FWtCT Interview: Nick Fitzgerald

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls managing editor, Landon Young, had the opportunity to talk with former MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and ask him some questions.

Here is that interview:

Landon: How has life been since you left Mississippi State?

Nick Fitzgerald: “Life’s been kind of a roller coaster. I went from being on the practice squad with the Bucs, bounced around and did some odd jobs, began getting involved in real estate while I was in Tampa and now I’m about to enter the Spring League.”

Landon: What was your favorite thing about Starkville, Mississippi?

Nick Fitzgerald: “Starkville is a special place. The first thing that comes to mind is the family atmosphere that place has. It truly is something special that is unexplainable.”

Landon: I have my opinion of your best game at State. What do you think the best game you ever played was?

Nick Fitzgerald: “Barring the first little bit of the game, my senior night against Arkansas. I felt as if I was throwing the ball around well and putting up a lot of points. Also, maybe LSU in 2017. We were pretty much able to do whatever we wanted offensively.”

Landon: I think the best game I’ve seen Nick Fitzgerald play was against Alabama 2017... We lost that game, but I’ve never seen you run so hard and passionate. Is there something about this game that sticks out to you?

Nick Fitzgerald: “It was one of those things where we knew how good we were. We knew how good our offense and defense were. We knew we were going to win that game before we went out there. [Alabama] had a great team and I had a chance to win it at the end, and I think I ended up throwing it out of the back of the end zone, but yeah it was a good game.”

Landon: For the young guns at MSU right now, what advice would you give to them as a former student-athlete?

Nick Fitzgerald: “When I first got to MSU and was behind Dak Prescott, I just tried to be a sponge and learn from how he treated people, coaches, refs, students, fans, media. So, for the young guy coming in, find a starter that you truly believe is doing things right and study him and try to be yourself and learn what they’re doing.”

Landon: What’s your favorite restaurant in Starkville?

Nick Fitzgerald: “Whew, that’s a tough one. You can never answer this correctly haha. I was probably at La Terraza the most or Umi.”

Landon: When you played against Ole Miss, what was the nastiest/worst thing ever communicated to you or by you?

Nick Fitzgerald: “You know, when it comes to playing against Ole Miss, I really didn’t talk a lot of trash or have anything said super memorable to me. I know in 2014 when we traveled to Ole Miss, I wasn’t a starter, but I just remember so many cheap shots being thrown around that game. But really when I was playing against Ole Miss, players really didn’t talk that much trash to me. When the first year you set records on them and beat them that bad in their own place, it’s hard for them to talk to you.”

Landon: Thoughts on Leach and year two?

Nick Fitzgerald: “I really am just looking forward to the day I can go sit down in his office and just talk about anything crazy that he can come up with. I loved the pirate. I loved the bandwagon. I think we have a great team. I think we can do something big with Leach. I think our offense is going to be explosive, and I think our defense is going to be nasty. I can’t see our team dropping too many games this year.”

Landon: What’s next and what we can expect from Nick Fitzgerald?

Nick Fitzgerald: “Well, I’ve got the Spring League coming up and I’m going to be a Sea Lion haha. The end goal is absolutely to get back into the NFL. With Tampa, they had me playing all kinds of different positions. I learned how to play tight end, kickoff return, punt return, and all kinds of positions. On the quarterback side, I just got better and better at processing information with reads and such. I’m always open to do anything. In the Spring League, I’m pretty positive I’ll only be playing quarterback and I’m obviously okay with that, but if I get back in the league and someone says they want me to play tight end, I’ll play tight end. I just want a shot.”