MSU football preview: Quarterbacks

Few teams could get down to their No. 3 quarterback and still be OK.

Most would be toast.

So Michigan State isn't fretting too much about the prospect of losing starter Brian Hoyer and backup Kirk Cousins - which would leave the job to a non-quarterback or a walk-on. The Spartans are focused on Hoyer having a great senior season and Cousins, a redshirt freshman, getting some work whenever possible and continuing to develop.

Much of this season will hinge on Hoyer taking another step as a quarterback. He was good overall in 2007 (2,725 yards, 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) and appeared to hit a career turning point in wins over Purdue and Penn State.

Hoyer was 38 of 52 (73.1 percent) with 523 yards and six touchdowns in those two games to deliver a Champs Sports Bowl bid. Then he appeared overly eager in the Champs Sports Bowl. A fumble and four picks later - at least one of which was a receiver's route mistake - Hoyer was calling it his worst athletic outing since little league.

The story is well worn. What won't be known until the situations arise is whether Hoyer will be able to bottle what he did against Penn State and make clutch plays to pull out close games.

"It comes down to the fourth quarter, overtime or a two-minute situation at the end of the game," quarterbacks coach Dave Warner said of Hoyer. "That is when he needs to shine. He needs to make plays in that situation, not necessarily forcing the ball downfield, but doing what he is capable of doing, hitting open receivers and finding a way at the end of games to get the win."

Two things are certain about Hoyer: He has the ability to be one of the Big Ten's best, and another year in this system has enhanced his confidence.

Cousins is the de facto No. 2 after an offseason that saw Keith Nichol transfer to MSU from Oklahoma - followed immediately by Nick Foles leaving MSU for Arizona. Reserve Connor Dixon also transferred, to Duquesne.

That left Cousins as the only other active scholarship quarterback on this season's roster. Nichol must sit out this season before competing with Cousins for the starting job in 2009.

Cousins has impressed the coaches with his aptitude, and he has good mobility and an accurate arm. If MSU has to reach below Cousins on the depth chart, it might go with punter Aaron Bates, who has been taking some snaps as the No. 3 quarterback.