Michigan State announces weekly captains for road game versus Washington

Friday morning, the Michigan State football program officially announced the three game-day captains for Saturday night’s primetime showdown against the Washington Huskies (airing on ABC at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

The Spartans will be represented by redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne (on offense), senior defensive end Jacoby Windmon (on defense), and redshirt junior cornerback Justin White (on special teams).

Saturday will be the second time in three games that Thorne has represented the offense as a game-day captain. He was also a captain for the Week One opener against Western Michigan.

So far in 2022, Thorne has led the Spartan offense to a prolific start on the scoreboard. Michigan State has scored a total of 87 points in two games, albeit against two MAC opponents. Thorne has completed 30 of his 52 passes (57.7 percent) for a total of 445 yards. He has also rushed seven times in 2022 for a total of 22 yards.

However, Thorne has struggled a bit. He has thrown four touchdown passes, but he has also thrown three interceptions. At times, he has overshoot open receivers. The Spartans will look for Thorne to be a bit sharper in Week Three if Michigan State plan to steal a road victory against Washington on Saturday night.

Jacoby Windmon will represent the defense for the second-straight week as a game-day captain. So far in 2022, the UNLV transfer has been the breakout star on the Spartan defense. In just two games, Windmon has recorded 12 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles. He leads the nations in sacks and fumbles forced.

Windmon’s performance has already earned him the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week award for Week One and two consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. Windmon also owns the top overall grade from Pro Football Focus (93.9) on the Michigan State defense. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Windmon is currently the top-rated edge defender in the nation.

Justin White is making his first appearance as a game-day captain for the Spartans. White is a reserve cornerback who has taken 12 total snaps on defense so far this year. On special teams, White has taken 32 total snaps in 2022 on kick-off coverage, punt return and punt coverage. Although White has yet to record a special teams tackle this year, he was second on the team in 2021 with four tackles total on punt and kickoff coverage.