Mississippi State University football is officially in full swing as they held their first scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

Head coach Joe Moorhead talked about his thoughts on the scrimmage. 

“I’m as I always say, ‘pleased but not satisfied,’” Moorhead said. “It was the first opportunity to come out in a live scrimmage situation. And a couple of our goals, we talk about dominating situational football and competing. I thought we did those two things. And then improving every practice. Ultimately, the offensive coordinator wants the offense to do well. The defensive coordinator wants the defense to do well. The special teams coordinator wants the special teams to do well. But as the head coach, you want to see a good give-and-take throughout the course of practice. The offense making plays, the defense making plays. And I thought we did that.”

Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons and Marquiss Spencer, cornerback Jamal Peters, and receivers Keith Mixon and Stephen Guidry did not play in the scrimmage.

Sophomore Keytaon Thompson, of New Orleans, got the first team and second team quarterback reps. He went 15-28 on the day for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He ran seven times for 17 yards (number includes yards lost on three sacks). He threw three interceptions.

“He’s getting a ton of reps, and this is incredibly valuable for him,” Moorhead said. “He made a bunch of good plays today, and made some decisions he’d like to have back. But you can see a guy that is very smart. Coach (Andrew) Breiner is doing a good job of teaching the offense. And a live arm, he can make all the throws and certainly can run as well. These are reps that are tremendously valuable in his development.”

Aeris Williams led the team in rushing with nine rushes for 41 yards and touchdown. Austin Williams led the team in receiving with three catches for 56 yards. Jamal Couch also had two catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.

The defense rotated throughout the day. Leading them was Willie Gay Jr. with four tackles, two for loss and a forced fumble. Chauncey Rivers and Kobe Jones also had a tackle for loss. Rivers had a pass break up and Jones had three tackles. Gerri Green, Tim Washington and Lee Autry all had a sack. Washington also had an interception he returned for 50 yards. Chris Rayford, Stephen Adegoke and Cameron Miller also had an interception each.

Overall, Moorhead said the defense had a good day getting turnovers in the red zone and keyed in on the battle in the trenches.

“I think it’s a great battle, and I think it’s a microcosm of what we see every day in practice,” Moorhead said. “I tell our guys if one side is constantly kicking the other side, but throughout the course of practice, you’re in for a long season. You know, we want our practice to be like a 15-round heavyweight bout that goes to the card. And that’s it’s been, it’s either by period or by day these guys have been competing and getting after each other. Ultimately realizing it’s more about the team than it is about one side of the ball or the individual. So like I said, this is just a representation of what we’ve done all spring.”

MSU will have their next scrimmage this Saturday after two more days of practice Tuesday and Friday. The Maroon-White Spring Game is set for 3 p.m. April 21.