Moorhead impressed with play of Bulldog true freshman QB Shrader

Mississippi State true freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader became the latest QB Country trainee to step up under difficult circumstances, replacing injured starter Tommy Stevens in the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ 38-15 victory over Southern Miss. Garrett was ready for his moment, going 7/11 for 71 yards and earning the affirmation of head coach, Joe Moorhead:

As long as I’ve known him, he’s a guy that the situation is never too big for him. When Tommy was out and we said you’re in, he didn’t have that deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes. He just went in there.

“We got in at halftime and talked about a couple of plays that he wasn’t necessarily comfortable with because he didn’t get a ton of reps during the week. But for a true freshman to come in and operate the way he did, I was happy how he was able to step in there.”

Before Shrader entered the game, Moorhead eased his mind with a joking comment. But he knew that Shrader was not going to “lack confidence”.

“I told him to not screw it up and got a chuckle out of that,” added Moorhead. “Like I said from the beginning, confidence is one thing that Garrett Shrader does not lack. There wasn’t any ‘let’s settle down’ or ‘do this.’ It was go run the offense and this is what we recruited you for.”

Read more at 247sports.com  and the Clarion Ledger.