Michigan State Football: All-time Spartan team
Quarterback(2): Kirk Cousins
It’s hard to really remember anyone outside of Connor Cook right now because he has won so many games, but that comes with the territory of being an elite program now. Kirk Cousins was Cook before Cook was Cook.
Kirk Cousins was really the quarterback who got the winning tradition started for the Spartans. Some might argue that was Brian Hoyer who was right before him, but Cousins was that guy. Everyone loved him as Michigan State’s quarterback and he led the Spartans to their first bowl win under Dantonio in the 2011 season when they beat Georgia in triple-overtime of the Outback Bowl.
Although he ended up being one of the great winners of the Mark Dantonio Era — and of all time, really — Cousins wasn’t just handed the starting job when Hoyer graduated before the 2009 season. He had to battle it out with Oklahoma-transfer Keith Nichol who eventually converted to wide receiver because Cousins proved to be the better passer.
Cousins was an All-Big Ten type of quarterback and he finished his Spartan career as the leading passer in terms of yards (9,131) and touchdown passes (66) before getting passed up in the latter category by Connor Cook in 2015. Cousins is about to be surpassed by Cook in both of those categories, but he is better than Connor in one category: accuracy.
Captain Kirk is now the starting QB for the Washington Redskins.
Next: Running Back(1)