A Look at Next Year: Quarterbacks

This season isn't over yet, but I can't help but start thinking about next year.  I'm excited about what MSU football has become and where it's going.  Each year he's been here, Mark Dantonio has made MSU stronger and stronger, to the point where they now look like a legitimate top 10 team in the nation.  Sure they lost in the Big Ten Championship final, but in that game you could see the flashes of brilliance that make you believe in this program.  Now, having said that, next year the Spartans will likely take a step back.  Actually, the defense may not drop off at all (more on that in a later article) and parts of the offense will be better (more on that later), but some critical pieces will simply have to go through growing pains: namely, the receivers and quarterbacks.  I have already talked about the receivers (and I will revisit them when the recruiting season is over), so here I want to focus on the quarterbacks.

People, the bottom line is that the quarterback position is solid, but it will, nevertheless, take a step back.  Kirk Cousins, for all the frustrating moments he had, was spectacular.  You cannot ask for much more of a college quarterback.  As is often the case with college quarterbacks, you don't appreciate how good a guy was until the next guy takes over.  There will be a noticeable drop-off, not so much because Andrew Maxwell (the likely starter for next year) is bad, but because Cousins was so good in his final season.

Maxwell is going to be a good quarterback, perhaps even better than Cousins, by the time he becomes a senior.  But as a junior, as a first time full time quarterback, I think he will struggle -- especially against the good defenses.  Fortunately, Maxwell won't have to carry the offens, the way Cousins had to this year when the O-line was struggling.  Maxwell will actually get to have a junior season more like Brian Hoyer's, who had the luxury of handing the ball off to Javon Ringer.  The Spartans' running game will be strong next year (more on that later), so all Maxwell has to do is play well enough to keep the defenses from stacking the box.

I wanted to post some video of Maxwell, because the little we've seen of him is encouraging.  Unfortunately, there isn't much of relevance out there except perhaps this clip reminding us that he was a highly regarded recruit (perhaps MSU's highest rated quarterback recruit in recent memory).  The few times I saw him this year, I was impressed with his accuracy and mobility.  His decision making wasn't really tested, and that's really what will determine how successful he will be next year.  We will just have to wait and see how that goes.  Maybe we'll get a good sense of it during the Spring game.

As for other quarterbacks, I hate to say it but if Maxwell goes down, the season could be lost.  We have some excellent young prospects but they're all so young  -- freshmen or redshirt freshmen.  I just can't see MSU doing well if one them has to take over.  Having said that, we have reason to be excited about the future as these guys develop.

First, let's take a look at Freshman Connor Cook.  Coming out of high school, Cook was not that highly rated.  Scout gave him 2 stars and Rivals gave him 3 stars.  But to me, his highlight clips look impressive.

He has excellent height and athleticism, and a pretty strong arm.  He also shows good accuracy -- though, of course, this is a highlight video.  Cook will only be a reshirt freshman next year, so I don't expect him to contribute much next year -- man I hope he doesn't have to.  But you can see that by the time Maxwell moves on, MSU should be in a position to just re-load at the quarterback position.

The Spartans also have another solid quarterback recruit scheduled to come in next year: Tyler O'Connor.  He is rated as a 3-star recruit by most recruiting sites, though 247 gives him 4 stars.   He has good size, mobility, and a strong arm.  In his highlight videos he also looks a little more polished than Cook.

I like how he does a little extra to sell various fakes.  At times he also reminds me of Keith Nichol, kind of a mobile gunslinger.  I wouldn't expect O'Connor to contribute much next year, unless MSU is absolutely devastated by injuries.  But, nonetheless, he looks like an excellent prospect.

MSU also has a couple of walk-ons who may be able to contribute.  There is freshman Tommy Vento, who actually has some pretty good video.

Vento had a pretty nice career in high school, but you can see that he doesn't quite have the tools the other top prospects have, and consequently, he didn't get much attention from the recruiting sites.  Of course, there are many examples in college football of walk-ons who have gone on to win the starting job.  So it's possible that he could one day become an important player at MSU.  Shoot, judging from his video, I'd say that if he works hard he has a chance to give the other guys a run for their money.

Finally, there is Peter Badovinac who transferred from Drake.  He will be a senior next year and he is about the same size as Kirk Cousins (in fact, it seems the coaches like QBs with Cousins' dimensions).  There's really not much info on Badovinac: no videos, he wasn't rated by recruiting sites, not much in the way of stats.  I can't see him contributing much, just because, if Maxwell goes down, I would imagine the coaches would want to give the younger guys a chance to develop -- unless, he somehow emerges in the Spring as a solid second option that can win games for the Spartans.

So the upshot for quarterback next year is that MSU is breaking in a new, junior quarterback.  That will certainly present some difficulties, especially since MSU will also be breaking in new starting receivers.  On the other hand, Maxwell should be the most naturally talented junior quarterback that MSU has ever had to break in, and he will likely benefit from a very strong running game.  We'll have to wait and see what unfolds, but I wouldn't be surprised if the passing game gets off to slow start next year and then becomes quite strong by the end of the season.  So that's what it comes down to: the talent at quarterback and receiver may actually be the best MSU has ever had, but the inexperience will keep it from reaching its full potential until about the last month of the season.