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Michigan State Football: Predicting each statistical category leader for 2022

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 25, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans safety Xavier Henderson (3) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans safety Xavier Henderson (3) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State football has high expectations for the 2022 season and here’s who could lead every statistical category for the Spartans.

Folks, we are just over a week away from the return of Michigan State football. The Spartans enter the 2022 season as the nation’s No. 15 team with plenty of expectations.

There are plenty of experts who have pegged the Spartans as a team that will take a step back in 2022, but fans are keeping their hopes high, and rightly so. Michigan State is coming off an 11-2 season and won a Peach Bowl and it’s bringing back some key players such as Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed, Xavier Henderson, Jacob Slade, and Cal Haladay.

Plus, Mel Tucker hit the portal hard and picked up a ton of key pieces like he did last season.

Will any of these newcomers lead the team in any statistical categories this year? Hint: yes.

Passing yards, touchdowns: Payton Thorne

This one is too obvious that I’m not going to spend a ton of time speaking about it.

But Payton Thorne will lead the team in passing yards and touchdowns just like he did last year, barring an injury. He’s going to have a solid season and he might even break his previous career-highs. He threw for over 3,200 yards and 27 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season and I think he’s capable of more with the receiving corps he has to work with.

Thorne is going to have an All-Big Ten season and potentially even make the second-team right behind CJ Stroud who is pretty much locked into the first-team.

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