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Michigan State Football: 3 position battles to watch during 2021 spring game

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State's Kalon Gervin, right, celebrates a touchdown on a recovered Northwestern fumble during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.201128 Msu Northwestern 199a
Michigan State's Kalon Gervin, right, celebrates a touchdown on a recovered Northwestern fumble during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.201128 Msu Northwestern 199a /
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Michigan State’s Payton Thorne before the game against Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.201128 Msu Northwestern 004a
Michigan State’s Payton Thorne before the game against Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.201128 Msu Northwestern 004a /

1. Quarterback

Easily the most intriguing position to watch, the quarterback battle will be on everyone’s radar this spring and there’s a good chance it could extend all the way to the fall.

Anthony Russo might be the early favorite after transferring in from Temple. He had a decent career with the Owls where turnovers were really his only issue. He can sling it and take some shots down the field but he needs to be smarter with his decision-making. If he can improve that under this staff, he can be a problem for defenses.

Then there’s Payton Thorne who broke out at the end of the 2020 season with solid performances against Ohio State and Penn State. He was an immediate upgrade over Rocky Lombardi. The redshirt sophomore has plenty of talent but is he ready for a full-time starting role?

Theo Day is still there and he could make some moves this spring but chances are he’s third on the depth chart, fighting for a spot with early enrollee freshman Hamp Fay and redshirt freshman Noah Kim. The depth is there at quarterback obviously.

Will Thorne stand out over Russo? Will Day, Fay, or Kim impress?

Saturday will be all about the quarterbacks.

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