msu conner to QB

[UA-CT 1]

Former MSU QB/current MSU WR Omarr Conner might be the starting QB again. I've heard he'll be the starting QB this weekend...can anyone one comfirm? any thoughts? Good Luck this weekend guys, though I don't think it's needed.

[TigerfanKM 37]

Doesn't sound like it in this article from Al.com.

'Just call the game'

Friday, September 08, 2006

By NEAL McCREADY

Sports Reporter

Mike Henig suffered a broken collarbone around midfield late in the second quarter of Mississippi State's season-opening loss to South Carolina last week.

Henig's backup, Tray Rutland, played just four games as a high school senior in 2004 and was redshirted in 2005. Still, MSU coach Sylvester Croom threw the 6-foot-1, 221-pounder from Decatur, Ga., right into the fire.

The first play called with Rutland under center was a deep corner route to wide receiver Keon Humphries. Rutland's throw was a thing of beauty and probably should have resulted in a touchdown that would have given the Bulldogs the lead. Instead, Humphries dropped it.

"That's one of our best passing plays," Rutland said earlier this week. "We like that play a lot and coach Croom thought it was a perfect time to run it. I was just concentrating on putting it where he could catch it. I did that, but unfortunately it wasn't a grab. But I know we'll get it next time."

"That's a big-time throw," Croom said. "I'm more impressed with Tray today than I was this time last week."

That's good news for Mississippi State because with Henig out at least six weeks, the Bulldogs' hopes are going to ride on the fleet feet and strong left arm of Rutland, whose first start comes Saturday when MSU (0-1) faces No. 4 Auburn (1-0) in Starkville, Miss. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m.

"There will be things that we won't ask him to do and things we add because of who he is," Croom said. "We'll ask him to be Tray Rutland and not somebody else."

Rutland was 6-of-15 passing for 63 yards and two interceptions in the 15-0 loss to South Carolina.

Auburn, which had five sacks in a 40-14 win over Washington State, presents major problems for a Bulldogs offense that accumulated just 161 yards of offense while surrendering five sacks against the Gamecocks. To make matters worse, Mississippi State will be without freshman tailback Anthony Dixon, who broke a finger this week just hours after being named the starter.

Croom made protection a bigger priority this week by shifting linemen around for a third time in two weeks. One of the key changes was moving senior Brian Anderson from right tackle to guard. Wide receiver Omarr Conner, a former quarterback, took some snaps this week, as well, just for insurance.

"I don't plan on pulling (Rutland)," Croom said. "We've gotta do some things to keep them honest. We can't just let them tee off on us. If we get in a situation where we have to throw the football on every snap, it could be a real, real long afternoon. We have to prevent that from happening."

Croom said he's confident Rutland will keep his cool Saturday against one of the SEC's top defenses.

"When we signed Tray, it wasn't necessarily to be our quarterback of the future. We needed a quarterback and he was a very good athlete," he said. "When we signed him, and this was one of the reasons we waited so long, I really wasn't sure he had what I was looking for in a quarterback. I told him that if it didn't work out, we'd move him to receiver but we'd give him a year and see. He has impressed me. The thing that impressed me (against South Carolina) was he actually showed more poise and calmness in the game than he had in practice, and I was very concerned about that.

"He was very confident in what he was doing. Nothing rattled him. At one point when we went back out in the second half, I asked him, 'Is there anything that you don't like? Just give me a quick list to remind me.' He said, 'Just call the game.' I was very surprised at that."

Told of Croom's comments, Rutland said: "I've surprised people a lot. When I was younger, I switched high school three times and each time I switched, I was labeled the starting quarterback. It was three different offenses, three different high schools, and I learned pretty quick and it's not hard for me. All I have to do is know what I have to do and focus. Anything can happen when you do that."

[auwallace 6]

i expect to see both, though it looks like rutland will start. I doubt croom will hesitate to yank him after a couple of mistakes. USC defense not close to sniffing AU defense's under armour skull caps.