Michigan State football: 3 players that need to step up at Maryland

Payton Thorne is the obvious No. 1 on this list because, well, he hasn’t been playing up to the expectations set for himself this season.

Everyone heard all offseason how he was ready to take that next step and how he was more confident and a better leader. We haven’t seen the confidence bleed over into production just yet — outside of maybe the Washington game.

It hasn’t helped that Jayden Reed hasn’t been 100 percent essentially all year or that rumors have swirled about a potential injury but I think he has the tools and confidence to turn this around.

Through four games, he has 900 yards and seven touchdowns with a completion rate of 65 percent which is a career-high, but he’s also thrown six picks and had a huge fumble against Minnesota in the red zone last week.

If Michigan State wants to have a chance to keep up with the high-flying Maryland offense, Thorne needs to have one of his best games as a Spartan and maybe the best he’s had this year.