Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The post-Connor Cook era begins with Tyler O’Connor.
The Michigan State Spartans have named their starting QB.
As expected, Tyler O’Connor will draw the start in Week 1 vs Furman. Head coach Mark Dantonio made the announcement Monday.
“I can say right now he’ll start week one,” Dantonio said.
However, Dantonio didn’t rule out the possibility of another QB playing this year. O’Connor was competing with senior Damion Terry and sophomore Brian Lewerke for the job, and those latter two are now competing for the No. 2 spot.
“I think Tyler O’Connor is our quarterback right now.,” Dantonio said. “He’s the No. 1 guy. He’s had a good enough camp to say that right now. But will the other guys play? Possibly.”
Dantonio added that the backup job is still up for grabs, though admitted Terry is the leading candidate.
“That remains to be seen as we move forward,” Dantonio said. “I think Damion right now, but we want to try to figure that out as we go.”
Connor, a fifth-year senior, competed with Connor Cook back in 2013 and eventually lost out to the man who would go on to record 34 wins and two Big Ten titles.
But O’Connor filled in for an injured Cook last season while leading the Spartans to an upset win over the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium to help his team eventually secure a Big Ten Championship Game berth.
The 6-foot-3, 222-pound O’Connor was 7-of-12 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown with eight rushes for 25 yards. The defense won the game, but O’Connor did come up big in several key moments of that game to help the Spartans pull off the massive win.
Terry also played in that win completing 1-of-4 passes for two yards while rushing for 25 yards on eight carries, though it was mainly O’Connor who led all three scoring drives.
O’Connor has kept the momentum going with a solid spring and into fall camp, enough that seeing him win the job was no surprise. Let’s hope Dantonio made the right call.