Life without Dak Prescott for Mississippi State and 10 more irreplaceable players
— -- Mississippi State quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson knows all too well the current situation facing his crop of quarterbacks.
Back in 2005, Johnson was a player tasked with replacing one of Utah's greatest players in Alex Smith, who left school early for the NFL after guiding the Utes to a 12-0 season and a blowout win over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl during his Heisman Trophy finalist campaign.
The future No. 1 pick left an iconic footprint in Salt Lake City, but Johnson made his own way by winning another BCS bowl game, finishing his career with the most wins by a Utah quarterback (26) and finding himself on the cover of EA Sports' NCAA Football video game.
Now, it's time for Coach Johnson to find the next Brian Johnson to step in for the renowned Dak Prescott.
"It's a process," Johnson said. "The biggest thing is you don't do it in one year. You have to continue to build your talent pool and build your cupboard."
That cupboard features junior Damian Williams, redshirt sophomores Nick Fitzgerald and Elijah Staley, and redshirt freshman Nick Tiano.
What it doesn't have is Prescott, Mississippi State's most decorated player with 38 school records. The two-time All-SEC quarterback was eighth in the Heisman voting in 2014 and helped direct the Bulldogs to their first-ever No. 1 ranking.
Prescott went 19-7 as a starter in his last two years. He was one of four players in FBS history and the second player in SEC history to throw for 70 touchdowns and rush for 40 touchdowns in a career. He's one of 10 players in FBS history and the second player in SEC history to pass for 8,500 yards and rush for 2,000 yards. He accounted for 114 career touchdowns (fourth in SEC history) and registered 11,897 yards of total offense (third in SEC history).
"He had everything you looked for [in a quarterback]," Johnson said. "He carried himself extremely well and he played extremely well. He's probably my favorite player I've ever coached in my young coaching career."
In other words, Prescott left giant cleats to fill. In even more words, one does not merely replace Dak Prescott.
Honestly, you can't find the perfect replacement for the school's former ambassador, and it isn't fair to build in that direction. Prescott's play in Starkville changed this football program forever and it would be a disservice to say his coaches can just replace him.
(Those in Starkville continue to speak of Prescott in glowing terms even after his weekend arrest on a DUI charge.)
Prescott was unique because he was constructed from the ground up, yet turned into a star. Dan Mullen and his coaches have done well with development, but Mississippi State doesn't have the brand like Alabama to constantly bring in stars, let alone replace them.
While Derrick Henry just enjoyed the best season ever by an Alabama running back, the Crimson Tide have the ability to replace him with players like Bo Scarbrough in a heartbeat. Nick Chubb easily replaced Todd Gurley at Georgia and Jalen Tabor will step right in for former multi-time All-American Vernon Hargreaves III at Florida.
Mississippi State doesn't have that luxury, but it does have four quarterbacks who have watched, worked with and learned from Prescott. There's experience with both Fitzgerald and Williams, and Johnson sees plenty of upside in Staley and Tiano. Fitzgerald is the early favorite, but his extensive work came against Troy in 2015.
In the end, none of these players is Prescott, but, then again, who could be?
"We're as prepared as we possibly can be for the departure of Dak," Johnson said.
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