Now That it is Over, What is Nick Fitzgerald's Legacy At MSU?

[Todd4State]

Is Moorhead recruiting better on the offensive side of the ball?

Yes.

Shrader- 4 star.
Heath, E Jai Mason, and Tulu are all four star WR's and we may pull Mingo. Compare that to Reggie Todd, Osirus, and Jamal Couch. We also lead for Antonio Harmon.
Cross has a legit shot to be a five star OL recruit and is no worse than a four star and Brandon Cunningham is a four star OL recruit.
We may be able to flip Ealy too even though he is a pro baseball guy.

[Liverpooldawg]

I don't want to come off as being negative about Fitz because he's been tough as nails for us but I can't say he's a top 5 Mississippi State quarterback.
I can't put him ahead of
Dak
Jackie Parker
Don Smith
Rockey
Bond

All those guys were all american and/or all conference except for maybe Bond and I can't put Fitz ahead of Bond.

I really think the injury in the Egg Bowl ****ed him up mentally and physically and affected his play this year. Which is why Cohen should tell Bjork to go **** himself when they meet with Sankey.

Fitz is way better than Bond. He even passes it better. I was in school during the Bond years.

[Commercecomet24]

Yes. OL especially. QB yes. WR somewhat. RB questionable. TE yes.

This is correct and recruiting will only get better.

[Todd4State]

Fitz is way better than Bond. He even passes it better. I was in school during the Bond years.

You're right. I've seen video. I suspect that both probably have similar personalities though.

[LC Dawg]

Fitz is way better than Bond. He even passes it better. I was in school during the Bond years.

They are very similar. Bond beat Bama and never lost to LSU. That puts him ahead of Fitz to me. Just my opinion.

[msstate7]

Yes. OL especially. QB yes. WR somewhat. RB questionable. TE yes.

We have 2 olinemen about to be drafted after 1 last season... 3 in 2 years ain't bad. Moorhead's guys look better on paper though, but hev is better than Johnson coaching

Key was higher rated than shrader

Wr looks like a wash

Next season does appear to be better, but we signed 4 4-star offensive players in 2015 too.... only 1 really panned out

[Sacrifice]

I'm gonna remember Fitz as one tough MFer that could make a 60 yard TD run look like a 20 yard dash.
Limited in his passing abilities, poised for a huge senior season that got derailed by a gruesome leg injury and a coaching change.

He gave it everything he had, I wish nothing but the best for him In whatever field he goes into.

I watched some lean years at the QB position before DM arrived. He's one of the best in my book and I don't think his rushing record will be broken for a very long time.

[Liverpooldawg]

They are very similar. Bond beat Bama and never lost to LSU. That puts him ahead of Fitz to me. Just my opinion.

He also had two losing seasons. We weren't very good at all his last two years.

[msstate7]

I'm gonna remember Fitz as one tough MFer that could make a 60 yard TD run look like a 20 yard dash.
Limited in his passing abilities, poised for a huge senior season that got derailed by a gruesome leg injury and a coaching change.

He gave it everything he had, I wish nothing but the best for him In whatever field he goes into.

I watched some lean years at the QB position before DM arrived. He's one of the best in my book and I don't think his rushing record will be broken for a very long time.

Emory Jones at Florida is the guy to watch for breaking that record.

[Cooterpoot]

We have 2 olinemen about to be drafted after 1 last season... 3 in 2 years ain't bad. Moorhead's guys look better on paper though, but hev is better than Johnson coaching

Key was higher rated than shrader

Wr looks like a wash

Next season does appear to be better, but we signed 4 4-star offensive players in 2015 too.... only 1 really panned out

If they all show up, we?re about to sign the best OL class I can remember. Cross is about to bump to 5 star. You said recruiting better. We?ll have to see on development. Shrader is a better QB prospect than KT was. I don?t care what the ranking says. He was 4 star before his injury.
WR is better than what we currently have but how much? Hell, Our WRs are the worst in P5.

[bluelightstar]

Shrader is a better QB prospect than KT was. I don?t care what the ranking says. He was 4 star before his injury.

This isn’t true, at least from a recruiting site perspective. KT was a high 4-star and had always been higher ranked than Shrader this year.

[msstate7]

This isn’t true, at least from a recruiting site perspective. KT was a high 4-star and had always been higher ranked than Shrader this year.

Yep.

Key composite = .9258
247 = 94

Shrader composite = .9106
247 = 88

[Goldendawg]

If they all show up, we?re about to sign the best OL class I can remember. Cross is about to bump to 5 star. You said recruiting better. We?ll have to see on development. Shrader is a better QB prospect than KT was. I don?t care what the ranking says. He was 4 star before his injury.
WR is better than what we currently have but how much? Hell, Our WRs are the worst in P5.

Mitchell, Todd, and Couch (maybe) were all signed after signing day. WR recruiting has been bad for a long time, I for one was overly excited that Whop and Landry could change things in one year if ever.

[Todd4State]

Mitchell, Todd, and Couch (maybe) were all signed after signing day. WR recruiting has been bad for a long time, I for one was overly excited that Whop and Landry could change things in one year if ever.

I think both are a step in the right direction. Guidry had a bad day today but he also has his moments this year. Whop is still just a sophomore in 2019 and has time to develop. Adding the talent we are in the future will pay off down the road.

[ShotgunDawg]

Yep.

Key composite = .9258
247 = 94

Shrader composite = .9106
247 = 88

You have to take into account Schrader's shoulder injury though. With Schrader's measurables, I think there's a chance he would've been ranked higher than KT has he been healthy on the circuit all Summer.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Fitz ankle injury really set him back... even today you could tell it affected his running ability... there was a couple of plays today that Fitz would have taken it to the house two years ago....

[Hot Rock]

Fitz, I kept waiting for him to become a decent passer but it never happened. He never learned touch. He did get better but not good.

He gave it his all and was tough but judging toughest ever kind of thing is impossible. Lots of football players are tough. He does not get toughest ever distinction from me. For me, Stan Black was that guy and always will be.

Good runner but he needed some space to operate. He wasn't particularly shifty, just fast enough in a straight line and could break some tackles. He should have given it up more and was a bit selfish but that was him giving his best. I get it.

Not a top five QB in State History but that may be a bit butt hurt talking after the loss but I don't think so.

I think of him as all Dawg and one of our own that was a heck of a lot more than expected when he came to Starkville.

It is up to my coaches to find the players and to put the best we got on the field and get us wins. The players? All I can ask is they do their best. He did, no doubt.

[BuckyIsAB****]

He was asked to do something he has never done, and being asked to do it in the best league in America.

He always played as hard as physically possible and was by far the most hated on player in my lifetime of watching MSU football. A lot of it undeserved.

[OSCAR]

Was thinking about this while watching the Rose Bowl & Haskins throw touch pass after touch pass that we haven't seen since Dak's SR year & hopefully see again soon (Really makes it clear what he dreadfully lack):

Here are some thoughts:

- First off, we will probably have a much greater perspective on Fitz's legacy 5 years from now than we do right now. We have to see if MSU has a new normal at QB or if things will regress back to where they were before Dak. In 5 years, will we see Fitz as just ok due to the type of QB play we are getting or will we long for the Fitz days?

- To me, determining Fitz's legacy come down completely on whether you are comparing him to past MSU QBs or if you are comparing him to Dak or the standard necessary to compete for the SEC West. Compared to past MSU QBs, Fitz is undeniably a top 5 QB in school history. Compared to the standard necessary to compete for the West, I'm not sure I've ever been more frustrated with a QB, due to knowing that he just didn't have the type of accuracy, instincts, pocket presence, or touch necessary to beat good defenses.

- He'll obviously go down with great stats that should stand that test of time, but I'm not sure I've ever seen an MSU reach his ceiling so early. Did Nick ever improve from his Sophomore year on?

- When all is said & done, he sets many QB rushing records, MSU scoring records, etc but also was suspended for the first game of his SR year, & had a pretty mediocre SEC & overall record in games where he started. What type of leader was he?

Overall, the Fitz era was good, but frustrating. Good in that the overall body of work was pretty good & the team went to bowls all 3 years, but frustrating in that you knew he was just too limited in the passing & processing parts of the game to lead MSU anything more that just being an OK team. For me, Fitz will go down as a really good football player & just an average QB. Football is a structured sport in which QBs MUST be able to perform certain skill sets if the team is going to succeed at a high level & he just didn't have those skills.

-

He will go down as the greatest NFL TE to ever wear Maroon and White.

[Todd4State]

You have to take into account Schrader's shoulder injury though. With Schrader's measurables, I think there's a chance he would've been ranked higher than KT has he been healthy on the circuit all Summer.

This is true. Shrader may have been an Elite 11 QB if he was healthy.