Michigan State Football: Who will fill offensive void left by Kenneth Walker III?
By Gavin Kozlo
2. Payton Thorne, QB
Payton Thorne had a sneaky-good season with the Spartans last year and it doesn’t get recognized nearly as much as it should. This is probably due to the fact Kenneth Walker got a lot of the media attention. But in 2022, fans could see a breakout year for Thorne.
At the end of the 2021 season, Thorne closed out with 3,240 yards, 27 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 77.7 QBR. With those numbers, Thorne’s yards, touchdowns, and QBR were all top 25 in the nation. This was all while being a run-first offense because of Walker.
Thorne showed a lot of great things last season, he showed he has an elite deep ball, which also included his great arm strength and accuracy, along with good pocket awareness which is important because MSU’s offensive line was not the greatest. He’s able to use his legs when needed and when the coverage downfield is too good or the pocket collapses.
Next year, I expect to see Thorne take the next step in progressing his game. The Spartans have a ton of good young talent coming in along with returning players like Jayden Reed, Tre Mosley, and Maliq Carr.
A lot of fans think Thorne had all this success due to Walker being so good. But as we saw in the Peach Bowl, when the running game isn’t working Thorne can do what he needs to do to win the game, even after struggling for the first half, throwing for 356 yards, three touchdowns, and only one interception.
If that game says anything, it’s that Thorne has the tools to be an elite quarterback in college football and I believe next year we will see it.