Mississippi State's football season is off to a fantastic start: two wins in the bag and a hyped up fanbase. That first game and Fitzgerald's part in it (or lack there of) has fans, students, and even fans of opposing teams asking themselves, "who's the better quarterback?"
Keytaon Thompson was a highly rated player coming out of high school and he's equipped with everything to become an outstanding quarterback. We lost this past year's Egg Bowl, but Thompson did help bring us out of the dust a little while subbing for Nick Fitzgerald and that incredible lead against Stephen F. Austin did not go unnoticed.
Fitzgerald, on the other hand, has the ability to take over a game when he's on 100%. During one season he had over 2,400 passing yards. That's fantastic, especially combined with over 1,300 rushing yards. Granted, injuries have never allowed him to finish a full season, but when he's doing well, he's a top-level quarterback.
There are many conflicting opinions on their downfalls, though. A student attending the University of Alabama has said "Keytaon just needs this year to get more experience under his belt. He needs to develop his decision making and work on not being so trigger happy and running out of the pocket before he lets the play develop." Some of Mississippi State's own students are taking the two boys' character into account, saying that Thompson tends to be a "better human".
Other longtime dawg fans and students are quite vocal about the athletic ability that Fitzgerald has that Thompson just doesn't. And that's not saying that Thompson won't ever sharpen his skills, but just that he still has more to work on than Fitzgerald does. He's a younger guy so it's fair to say that the comparison should be made relative to what their experience level is.
The majority tend to agree though that Fitzgerald is the better player as it currently stands. He knows how to take control of the field and his decision making is excellent when he can "shake off the rust from downtime" as a Mississippi State freshman has said. Thompson could prove to be toe to toe with Fitzgerald as he keeps playing. He has a lot of potential and there's no telling how great he could be in seasons to come. Stay tuned bulldog fam, and make sure to keep your eyes on both athletes. One of them might surprise all of us.
Cover Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/football-ball-play-leaves-sewn-3564337/
