Michigan State Football: Report card from first month of 2021 season

Payton Thorne: A-

I would call this “quarterbacks” instead of just “Payton Thorne” but the sophomore has gotten about 99 percent of the snaps.

Thorne has looked really good this season and his grade would have been an A if not for a rough showing against Nebraska to end the month. He had a decent first half after throwing an early pick (his first of the year), but he couldn’t seem to muster any sort of momentum in the second half as the Spartans didn’t have a single first down and had 15 yards on 14 plays.

Other than the second half against Nebraska, Thorne has been fantastic.

In the opener, he looked solid and didn’t need to do much as Kenneth Walker III did the rest. Against Youngstown State, he had some explosive plays and showed that he can make the downfield throws. The Miami game was also solid and he shut the door on the Hurricanes with his arm and his legs.

Through four games, he has 909 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. He’s completing 62 percent of his passes and he’s averaging 9.1 yards per attempt.

Not a bad start to the career of the Spartans’ latest QB1.