Nick Fitzgerald on Mullen: 'He was a phenomenal coach'

ATLANTA, Ga.-- Nick Fitzgerald was not a highly rated recruit, a two-star recruit on Rivals, he was not a highly sought after quarterback. However, Dan Mullen picked him as his quarterback of choice.

" I think when I committed, there were a lot of people in the fan base who didn’t think I should’ve been on the team," Fitzgerald told reporters at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. “I think he kind of saw raw talent, raw ability he could work with."

Mullen offered the signal caller after Fitzgerald camped at Mississippi State in the summer of 2013, and the quarterback has since won over the MSU fan base.

During his high school career, the Peach State native rarely threw the ball as his high school, Richmond Hill, ran a triple-option offense. But after a few years under Mullen, Fitzgerald has recorded 66 touchdowns (30 rushing) the last two seasons. Thus when Mullen decided to leave Mississippi State to return to Gainesville to coach Florida, Fitzgerald was sad to see the head coach leave.

“It was tough. He was the guy who recruited me and gave me my shot, one of my only two offers. He was a phenomenal coach that taught me how to be the quarterback that I am," said Fitzgerald. "When he left, it didn’t seem like anything was going to happen. There were always rumors of Dan Mullen is going here or there, and then we had a team meeting and he told us he was leaving."

Fitzgerald credits Mullen with his transformation into a dual-threat quarterback.

"Really kind of focused on breaking down my throwing motion and building it back up into something that was going to be a little bit better for me, more accurate."

So what should Gators expect from Mullen on the field?

"You are going to get more yelling and screaming with Coach Mullen and his staff," he said. "It was great to play for Mullen, but I’m really excited to play for Coach Moorhead.”