Michigan State football listed as contender to land Houston’s D’Eriq King

Michigan State football was one of the first schools to offer D’Eriq King out of high school and Las Vegas thinks the Spartans have a chance with him.

Brian Lewerke’s eligibility has been exhausted and despite breaking some Michigan State yardage records, he wasn’t praised on the same level of a Connor Cook or Kirk Cousins because of his accuracy issues and lack of team success with him at the helm.

Outside of a 10-win season in 2017, Lewerke led two 7-6 teams in three years. While he was injured plenty throughout his career and playing through it may have contributed to his confidence issues and regression with accuracy, he still showcased his talent and looked like a top-tier quarterback on occasion (Northwestern and Penn State in 2017).

With him gone, the Spartans don’t have a clear starter under center for the 2020 season which makes the transfer portal an intriguing option.

Rumor has it the Michigan State coaching staff was entertaining the thought of adding Stanford’s KJ Costello, but decided to stick with the three quarterbacks currently on the roster as well as incoming freshman Noah Kim.

But D’Eriq King’s decision to enter the transfer portal may change their minds. The Spartans were one of the first schools to offer the Texas-native out of high school. That alone might put Michigan State in this race, as well as the fact that his main recruiters are still on the staff.

Vegas also thinks the Spartans have a good shot with him, listing them as the No. 6 favorite to land the former three-star athlete from Manvel.

While I don’t think this staff is willing to take a chance in the portal at the quarterback position despite the major pay-off it could bring, it should still be an interesting storyline to follow.

Michigan State’s staff may like what they see in Payton Thorne, Theo Day and Rocky Lombardi, but King is a different type of talent. He could be an absolute game-changer from day one as he proved in 2018 with 2,892 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air with only six picks. He can also run as he had 674 yards and 14 more touchdowns that season.

King decided to sit after the fourth game of 2019 due to a rocky start for both himself and Houston in order to maintain a redshirt and work to get back in 2020. He will be refreshed and well-rested when he picks his next home.

Michigan State wasn’t sure what position to recruit him as back in high school, but now that he’s shown the ability to excel at quarterback, he deserves a serious look.