Michigan State Football: Top 10 quarterbacks in school history
4. Drew Stanton (2003-06)
Unfortunately for Drew Stanton, he became the starting quarterback for Michigan State during a very dark time in the program’s history. While he was one of the most exciting dual-threats in school history, if not the most exciting, Stanton never played in a bowl game as the starter and never led Michigan State to more than five wins.
A lot of the struggle had to do with John L. Smith being the head coach and Stanton graduated in 2006 while Mark Dantonio came in 2007. Could you imagine how much success Stanton could have seen with Coach D leading the way?
Stanton was a dual-threat quarterback before dual-threats were even cool and he happened to be one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in school history. Not many other gunslingers can play on special teams as a freshman before taking the reigns under center as a sophomore.
In his first year as the starting quarterback in 2004, Stanton finished with 1,601 passing yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions while running for another 687 yards and five scores — oh yeah, and he caught a touchdown pass on a trick play.
The 2005 season was his best, though, as he finished with 3,077 yards, 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through the air while rushing for another 338 yards and four scores.
Stanton led MSU to its second and third-most prolific offensive seasons in terms of total yards in 2004 and 2005, respectively. He finished with 6,524 passing yards (4th), 42 touchdown passes (7th), 543 completions (4th) and a 64.2 percent completion rate which is good for best all-time at MSU.
Also, as a dual-threat, Stanton finished with the most combined passing and rushing yards and a single season at Michigan State in 2005.
Next: 3. Dave Yarema (1982-86)