Tyler O'Connor turns to Drew Stanton for quarterback help
EAST LANSING – Tyler O’Connor turned to another former Michigan State quarterback to help guide him toward a potential pro future.
The Spartans’ most recent starter spent the early part of this year working out with Drew Stanton in Arizona. O’Connor is hoping that work with the longtime NFL backup and a number of other pro quarterbacks as he prepares to get his chance to join them.
“I’ve been throwing with Drew the last few months and I haven’t been like ‘Oh my God, I can’t do this,’” O’Connor said Wednesday after MSU’s pro day workouts. “I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t think that I could.”
O’Connor was one of the lightning rods amid the Spartans’ stormy 3-9 season in the fall. The 6-foot-3, 228-pound fifth-year senior from Lima, Ohio, struggled in his only season as a starting quarterback, starting under center for eight of the 11 games he played, with a ninth at wide receiver against Penn State when Damion Terry got the start at quarterback. O’Connor went 154 for 262, throwing for 1,970 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
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Explaining the reasons behind MSU’s downturn from the College Football Playoff, O’Connor said, has been the toughest question from NFL teams.
“Certainly it’s one of the earlier questions in the interview process,” he said. “But the same things I’ve answered to you guys in the past. There’s a lot of smaller things that go into it, a lot behind the scenes. The outcomes of games weren’t as planned, but we were ahead in every game, and we fought hard and did what we could.”
After the season, O’Connor spent two weeks in Chicago, then trained with Stanton and a number of other NFL quarterbacks in Scottsdale, Ariz. That group included EJ Manuel (Raiders), Tom Savage (Texans), Zac Dysert (Cardinals) and Christian Ponder (free agent), as well as O’Connor, Stanton and QB coach Jeff Christensen.
O’Connor, ranked as the 38th-best QB and 748th overall prospect in this year’s draft, felt like he held his own.
“To see them miss a pass — they’re human, they’re in the NFL,” he said. “(Stanton) has been in the NFL for 10 years. To see things like that, it builds confidence. It makes me feel pretty good about myself, and I felt like I fit right in.”
O’Connor left Arizona to spend two weeks in Chicago working with another former MSU player, Todd Anderson, and get physically and mentally ready for his pro day. He called Wednesday’s experience an individual judgment day, “like playing tennis by yourself.”
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And if that dream doesn’t work out, O’Connor – who earned his undergraduate degree in supply chain management and his master’s degree in marketing research – already has been applying for other real-world jobs. The self-described “busybody” realizes having his education allows him to have “my backup plans set in stone.”
But that’s secondary. For now, he waits in East Lansing for what he hopes will be the next phase of his football career.
“I’ll be around,” he said, “sitting by my phone, looking for any number that I don’t have saved in my contacts and hoping to hear from some different teams.”
DANTONIO SPEAKS: MSU coach Mark Dantonio made one of his first speaking appearances since three separate investigations began into his program in early February.
Dantonio was a surprise guest Friday night at the annual Michigan Association of Student Councils state leadership conference at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. He spoke to about 2,000 high school students and advisers, taking no questions but signing autographs and posing for pictures afterward.
The Spartans head coach, entering his 11th season, had not spoken publicly or to themedia since a staff member and three unidentified players were suspended Feb. 9 amid a criminal investigation of an alleged sexual assault that took place Jan. 16. The university hired an external law firm Feb. 10 to independently investigate the football program’s handling of the situation, and Dantonio released a statement through the university on Feb. 28.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.