The quarterback carousel spins on in Starkville.
Just 12 days after coach Joe Moorhead announced Garrett Shrader as the starter for Mississippi State’s Dec. 30 matchup against Louisville in the Music City Bowl, the Bulldogs will turn to graduate transfer Tommy Stevens after Shrader suffered an upper-body injury.
247Sports previously reported Shrader was involved in an altercation at practice last week with junior linebacker and Starkville native Willie Gay Jr., though Moorhead did not expand on the incident at Thursday’s media availability.
Shrader is not currently in Nashville but is expected to join the team at some point.
“We’re experts at it this year,” Moorhead quipped of changing quarterbacks. “We’ve done it a time or two — we’ve played the shuffle. Tommy is an experienced guy, and when he’s been healthy he’s performed very well.”
With Stevens now running the show under center, MSU will close the season the way it started at quarterback. In eight appearances in 2019, Stevens has completed 80 of 135 passes for 934 yards and nine touchdowns to five interceptions. He also added another 310 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
“Found out Saturday after practice, and I’m excited about the opportunity, and hopefully we’re ready to get (win) number seven,” Stevens said Thursday.
While his overall numbers have been mediocre at best, Stevens has looked the part of a capable passer in spurts this season.
Before fall camp, he received wide acclaim for his performance at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana over the summer. Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy was particularly impressed after watching him participate alongside the likes of LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral.
“Biggest surprise of the Manning Passing Academy was Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens,” Nagy tweeted at the time. “Scouts talk about how guys ‘spin it’ and Stevens spun it as well as anyone at the camp. We knew he was big and athletic but he has a live arm.”
Nagy’s words rang true in the early going this season as Stevens completed 29 of his first 40 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns in parts of games against Louisiana and Southern Miss before being sidelined with an upper-body injury in Week 2.
Since his initial injury, he was benched in favor of Shrader in the second half of MSU’s loss to Tennessee in Knoxville on Oct. 12 and missed the Bulldogs’ bowl eligibility-clinching win over Ole Miss on Thanksgiving Day due to a separate upper-body issue he suffered against Abilene Christian.
Despite the ebbs and flows, Stevens has remained steadfast in his preparation week to week as though he would be the first quarterback on the field in every contest.
“I like to take pride in that every opportunity I’ve had to start — even all the way back to my redshirt freshman year at Penn State — I always took it as I was the starter, and I’ve continued to do the same things here even when I was the starter, when I haven’t been the starter,” he said. “So there have been no changes in how I’ve prepared.”
Changes aside, Moorhead also remains confident in Stevens to take over for Shrader come Monday.
“He’ll go in and make plays with his arm and his feet, and I know the guys have a ton of confidence in him,” he said.
“(For) a graduate transfer, senior quarterback to have an opportunity to lead his team to win in a bowl game, we’re very excited about that.”
