Michigan State Football: Payton Thorne has bright future after record-breaking season

Payton Thorne had a solid season for Michigan State football. He was able to put himself among the top quarterbacks to play for the Spartans.

Michigan State football started its 2021 campaign off with a lot of unknowns. The only things that were known were the two standout wide receivers that would be running routes all season. Would that matter, though, with the unknown of who would be playing quarterback, and could this QB1 excel in this system?

With Rocky Lombardi transferring out of Michigan State, that left a hole at quarterback that would be easily filled. Well throughout the offseason, Payton Thorne showed enough to land him the starting job. Into the 2021 opener, many were wondering if he had what it would take to lead this team to a winning season.

Now at the end of the season, I think it is safe to say that Thorne has what it takes to win as a Spartan and he excelled being the guy under center and will continue to do so for years to come.

Overshadowed by the amazing season Kenneth Walker III had, Thorne was quietly chipping away at this record. He had a successful season because of the play by Walker. However, Walker decided to opt out of the bowl game to focus on the NFL draft. Thorne was still able to find productivity without a star running back leading the way.

Thorne finished the game with 354 passing yards and three touchdowns with one pick. These three touchdowns were enough to give Thorne 27 total passing touchdowns in a single season breaking the previous record of 25 passing touchdowns in a single season held by Kirk Cousins.

The 354 yards were not record-breaking but it lands him in the top 10 in most passing yards in a game and in the top-three for most passing yards in a single season.

For the first-year starter, he had some downfalls but overall he had a great season. Thorne needed one less game to break this record. That is impressive stuff. He still has plenty to learn such as not always going deep or dumping it off but an 8-12 yard pass is acceptable.

He will be able to progress throughout the years and lead this team to many more victories. He could even break some more of these Spartan records in the meantime.