So last night, a few of us had a little debate. My opinion is that Michigan State, without a proven QB, runs the ball a hell of a lot. After Cook leaves following this season (before the 2016 kids get there, which somehow people didn't realize), they will have another unproven QB. The last time MSU was in this position was 2012, when Andrew Maxwell was the QB. To counter my argument stats were provided and by stats I mean simply just the total rush/pass yard totals, which do not show the distribution of play calling between run/pass. So...
In 2012, Michigan State ran the ball that year 492 times, 382 of them from Le'Veon Bell. In comparison, the team had 465 passing attempts, 1 of which actually came from Bell, and 17 from Connor Cook. TD comparison: 13 rushing to 14 passing (10 INTs), offense was basically shit.
Similarly, before Kirk Cousins (2008), MSU had Brian Hoyer as the QB. Rush attempts were 511, with 390 coming from Javon Ringer. With regards to pass play calling, they tried 399 times….nearly the same number as run play calls used for their primary running back that year. Additionally, MSU had 64 rushing TDs to only 12 passing (including 10 INTs).
The point? Next season MSU will be without a proven QB again, and when that happens, the RBs get the bulk of the work. Also, they don't throw for a lot of TDs. That being said, its surprising that MSU is doing so well with WR prospects, particularly the momentum they seem to have with Corley a top guy on OSU's board. Now, you can point to the development of QB's at MSU, which is understandable (although, Im not sure how anyone really considers Brian Hoyer to have been that outstanding in college). Damion Terry has some potential, but he is a dual threat QB and Dantonio's style is drop back passer so it'll be interesting to see if anything happens there. You've also got Tyler O'Connor that has a total of 30 passing attempts to his record and will be a Senior and could be the starter in 2016. This means Terry and deWeaver (3 star prospect) are the likely QBs for these 2016 guys. Sure, they could be as good as Cook, but thats a lot of "could". The questions I asked last night, which are serious were wether this is a product of MSU beating OSU with kids like Corley? Or, is this OSU playing the waiting game again and costing chances at highly rated WR prospects? I get WR spots are limited in the class, but how many guys can you turn away only to see them go to your biggest competition in the division? Also, its surprising that other programs (even Michigan) are struggling to capture the kids that OSU may be turning away.
