligible. Johnny Football and Famous Jameis can testify to that.

[Todd4State]

My opinion may or not be popular- but if it were me I would try to redshirt Key if at all possible. I think Dan is a great QB developer and I think Key will be a great QB. But QB is so complicated and the jump is so big from high school to the SEC it's ideal if you can redshirt QB's. There are not very many great QB's that don't redshirt. Tim Tebow won the Heisman and as a true freshman all he could basically do was run a certain run package in the same offense that Dan runs now. Obviously, if Nick is hurt that changes things much like Tyler and Dak getting hurt meant that Damien Williams had to play. But if that situation occurs I wouldn't be surprised if Dan does the same thing he did with Damien Williams and redshirt him next year if he can.

And I think Key is great- but we may need to pump the breaks here a little bit. If he does have to play I would imagine that it would be in a somewhat limited package. Yes- he may be ahead of where Dak and Nick were at the same stage but that doesn't mean that he's ready to go out there and take over.

[Quaoarsking]

Dan didn't redshirt Cam Newton as a true freshman at Florida in 2007, instead playing him as a backup behind true sophomore Tim Tebow.

For that matter, he didn't redshirt Tebow in 2006 either, using him as a backup behind Chris Leak.

[Political Hack]

You do what's best for KT's future. Period. What's best for him, is also what's best for the program.

[HSVDawg]

Dak went 7 of 17 against Ok St.
Dak had a phenomenal game against Auburn.
Troy and LSU I would say are throw aways, as they are too bad/good to judge by.
Dak went 7/11 for 75 yards against Bowling Green with 139 yds rushing (how in the hell did we only score 21 points that game???)
Dak went 23/34 for 268 yards against UK and had 33 yds rushing on 16 attempts
South Carolina I think you can throw out based on Dak's mom.
Dak went 14/26 for 149 yds with 2 tds and 1 int. against A&M but had 154 yds rushing
Bama was like LSU.
Dak was injured for Arkansas.
And we know what he did with against Ole Miss

So Dak's stats definitely look better than I remembered; I'm not sure why in the hell we struggled with Bowling Green and Kentucky, and maybe Dak would have been ready against Ok St. if he had expected to be the starter.

But I still remember seeing Fitzgerald play last year, and you're just wrong on that. He just was not good enough at the beginning of the year to lead us to a big year.

That's not a knock on him, but you can't think that we can simply take a true junior and true senior year from a Mullen coached QB and that not be less production than a RS Junior and RS Senior year.

Fitz was not good enough at the beginning of the year because he had no help. Holloway still out there, Rankin not even moving on snaps, D playing like hot garbage. Fitz wasn't the reason we lost to BYU or South Alabama. The only games last year where I really think he could have done more were LSU and Auburn, which were both very good defenses. He sucked against Bama, but who doesn't? But without Fitz, we'd have been lucky to win 2 or 3 games. Whether or not he led us to a "big year", he was still easily one of the top 3 or 4 QB's in the league by season's end and his stats reflected that. That is a good year in my book, in no way shape or form is that a just "just good enough not to hurt us" year.

And regarding your "true Jr / true Sr" vs "redshirt Jr / redshirt Sr" comment, I would tend to agree somewhat that more development is better. But the point is, you don't always have the choice of getting that additional development, and even making the choice to RS and Fitz not getting hurt at all still doesn't mean its the right choice. Think back to about 16 months ago as we talked about how we had probably the deepest stable of QB's in MSU's history. We had 4 guys that were seemingly legit contenders to be the heir to Dak's throne. We were all just beside ourselves as a fanbase of how many able bodies we had at the QB position. Flash forward less than a year and a half later and all the sudden we're arguing about redshirting a true freshmen QB because he is the only other QB on the roster besides the starter. Point is, a LOT can change in just 18 months and even more can change in 5 years. You can't count on that 5th year senior year from KT happening just because we want it to happen. He could go early in the draft, get hurt, or have any number of other outcomes that put him on a different path. He is the #2 QB. He needs to see significant practice reps and he needs to be out there some so he will not be shell shocked if we have to put him out there with no choice. That's my judgment.

[HSVDawg]

Moot.

The new redshirt rule has not taken effect yet. Will be voted on this December, I think. It is expected to pass, but won't help us this year.

Well in that case its an easy choice. Play KT this year. If Fitz returns as I think most expect he will, redshirt KT next year when he can still get the 4 games in behind Fitz with no penalty. Then he is more than ready to take over as a starter in 2019 as a redshirt Sophomore. If Fitz bolts, KT has some notches in the belt and the learning curve is sped up a bit.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

prepare to be disappointed if Fitz stays healthy. A big birdie, not a little birdie told me they really want to RS him. It will be the same deal as last year with Kelly/Say Shay if they can.

Different situation. Ole Miss had Pellerine as the #2 behind Kelly when Kelly was healthy. So he could handle mop up duty in blowouts.

[Quaoarsking]

Well in that case its an easy choice. Play KT this year. If Fitz returns as I think most expect he will, redshirt KT next year when he can still get the 4 games in behind Fitz with no penalty. Then he is more than ready to take over as a starter in 2019 as a redshirt Sophomore. If Fitz bolts, KT has some notches in the belt and the learning curve is sped up a bit.

If we feel pretty confident that that the new rule will pass and Fitz returns, we could play KT this year, and then play both KT and Maiden next year, but in no more than 4 games (decide before the game which one will come in if necessary, and hopefully in 5 games Fitz plays every snap), so that they both get redshirts and in 2019 KT is a redshirt sophomore with 2 years experience and Maiden is a redshirt freshman who's played in some games too.

[DancingRabbit]

Well in that case its an easy choice. Play KT this year. If Fitz returns as I think most expect he will, redshirt KT next year when he can still get the 4 games in behind Fitz with no penalty. Then he is more than ready to take over as a starter in 2019 as a redshirt Sophomore. If Fitz bolts, KT has some notches in the belt and the learning curve is sped up a bit.

Yeah, I think KT should play most of the 2nd half this week. Get him ready. It's probably 50/50 at best that we end up pulling the redshirt eventually anyway.

If he really wants to redshirt, maybe the soph year works best.

[HSVDawg]

If we feel pretty confident that that the new rule will pass and Fitz returns, we could play KT this year, and then play both KT and Maiden next year, but in no more than 4 games (decide before the game which one will come in if necessary, and hopefully in 5 games Fitz plays every snap), so that they both get redshirts and in 2019 KT is a redshirt sophomore with 2 years experience and Maiden is a redshirt freshman who's played in some games too.

You wouldn't even have to hope on Fitz to play from Game 5 on. Give Mayden all the nonconference mop up (if there is any) and maybe the Kentucky game if he misses an opportunity to get in to a NC game. Make KT the guy in 4 conference games. But don't play either one unless you have to or enough games have passed to feel comfortable, if the idea is to redshirt both.

[Todd4State]

Dan didn't redshirt Cam Newton as a true freshman at Florida in 2007, instead playing him as a backup behind true sophomore Tim Tebow.

For that matter, he didn't redshirt Tebow in 2006 either, using him as a backup behind Chris Leak.

I mentioned Tebow above in his limited package. That possibly could have been because they felt like he was more apt to run the QB run packages than Leak in Urban Meyer's first year there. With Newton I could see his Dad saying "Cam plays or else we're out of here". Newton did take a medical redshirt at Florida his second year there. And then he transferred out to Blinn CC the next year.

[TUSK]

You cats are in a similar situation as my PsychoPhants with Tua...

My guess is that not only will Tua not RS, he'll get some "meaningful" snaps...