This past Saturday the MSU Spartan football team was defeated by Penn State. But red-shirt freshman quarterback out of Naperville, Illinois Payton Thorne made his debut as a starter.

He set an all-time Spartan record for the most yards passing in a game by a freshman. He threw for 325 yards in one game, smashing former MSU quarterback Eddie Smith's record of 324 yards.

The Spartan football team has not had a solid consistent quarterback since Connor Cook. No disrespect to those other guys, but they were all average at best. Let’s be honest about this.

Thorne could be that guy. He’s 6’2” and 210 pounds, and he will get much stronger. The largest factor with Head Coach Mel Tucker and his staff is they need a better cast of players to surround Thorne. They need more speedy players.

If you want Thorne to get better, bring in more competition. Payton Thorne has to continue to develop and blossom into a leader too. This guy could be the guy that Tucker can put the team on his back and win. I liked what I saw. He has a good touch on his throws and can take a hit.

No disrespect to Rocky Lombardi, but he isn’t the guy. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Payton Thorne. Has MSU finally found their quarterback? We shall see! They take on Maryland Saturday night toe-to-leather 7:30 pm.

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