Michigan State Football: Top 50 players of all time

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; View of the trophy held up by Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Michigan State won 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

33. Earl Morrall

Quarterbacks weren’t even considered to be a pass-heavy position back when Earl Morrall took the reigns of the Spartan offense from 1953-55. He made passing a thing before passing the ball was even thought of at Michigan State, gaining national attention in his final season in East Lansing in 1955.

During that year, he completed 42-of-68 passes for 948 yards and finished fourth in Heisman voting. Yes, you are reading that correctly, 948 passing yards was good enough to be considered one of the top players in college football and the quarterback was also known for his ability to boot the ball down the field as a punter, averaging 42.9 yards per punt.

Who says quarterbacks during the 1950s couldn’t pass for a ton of yards? Morall finished with a school record 274 yards against Marquette in 1955 — now that kind of stat seems routine.

Morrall is known primarily for that 1955 season in which he passed for nearly 1,000 yards and led the Spartans to their second Rose Bowl victory in three years as the newest members of the Big Ten. He was a backup quarterback in 1953, so the first Rose Bowl wasn’t under his direction, but he was the main reason they beat UCLA 17-14 in 1955.

Michigan State claimed a national title that season behind the All-American quarterback’s play, but finished second in the AP poll behind unbeaten Oklahoma.

Next: 32. Sedrick Irvin