Windsor: After waiting, learning, MSU QB O’Connor gets chance
EAST LANSING – There was no formal announcement to the team. No big meeting with the coaching staff. Not much more than a “hey, be ready to start” at the end of casual conversation Monday morning inside the offices of Michigan State’s football program.
That’s how Tyler O’Connor found out he was the guy to lead the Spartans this year. Or at least the guy to get the first chance.
For, as O’Connor said, “It’s not a set-in-stone thing. I’ve still got to go out and perform.”
Yes, he does.
But, as he noted, it’s much easier to perform as a quarterback when you know it’s your job, something the fifth-year senior has believed since the end of last season.
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That belief, by the way, is one of the reasons Mark Dantonio and the MSU coaching staff gave O’Connor the job in the first place. He carried himself with the sort of mature grace that comes from learning and developing in a program for almost half a decade. It also comes from learning how to overcome profound disappointment.
Playing quarterback requires many things. Understanding who you are is chief among them. Connor Cook was a gunslinger, unbowed by a bad decision or errant pass. His ability to shake off misfortune was at least as important to his success as was his NFL-level arm.
O’Connor doesn’t quite have the pocket gifts of his predecessor — neither his size nor his ability to squeeze balls into impossibly tight windows.
What he does have is more athleticism and the battle scars of someone who has had to watch from the sideline and wait.
And wait.
And wait some more.
O’Connor told us Monday that when he finally got word that the starting job was his, he felt an internal shrug. Because he knew it was his, anyway, and felt it should’ve been his long before now.
“Been my mentality for a long time,” he said.
Not that he was given the shaft, but that he believed he was good enough to do this, good enough to run out of the tunnel and lead Michigan State. If you’ll remember, he gave Cook a serious push in 2013 when both competed for the job.
Losing that battle wasn’t easy, because Cook was a sophomore, and three years is a long time to wait. An eternity, really.
Yet O’Connor did nothing but pick up the clipboard and study. And lead. And keep himself ready. All that time in the system is partly what his coaches are counting on to propel the program forward this fall as it replaces the most winning quarterback it has ever had.
“He’s as knowledgeable as anybody we’ve had quarterbacking our offense,” said Dave Warner, co-offensive coordinator. “And he’s just done a good job leading this football team. He’s not made mistakes, and he’s created things, both with his arm and with his feet. We’re happy where we’re at right now.”
Warner said it wasn’t just the play this camp or his play in spring ball or even the way he stepped in last fall and led the team over Ohio State when Cook couldn’t go because of an injury. It was the way he carried himself and the way he communicated with his teammates, both in his words and in his manner.
“From day one, Tyler felt this was his job to win and went out and went after it,” said Warner. “It was obvious to us.”
O’Connor, to borrow a cliché, has come full-circle. In fact, those are the words he used Monday to describe his journey at Michigan State. Still, you get the sense it’s only beginning.
As he likes to say, “Each day is its own day.”
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.
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For openers
Matchup: Furman (4-7 in 2015) at No. 12 Michigan State (12-2).
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2.
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV: Big Ten Network.