Mississippi State Football: Breaking down the 2019 QB battle

Keytaon Thompson

Keytaon Thompson has played sparingly the past two seasons as Nick Fitzgerald’s backup. Most of his snaps came in the Egg Bowl in 2017 when Fitzgerald got hurt, the bowl game that year and the first game of 2018 when Fitzgerald was suspended.

Many expected Thompson to naturally take over and be the starter, but for whatever reason that hasn’t happened yet.

In Thompson’s limited time playing over the past few years, he has passed for 846 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions, while having a completion percentage of 47.6. He has a good arm and has demonstrated the ability to make every throw on the field.

The one knock on his limited playing time has been his low completion percentage. However, I feel that the sample size is not enough to be a fair assessment of him and it can be hard to tell if that low number is all on him, or if some blame falls on the route runners as well.

Regardless, that is something that will need to be improved upon, which another year in Joe Moorhead’s offense should help with his comfort level. Thompson is not the runner that Fitzgerald was, but is a good enough runner to be dangerous as he has rushed for 672 yards with 10 rushing touchdowns over the past few seasons.

Below is a clip demonstrating Thompson’s ability to run. He is similar in size to Fitzgerald and has a similar running style.

This next clip shows off Thompson’s arm. Yes, the receiver is wide open and the throw is against an FCS opponent, but it shows his ability to make every throw on the field as it relates to arm strength as he throws it over 50 yards in the air from the opposite hash.

Can Thompson keep the job he seemingly earned after Fitzgerald’s departure or will he have to fend off a transfer from Penn State?