clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

#V4MSU: Three-star dual-threat quarterback Payton Thorne commits to Michigan State

By Ryan O'Bleness
NCAA Football: Purdue at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

The Michigan State Spartans have finally landed a quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class. Payton Thorne, a three-star, dual-threat quarterback has committed to MSU.

Thorne, who plays at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, originally committed to Western Michigan, but announced his de-commitment from the Broncos and allegiance to the Spartans instead. This comes just 10 days after Michigan State extended an offer to Thorne, and just a few days after his official visit to East Lansing.

Thorne ranks 24th nationally amongst dual-threat quarterbacks, and No. 22 in the state of Illinois, per the 247Sports Composite. The recruiting service itself ranks him as the No. 16 QB and No. 11 player in home state. He originally committed to WMU in early May.

Michigan State was the lone Big Ten school to offer Thorne. In addition to Western and MSU, the signal-caller had offers from North Carolina State, Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, New Mexico, Toledo and Kent State.

As mentioned earlier, this is the only quarterback in Mark Dantonio’s 2019 class. Earlier in the year, the Spartans had a commitment from Dwan Mathis, a four-star quarterback prospect out of Oak Park (Michigan). Mathis is the No. 9 ranked pro-style quarterback, and No. 7 player in Michigan, according to the Composite Rankings. While Thorne does not rank as highly as Mathis, this is a much needed commit for the Spartans.

Thorne stands at 6-feet-2-inches tall, and weights about 190 pounds. He put up big numbers during his career at Naperville Central. He passed for more than 7,000 career yards with 83 passing touchdowns, including passing for over 3,100 yards as a senior with 40 touchdown passes. He also rushed for more than 1,000 yards on the ground with 14 additional scores.

The Spartans had plenty of trouble at the quarterback position in 2018, however 2019 returns plenty of experience with Brian Lewerke and Rocky Lombardi. With Theo Day also returning next year, I would expect Thorne to redshirt in 2019, as the Spartans look for him to be the QB of the future.

Check out Thorn’s highlights below:

More From The Only Colors