Michigan State football: Payton Thorne’s legs are key to beating Washington

What’s going on with Payton Thorne? That’s the question on every Michigan State football fan’s mind after two pedestrian games to start the 2022 season.

The junior quarterback has completed about 58 percent of his passes for over 400 yards and four touchdowns but he has three really bad interceptions as well. His completion rate is down from last year’s 60 percent mark, but the mistakes he’s been making are correctable. He is throwing off his back foot too much and sensing pressure before there is any.

Thorne also hasn’t used his legs as much this season as we expected. Is he dealing with an unknown injury that the staff doesn’t want to risk making worse with run plays? I’m not entirely sure, but there will always be rumors one way or another.

Long story short, Thorne has gotten off to a shaky start and his refusal to run the ball hasn’t helped keep the defense on its heels.

Heck, all you have to do is look back to the interception he threw against Western Michigan. He had about 10-15 yards in front of him and maybe even a touchdown scamper, but he decided to throw across his body which led to a bad interception in the red zone.

He needs to learn to tuck and run.

Payton Thorne’s legs are key for Michigan State football vs. Washington

I had a chance to watch Washington’s Week 1 game against Kent State in which the Huskies were able to put up some big offensive numbers but the defense struggled just a tad.

Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee was able to gash the Washington defense for 5.9 yards per carry and he led the Golden Flashes with 47 yards rushing. Sure, he may be more of a dual-threat than Thorne, but Payton isn’t exactly a slouch — he’s an athlete. Schlee was able to extend drives with his legs and keep the chains moving and I think Thorne needs to be able to add that to his repertoire on Saturday night if the Spartans want to come home 3-0.

Thorne hasn’t used his legs much this season but on the few occasions that he has, he’s picked up decent yardage and a couple of big first downs.

It’s time Thorne uses his legs like he’s capable of doing.

If Jay Johnson calls more RPOs for him, I think we’ll see the offense get back on track and the junior quarterback shake off some rust.