NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the 10th consecutive season, Mississippi State football prepares for postseason play as the Bulldogs arrived to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville on Christmas night and then went through their first Music City Bowl game week practice on Thursday afternoon.
MSU (6-6) practiced for just under two hours at Vanderbilt Stadium, its first workout since Dec. 21. Following practice, head coach Joe Moorhead and quarterback Tommy Stevens met with media members.
Moorhead announced that Stevens will start Monday’s game against Louisville in place of freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader, who sustained an upper-body injury in a recent practice.
Stevens, a graduate transfer from Penn State, has started eight games this season and completed 80 of 135 passes for 934 yards and nine touchdowns against five interceptions.
The Bulldogs will have similar schedule Friday with morning meetings and afternoon practice.
Monday’s game will kick off at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN. Tickets are available at HailState.com/bowltickets and start at $85 for reserved and $120 for club.
In addition to 50 percent off access to the official MSU Alumni Association Tailgate prior to the game, fans who purchase Music City Bowl tickets directly from the MSU Athletic Ticket Office will receive three Bulldog Club priority points per ticket and have the opportunity to attend one spring practice at a date and time to be announced, followed by free food and an exclusive appearance to hear from head coach Joe Moorhead.
For more information on the Music City Bowl, visit HailState.com/Gameday.
Below are quotes from Moorhead’s media session following practice Thursday…
Opening Statement…
“We’re very fortunate to be in a bowl game of this stature, and our kids are fired up to be here. We picked up where we left off on campus. We were physical. We were urgent. We kept getting better every day and got a bunch of developmental stuff done. We picked up where we left off today, and I thought it was a very good start for first and second down stuff. The kids are fired up. It was a good practice. We have to keep elevating to have a chance to beat a very good team like Louisville.”
On the starting quarterback…
“Yeah, just go through the injuries. Garrett [Shrader], upper body, doubtful to out. Jaden Crumedy a lower body, probable. Jaquarius Landrews lower body, probable. And Erroll Thompson lower body, probable.”
On changing quarterbacks…
“We’re experts at it this year. We’ve done it a time or two, played the shuffle. I mean, Tommy [Stevens] is an experienced guy. When he’s been healthy, he’s performed very well. So Tommy will be the No. 1, and he’ll go in and operate the offense, make plays with his arm and his feet. I know the guys have a ton of confidence in him. For a graduate transfer, senior quarterback to have the opportunity to lead his team to a win in the bowl game, we’re very excited about that. Keytaon Thompson will be the backup, and we’re also giving Jalen [Mayden] some reps. That’ll be the depth chart right now. Tommy will be the one, and KT will be the two.”
On how the quarterback change affects the game plan…
“Tommy was taking it with the twos. They weren’t running different plays, it’s just the number of them that they run. The ones get more reps than the twos. Tommy had been operating all of those plays. There may be a little bit of a difference in what we emphasize relative to the play call based on Tommy’s strengths and Garrett’s strengths, but it doesn’t change anything. The repetitions are changed. Really who it affects is KT, not Tommy.”
On if Shrader’s injury will be long term…
“No, he and Jay Jimison are the only two not here right now, and we expect them in the next day or so.”
On the reasoning behind the quarterback change…
“It was an upper body injury.”
On what he’s seen on Louisville…
“Louisville, I’m not really close with Coach [Scott] Satterfield, but I’ve met him. When I was at Akron, he was the offensive coordinator at Appalachian State. We had kind of done some professional development, talked a little bit about the Spread. I’ve kind of followed him since then and his ascent to the head job at Appalachian and now the fantastic job he’s done here with the turnaround. They’re very explosive and balanced on offense. They run the ball very well and have a 1,000-yard rusher, 1,000-yard receiver, and their quarterback is a dual threat. A lot of inside and outside zone. Defensively, they play an odd front. They’re going to pressure you a lot and mix up the coverages. They go from 2-10 to 7-5 in the bowl game and I think coach was Coach of the Year in the ACC if I’m not mistaken. Obviously, they’re very well coached. They’re talented, and they’re going to be motivated just like us.”
On Louisville’s running back testing his defense…
“Yes, and I think that’s a big thing in any game, particularly bowl games. They’re a lot of times dictated by momentum and tackling. When you’ve been off for an extended period of time, we need to win the explosive play battle and win the turnover battle. Part of that is how well they run the ball and making sure this running back doesn’t bust us. We’ve got to keep them on the ground. We can’t let them get a lot of explosive runs.
On if any other players will be out for the contest…
“No, no grade issues. Everyone is eligible.”
On punter Tucker Day…
“Tucker’s improved from last year to this year. There’s just some things, directionally, with his kicking that we’ve got to improve a little bit, but his distance, his hang time, his get off have all been much improved this season.”
On if the game plan had already been installed…
“Yeah, the game plan has been installed for quite some time. Date back, this is Louisville practice No. 9, so the game plan was done in its entirety before we left. I think we had five complete Louisville practices before we left. Prior to that it was developmental.”
On if he sees an opportunity for his running back to excel…
“Yeah. I think, not specific to their defense but any team that we play, our success is predicated upon running the ball well. When teams commit numbers to the box by pressure or support, that creates some opportunities in the pass game. We’re still working through some of those pieces in our pass game to be balanced the way we want to. Certainly with the line we have, the tight ends, the quarterback involvement in the run game and Kylin [Hill] and our stable of running backs, we definitely have to get the run game cranking.”
On how disappointing Shrader’s absence is…
“Just in a sense that he was coming off of a big, emotional win in the Egg Bowl as a freshman starter. We’re masters of dealing with adversity this season. This is just another opportunity for us to get better.”
Below are quotes from Stevens’ media session following practice Thursday…
On how he learned he would start…
“Found out Saturday after practice. I’m really excited about the opportunity. Hopefully, we’ll be ready for win No. 7.”
On if he needed to catch up on the game plan…
“No, I take pride in every opportunity I did have to start – we’re talking way back in my redshirt freshman year at Penn State – I always took it as though I was the starter. I’ve continued to do the same things here when I was the starter and when I haven’t been the starter. There have been no changes in how I’ve prepared.”
On how excited he is for his final collegiate game…
“Yeah, I’m very excited. There’s a great opportunity ahead for us. We’ve got a lot of things that we need to do moving forward for the game, but we’re really looking forward to it.”
On his health…
“I feel good, really good.”
On the Louisville defense…
“They’re a fast team. They play hard every snap. Fiesty group that, like I said, likes to play hard. We’re really looking forward to the opportunity to play against them.”
