Stephen:
There’s a ton of content budgeting nuance that goes into my decision-making so I’ll try to be as clear as possible, but if you have any additional questions, let me know.
First, I just want to make a few points on the content. You and everyone else is completely within their right to agree/disagree. But I try to anticipate what additional questions/comments readers and viewers may have and best explain how this was viewed on the production end.
I want to establish the premise a bit: The argument was that, while Dak is a promising quarterback, it’s too early to begin talking Heisman for him – and everyone in college football – and that such talk is premature in July. For those who found it to be negative, I just want to point out this as well: It’s not until the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] graph where any critique of Prescott is mentioned. And the critique is something that he, his coaches and most agree on: His passing skills need refinement. And immediately following that graph is this:
But Prescott did win (the Egg Bowl), with his legs but also his arm. There's a consistent chorus about Prescott's arm strength, and it's shown when Prescott makes tight throws across the middle of the field.
"He challenged us," Texas A&M defensive back Deshazor Everett said. "That was actually the one game where I was in perfect position in coverage and, bam, the receiver catches the ball. It was just a great throw, and he was throwing the ball all over the field."
And, especially for a still-young quarterback, he looks comfortable moving off his primary receiver and finding the second and third options. He did that against Ole Miss, moving the Bulldogs down the field to tie the game as a result.
To address some other questions/comments/concerns I’ve received this week:
1. We did not write that MSU and Prescott is orchestrating his Heisman candidacy. I’ve received the criticism that we did a lot this week.
To pull verbatim from the text: “No school should ever spend another dime on a Heisman Trophy campaign. That, if nothing else, is what Dak Prescott's offseason proved. Based largely on a handful of very complimentary comments from an ESPN analyst, an Egg Bowl comeback and a Liberty Bowl rout, Mississippi State's Prescott went from an unknown SEC quarterback to potential "Heisman Trophy contender." It was an aggressive promotional campaign run almost exclusively by talk radio, message boards and social media.”
2. A lot of people have asked why we focused on the Heisman talk and not the quality of his character (and his resolve shown following the death of his mother, and during her illness). First, at SEC Media Days and within this state throughout the spring/summer, there’s been significant talk about Dak as a potential Heisman candidate. Really, since ESPN’s Jesse Palmer brought it up, that’s been a major topic discussed by college football fans here. So that’s where the conversation is at the moment in regards to Dak Prescott. His leadership ability was mentioned in Kellenberger’s analysis, and beyond that, I am happy to provide links to previous stories we have written about Dak that have illustrated his character.
3. Yes, I know Bo Wallace makes mistakes too. And we have reported on them, including a sidebar in Friday’s newspaper from Michael Bonner that went over how his Egg Bowl struggles have continued to haunt him. But Hugh’s point was never Bo Wallace is superior to Dak Prescott, or vice versa. But I get this a lot.
OK, all that being said about the content, I understand readers/viewers will disagree. That comes with the territory of writing about things that people passionately care about. Above, I only want to establish our mindset and what did/didn’t write. I get it. I am a die-hard fan of the Chicago Bears. I draw my blinds and call my high school football coach to talk during the games. There’s times I read/hear/see a critique of Jay Cutler in June and get red-faced because this, as a fan, is a time of the year for largely unbridled optimism. But I also know that they are responsible in tempering my hopes that Cutler will throw for 4,200 yards and 38 touchdowns, or perhaps just play all 16 games.
Now as to why Hugh Kellenberger wrote about Mississippi State.
On the days where Ole Miss or Mississippi State met the media, I asked the lead beat reporter to write the main print item. That’s the “Take Five.” The Take Fives hit on much more than a traditional story, which is why I like them – blankets more topics – but they are lengthy. The other reporter handles the other big story from the day.
Hugh writing about MSU was not anomaly. Two days later, Michael Bonner, who as you know is tasked primarily with covering Mississippi State, wrote about Bo Wallace.
Years ago, you may have seen the individual beat reporter handle multiple print stories for the newspaper. But you have to keep in mind, we are much more than just a newspaper now. During SEC Media Days, each reporter produced five or more text items for the website and did video work with our video journalist Courtney Cronin throughout the day. It’s a haul. So we maximize our coverage abilities by using both reporters.
In advance, I explained to the reporters what I wanted covered and that included Hugh writing about Dak at the SEC Media Days. After Mississippi State met the media, he and I discussed the angle and we went ahead with coverage. If there’s complaints of why something ran, that always lies with me and not the individual reporter.
Was there other angles available to us? Sure. But as the person who is responsible for our content, I found Hugh’s analysis of the Dak-for-Heisman situation to be well-reasoned.
Note: You had asked if I wanted it posted on your site. As with any response I send to a concerned reader/viewer, I have no control of what happens after I hit “send.” I am writing this to you as someone who expressed concern over our coverage, and I am doing my best to explain the methodology behind why we did what we did. So that’s my non-response response on that: I don’t care.
Again, I apologize for the length but I tend to give readers/viewers as full of a response as I can.
Thanks.
Zack Creglow
Sports editor | Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger
REDACTED| [email protected]
