Nick has had some red flags

[BeastMan]

As much as I like Fitz as a player, he's had numerous issues over his career that were little small red flags so the news today doesn't surprise me that much. He probably did something dumb like miss a meeting, workout, or contract Moultrie knee so I'm not acting like its a huge deal but things start adding up.

-Nick should have been the day 1 starter over Damien and it shouldn't have been close. The 1 and only reason he wasn't is that he couldn't win the team over. Actually, half the team didn't like him at all. Without getting into the gossipy specifics, he was immature and it caused a lot of locker issues in relation to that QB battle. Now ultimately that debacle was on Mullen but with a more mature Fitz that situation never happens.

-The Bob Carskadon beard story. Don't know if yall remember this but Bob wrote a fun, light-hearted story about the different beards on the team. A few assholes on the team, Fitz included, tried to take offense to the story and handled Bob really bad at the team complex and then crowed about it on twitter. Totally immature and shitty way to treat Bob.

-On Finebaum Fitz said there is nothing to do in Starkville. He has a huge platform to sell himself and the school and he used it as an opportunity to bang on Starkville. Dak or Tyler Russell would have said, "Starkville is a great place where they really treat you like family etc..." First off, claiming there is nothing to do is bs in 2018 (interview was 2017). It's a ridiculous line from the 80s that was true then but isn't now and needs to die. Fitz drops it in a Finebaum interview. Very immature.

-The baseball haircut thing. You tell your whole school that if baseball goes to the cws you're getting a mohawk like some guys on the team. Then you welch on that bet. Ultimately, not a big deal but the optics that aren't great. Dak and TR were the epitome of Mr.MSU while they were in school. Fitz just doesn't come off like that.

-Missing the first game of your senior season due to being suspended when you're the senior QB and team leader is incredible. This team has high hopes and we're supposed to feel good about this guy getting us there? Not much of a leader from an off-the-field aspect.



Now before I just bang on Fitz too hard you have to remember the guy is tough as nails and has put his body on the line over and over for MSU. That doesn't go unnoticed. His foot turned backwards will always be emblazoned in my memory. From a physical standpoint, Fitz is a warrior and I dare anyone to say he isn't. But he's got a little too much immaturity, arrogance, and attitude to be beloved like one of the best MSU QBs ever should be. He's essentially our Bo Wallace.

[Dawg61]

Just by reading fans reactions I am starting to think JoMo shoulda handled this differently if he could have. Maybe it's a school policy though.

[ShotgunDawg]

As much as I like Fitz as a player, he's had numerous issues over his career that were little small red flags so the news today doesn't surprise me that much. He probably did something dumb like miss a meeting, workout, or contract Moultrie knee so I'm not acting like its a huge deal but things start adding up.

-Nick should have been the day 1 starter over Damien and it shouldn't have been close. The 1 and only reason he wasn't is that he couldn't win the team over. Actually, half the team didn't like him at all. Without getting into the gossipy specifics, he was immature and it caused a lot of locker issues in relation to that QB battle. Now ultimately that debacle was on Mullen but with a more mature Fitz that situation never happens.

-The Bob Carskadon beard story. Don't know if yall remember this but Bob wrote a fun, light-hearted story about the different beards on the team. A few assholes on the team, Fitz included, tried to take offense to the story and handled Bob really bad at the team complex and then crowed about it on twitter. Totally immature and shitty way to treat Bob.

-On Finebaum Fitz said there is nothing to do in Starkville. He has a huge platform to sell himself and the school and he used it as an opportunity to bang on Starkville. Dak or Tyler Russell would have said, "Starkville is a great place where they really treat you like family etc..." First off, claiming there is nothing to do is bs in 2018 (interview was 2017). It's a ridiculous line from the 80s that was true then but isn't now and needs to die. Fitz drops it in a Finebaum interview. Very immature.

-The baseball haircut thing. You tell your whole school that if baseball goes to the cws you're getting a mohawk like some guys on the team. Then you welch on that bet. Ultimately, not a big deal but the optics that aren't great. Dak and TR were the epitome of Mr.MSU while they were in school. Fitz just doesn't come off like that.

-Missing the first game of your senior season due to being suspended when you're the senior QB and team leader is incredible. This team has high hopes and we're supposed to feel good about this guy getting us there? Not much of a leader from an off-the-field aspect.



Now before I just bang on Fitz too hard you have to remember the guy is tough as nails and has put his body on the line over and over for MSU. That doesn't go unnoticed. His foot turned backwards will always be emblazoned in my memory. From a physical standpoint, Fitz is a warrior and I dare anyone to say he isn't. But he's got a little too much immaturity, arrogance, and attitude to be beloved like one of the best MSU QBs ever should be. He's essentially our Bo Wallace.

Great post Beast

He's a damn good football player & certainly has some Brett Favre type maturity qualities.

I'm encouraged that he was voted team captain & chosen to attend SEC media days AFTER this incident. That says a lot about how he responded to it & hopefully that's the player we get this year.

[bostondawg]

I think this is a big overreaction. Go listen to the press conference--JoMo had nothing but praise for Fitz and his leadership after the violation occurred. He's fine.

[Doggie_Style]

Just by reading fans reactions I am starting to think JoMo shoulda handled this differently if he could have. Maybe it's a school policy though.

I agree....this is a huge turd in our maroon punch bowl....a really crappy visual in our and Jo's first game of a season.

[ShotgunDawg]

Just by reading fans reactions I am starting to think JoMo shoulda handled this differently if he could have. Maybe it's a school policy though.

Disagree.

I think Moorhead is a "Love & Logic" type disciplinarian.

Meaning: he rarely raises his voice & attempts to never be the bad guy. He simply sets "championship standard" expectations that everyone must follow with pre-set, objective punishments for each violation.

Ron Polk was very similar. He had rules, never raised his voice, & mostly kept the team in line because each rule violation had a unique, objective consequence that was understood before you ever broke the rule.

If Moorhead didn't enforce his own rules in March, then players would view his rules as negotiable, which could eventually lead to players believing there was favoritism in his enforcement which can lead to team dysfunction.

Players' coaches like Moorhead, have to do this or they'll lose the team. Coaches like Meyer, Saban, etc that are yellers & screamers can utilize a more subjective style since players fear them.

[Quaoarsking]

I think this is a big overreaction. Go listen to the press conference--JoMo had nothing but praise for Fitz and his leadership after the violation occurred. He's fine.

Maybe this suspension was a wakeup call and he's a mature great leader now.

Either way, its absolute horseshit for a 5th year senior starting QB to get himself suspended for a game. Maybe he's better today, but he was super selfish on that day back in March or whenever.

[mstatefan91]

Yeah let’s just bash the guy that’s gonna be the face of our program this season. Great job guys. Can’t figure out why the media doesn’t sing our praises year in and year out with the sunshine going on around here. He messed up. Coach handled it. Let’s move on.

[BeastMan]

Great post Beast

He's a damn good football player & certainly has some Brett Favre type maturity qualities.

I'm encouraged that he was voted team captain & chosen to attend SEC media days AFTER this incident. That says a lot about how he responded to it & hopefully that's the player we get this year.

Good reasonable post Shotgun. He does have a little gunslinger in him.

As far as JoMo, I love the precedent. Mullen didn’t have that many control problems but I love that JoMo is taking a firm grip and making a huge point. It’s program shaping. Long term, I love it. Going on the road to KSU soon is so much more interesting now.

[Dawg2003]

The mowhawk thing I could care less about. I don't think something that stupid says anything about a person's character. I'd need to see the video of him saying there's nothing to do in Starkville to get the tone and context. Maybe it was just an off the cuff comment. I've said that before too. The Bob story, I dunno. Just sounds like some people got their feelings hurt and overreacted. It happens. The QB controversy when he was a freshman? So what. He was immature and has now matured into a leader and was voted team captain. These don't seem like big red flags to me. They seems like a young adult trying to find his way and making some mistakes. Dak had a DUI and now a dick pic. These people are only humans. A DUI is a hell of a lot worse than the Fitz stuff you mentioned. The other stuff sounds like an immature kid trying to figure out how to react to situations.

His suspension today is in a different category because he should know better. I'm more worried the team might lose respect for him.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Fitz is a cocky self assured guy. I love it. If you can't handle that, well his mindset doesn't need a fan's approval. Dumb suspension for him, and it could be an issue with KState being his first game speed action. But until it is an issue, no need to hash out how he let his team down. I am sure he knows. The entire team knows, and yet they still voted him team captain.

[BrunswickDawg]

Beast - some good stuff as always - but you know me I've got to push back some on this some.

In light of the Baker Swedenberg thread on SPS I think there is a lot here that we have to unpack. If Dan was is as Swede writes - he created a lot of conflict situations that could have been avoided. If Dan was playing favorites, had players he was trying to drive out, etc., coouldn't he be to blame? Would almost make you think D Williams and Fitz were pitted against each other because ole Two Gloves didn't want to deal with it like a man?

We also don't know what type of expectations Dan set - and what he allowed favorites to get away with. If Fitz missed a meeting - and was used to Dan letting that stuff slide (especially for a guy putting in hours on rehab) - then Fitz is actually doing more as a leader by taking the punishment and setting the tone.

I still view the haircut thing as joke between friends that got out of control. I have had a number of times in life when a dumbass friend committed me to something stupid just to see how I would react. You go along with it to a point - and then they give you shit when you break. That just happens on social media now and we all see it because we are all freaky vouyers now.

And yeah - I'm throwing shit against the wall, but the reality is everyone outside a small circle of people is too. We all know that most of us don't have sources good enough sources to really give deep insight on this.

[mstatefan91]

Fitz is a cocky self assured guy. I love it. If you can't handle that, well his mindset doesn't need a fan's approval. Dumb suspension for him, and it could be an issue with KState being his first game speed action. But until it is an issue, no need to hash out how he let his team down. I am sure he knows. The entire team knows, and yet they still voted him team captain.

This exactly. This thread is unnecessary. He has the team's support. He should have our support. Coach handled it. Let's play some football!

[Cowbell]

The Mohawk drama just showed what kind of man he was in my opinion. And I hope that changes. Even if this is for a failed drug test, I would see the Mohawk deal as a bigger blow. We all make mistakes and make poor decisions, but being a liar is uncalled for. I don?t care how tough you are, if your word won?t hold water, then you ain?t much.

And I would tell him that to his face if had the chance. This is the problem with America today. Parents letting crap like this slide because it doesn?t bother them or not that big of a deal. My dad would have beat me senseless for ever not doing what I said I would do or not finishing what I had started.

Maybe it would be good for Fitz to know that we as fans think it is real chicken**** to do what he did there. I help pay for the uniform he wears and so it matters to me what kind of leaders we have wearing it.

You want to be the face of a program, act like it.

[mstatefan91]

The Mohawk drama just showed what kind of man he was in my opinion. And I hope that changes. Even if this is for a failed drug test, I would see the Mohawk deal as a bigger blow. We all make mistakes and make poor decisions, but being a liar is uncalled for. I don?t care how tough you are, if your word won?t hold water, then you ain?t much.

And I would tell him that to his face if had the chance. This is the problem with America today. Parents letting crap like this slide because it doesn?t bother them or not that big of a deal. My dad would have beat me senseless for ever not doing what I said I would do or not finishing what I had started.

Maybe it would be good for Fitz to know that we as fans think it is real chicken**** to do what he did there. I help pay for the uniform he wears and so it matters to me what kind of leaders we have wearing it.

You want to be the face of a program, act like it.

Go drink a beer and yell at the neighbor boy for playing his music too loud. Gracious

[Dolphus Raymond]

This entire issue is being blown out of proportion.

[BrunswickDawg]

The Mohawk drama just showed what kind of man he was in my opinion. And I hope that changes. Even if this is for a failed drug test, I would see the Mohawk deal as a bigger blow. We all make mistakes and make poor decisions, but being a liar is uncalled for. I don?t care how tough you are, if your word won?t hold water, then you ain?t much.

And I would tell him that to his face if had the chance. This is the problem with America today. Parents letting crap like this slide because it doesn?t bother them or not that big of a deal. My dad would have beat me senseless for ever not doing what I said I would do or not finishing what I had started.

Maybe it would be good for Fitz to know that we as fans think it is real chicken**** to do what he did there. I help pay for the uniform he wears and so it matters to me what kind of leaders we have wearing it.

You want to be the face of a program, act like it.

Well we know one thing from this post - your Dad definitely beat you senseless.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

This entire issue is being blown out of proportion.

Between this and the Story news, we've been chomping at the bit to eat our own. Fitz did something dumb and gave Moorhead an opportunity to make an example of him. If we were starting the season with K-State I have a feeling we would have found a way to punish him without suspension.

[gravedigger]

As much as I like Fitz as a player, he's had numerous issues over his career that were little small red flags so the news today doesn't surprise me that much. He probably did something dumb like miss a meeting, workout, or contract Moultrie knee so I'm not acting like its a huge deal but things start adding up.

-Nick should have been the day 1 starter over Damien and it shouldn't have been close. The 1 and only reason he wasn't is that he couldn't win the team over. Actually, half the team didn't like him at all. Without getting into the gossipy specifics, he was immature and it caused a lot of locker issues in relation to that QB battle. Now ultimately that debacle was on Mullen but with a more mature Fitz that situation never happens.

-The Bob Carskadon beard story. Don't know if yall remember this but Bob wrote a fun, light-hearted story about the different beards on the team. A few assholes on the team, Fitz included, tried to take offense to the story and handled Bob really bad at the team complex and then crowed about it on twitter. Totally immature and shitty way to treat Bob.

-On Finebaum Fitz said there is nothing to do in Starkville. He has a huge platform to sell himself and the school and he used it as an opportunity to bang on Starkville. Dak or Tyler Russell would have said, "Starkville is a great place where they really treat you like family etc..." First off, claiming there is nothing to do is bs in 2018 (interview was 2017). It's a ridiculous line from the 80s that was true then but isn't now and needs to die. Fitz drops it in a Finebaum interview. Very immature.

-The baseball haircut thing. You tell your whole school that if baseball goes to the cws you're getting a mohawk like some guys on the team. Then you welch on that bet. Ultimately, not a big deal but the optics that aren't great. Dak and TR were the epitome of Mr.MSU while they were in school. Fitz just doesn't come off like that.

-Missing the first game of your senior season due to being suspended when you're the senior QB and team leader is incredible. This team has high hopes and we're supposed to feel good about this guy getting us there? Not much of a leader from an off-the-field aspect.



Now before I just bang on Fitz too hard you have to remember the guy is tough as nails and has put his body on the line over and over for MSU. That doesn't go unnoticed. His foot turned backwards will always be emblazoned in my memory. From a physical standpoint, Fitz is a warrior and I dare anyone to say he isn't. But he's got a little too much immaturity, arrogance, and attitude to be beloved like one of the best MSU QBs ever should be. He's essentially our Bo Wallace.

Well said. Joe just let everyone know he is in charge. Cupcake or not.

[mstatefan91]

Well said. Joe just let everyone know he is in charge. Cupcake or not.

Yes and I’m glad Coach let everyone know who is boss. Sets the tone for his time here.

But some of these takes are just amazing