New captain O'Connor has learned from MSU's cradle of quarterbacks
Jim Comparoni | Editor
EAST LANSING | Tyler O’Connor, on Thursday, became the first Spartan quarterback to be named captain since Andrew Maxwell in 2012.
Connor Cook, who set every major passing record in school history as a three-year starter from 2013-15, was scrutinized last year for not being named captain, a negative distinction that some believe hurt his draft stock. O'Connor was asked if he is relieved that he will be free of that scrutiny.
“I kind of assumed I would get a question similar to that but I’m my own person," O'Connor said. "I’m out there to be a quarterback my special way and to lead my own way. How he chose to lead, I learned a lot from Connor. I learned a lot by how he led teams and how guys respond to him. I’ll take that and run with it for this year."
After being named officially the starting quarterback on Monday for next week’s season opener against Furman, O’Connor received messages of congratulations and encouragement from Maxwell, Cook, Kirk Cousins, Brian Hoyer and others.
“When I first got here, Kirk Cousins had just graduated and he was a three-time captain, and that (being a three-time captain) was my first goal,” O’Connor said. “Obviously that didn’t happen but I still took it upon myself to try to be a significant leader in this program, and finally getting a chance to play has a lot to do with it (being named captain), but joining the cradle of captains that they have here is phenomenal. They’re great on the field, they’re great off the field and they are faces that you put with each senior class, so it’s an honor.”
O’Connor served as Cook’s back-up in 2014 and ’15. He stepped in when Cook went down with a shoulder injury and helped lead, along with reserve QB Damion Terry, last year’s upset at Ohio State, fueling a run to the Big Ten Championship and a berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff.
O’Connor has tried to take steps toward becoming a leader, even while serving as a back-up for his first four years on campus.
“To me, it’s very important that a quarterback is a leader,” O’Connor said. “That’s something that I really have taken to heart, literally since January first, since the day after the Cotton Bowl. Now being the oldest guy in the room, and having the potential to be a starter, it was very important to me to be respected as a leader, on the field and off the field. It’s hard to lead from the back.”
Teammates recognized his strong personality, even before he won the starting job.
“Tyler O’Connor could be a wide receiver right now and because of his personality and leadership ability, he would still be a captain,” said senior safety Demetrious Cox, who was also named tri-captain on Thursday.
“I feel like he (O’Connor) was a shoo-in to be a captain,” said senior linebacker Riley Bullough, who was also named tri-captain. “I feel like a lot of people thought that, so it’s well-deserved. Tremendous leader, tremendous quarterback and awesome person.”
O’Connor played in six games last year, completed 13 of 24 passes for 133 yards.
Tyler O'Connor helped lead last year's upset at Ohio State with sound decision-making and occasional running ability.
The three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection was 7 of 12 for 89 yards and one touchdown in the victory over Ohio State in cold, rainy, windy conditions. He carried the ball eight times for 25 yards.
Coaches and teammates say he has settled in to becoming a dangerous, well-rounded quarterback.
“You just see his confidence grow, day-by-day, since the spring,” Bullough said of O’Connor. “Since he really kind of took over, he has done a great job. I’m sure a lot of people are eager to see how he is going to play for us next week against Furman and I think he’s going to shock some people and do a really great job. He’s an exciting player to watch.”
O’Connor competed with Cook and Maxwell for the starting job, early in the 2013 season. O’Connor was a freshman at the time. He went 9-of-14 for 90 yards in three games that year but fell short of the more experienced Cook and Maxwell.
Maxwell lost the starting job by October, but did so with grace. O’Connor noticed.
“I’ve learned a lot from both situations,” O’Connor said. “Maxwell had his time and everything like that, but he was all about the team. That was the greatest thing about him - whatever the team needed, whatever the team wanted, he was all about it.
“If that situation were to come about for me, I’d do the same exact thing because to me it’s always been about the team. This team and the program is 10 times bigger than any of us will ever be.”
In looking back at the victory at Ohio State, O’Connor said he was surprised how slow the game seemed for him. He made decisions with ease.
“I have very high confidence in myself, and our coaches do a great job of getting us in any random situation that we might get in,” O’Connor said. “I truthfully would put my knowledge of the game of football against any other quarterback in the country at this point. I haven’t played as much as anybody but I feel like I’ve been taught and I know as much x’s and o’s - defenses, blitzes, situational - as anybody else in the country. I’m not naive to think that there isn’t plenty more to learn, because you’re learning each and every day as a quarterback. Even Peyton Manning says he is learning each and every day. So I continue to learn every day, whether it’s going over the same concepts that we’ve had for four years.”
For his career, he is 34 of 54 (.630) for 374 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in 14 games.
“I know this offense and I’ve been enough situations that the game should really be slow for me now,” O’Connor said. “And I have been able to get to that level, identifying blitzes and coverages before the snap, and understanding what the defense is giving me at pre-snap and not figuring it out necessarily as the play goes.
“The Ohio State game was very important to me and to Damion to have the respect and the confidence in our teammates, and that’s what pushed us that night. You can always look back at that night and realize that we went against something like seven draft picks that night, a fantastic defense statistically and athletically. But we had a mindset that night that we were going to do whatever we could to win, whether it was a pretty win or an ugly win, and do what we could as an offense to help us win.
“It gave us a great confidence boost, going against such a great team in such a tough atmosphere. It allows us to think back that anything is possible, regardless of the situation no matter who we’re playing.
“We’re such a team here that no matter who is under center and who is at wide out, we’re going to make things happen and have each other’s backs. We’re such a unit here, we’re such a family, that’s it’s never a one-person show and it’s always the next man up. Coach D creates such depth and puts young guys in such tough situations that makes those situations easier.”
Jim Comparoni | Editor
EAST LANSING | Tyler O’Connor, on Thursday, became the first Spartan quarterback to be named captain since Andrew Maxwell in 2012.
Connor Cook, who set every major passing record in school history as a three-year starter from 2013-15, was scrutinized last year for not being named captain, a negative distinction that some believe hurt his draft stock. O'Connor was asked if he is relieved that he will be free of that scrutiny.
“I kind of assumed I would get a question similar to that but I’m my own person," O'Connor said. "I’m out there to be a quarterback my special way and to lead my own way. How he chose to lead, I learned a lot from Connor. I learned a lot by how he led teams and how guys respond to him. I’ll take that and run with it for this year."
After being named officially the starting quarterback on Monday for next week’s season opener against Furman, O’Connor received messages of congratulations and encouragement from Maxwell, Cook, Kirk Cousins, Brian Hoyer and others.
“When I first got here, Kirk Cousins had just graduated and he was a three-time captain, and that (being a three-time captain) was my first goal,” O’Connor said. “Obviously that didn’t happen but I still took it upon myself to try to be a significant leader in this program, and finally getting a chance to play has a lot to do with it (being named captain), but joining the cradle of captains that they have here is phenomenal. They’re great on the field, they’re great off the field and they are faces that you put with each senior class, so it’s an honor.”
O’Connor served as Cook’s back-up in 2014 and ’15. He stepped in when Cook went down with a shoulder injury and helped lead, along with reserve QB Damion Terry, last year’s upset at Ohio State, fueling a run to the Big Ten Championship and a berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff.
O’Connor has tried to take steps toward becoming a leader, even while serving as a back-up for his first four years on campus.
“To me, it’s very important that a quarterback is a leader,” O’Connor said. “That’s something that I really have taken to heart, literally since January first, since the day after the Cotton Bowl. Now being the oldest guy in the room, and having the potential to be a starter, it was very important to me to be respected as a leader, on the field and off the field. It’s hard to lead from the back.”
Teammates recognized his strong personality, even before he won the starting job.
“Tyler O’Connor could be a wide receiver right now and because of his personality and leadership ability, he would still be a captain,” said senior safety Demetrious Cox, who was also named tri-captain on Thursday.
“I feel like he (O’Connor) was a shoo-in to be a captain,” said senior linebacker Riley Bullough, who was also named tri-captain. “I feel like a lot of people thought that, so it’s well-deserved. Tremendous leader, tremendous quarterback and awesome person.”
O’Connor played in six games last year, completed 13 of 24 passes for 133 yards.
Tyler O'Connor helped lead last year's upset at Ohio State with sound decision-making and occasional running ability.
The three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection was 7 of 12 for 89 yards and one touchdown in the victory over Ohio State in cold, rainy, windy conditions. He carried the ball eight times for 25 yards.
Coaches and teammates say he has settled in to becoming a dangerous, well-rounded quarterback.
“You just see his confidence grow, day-by-day, since the spring,” Bullough said of O’Connor. “Since he really kind of took over, he has done a great job. I’m sure a lot of people are eager to see how he is going to play for us next week against Furman and I think he’s going to shock some people and do a really great job. He’s an exciting player to watch.”
O’Connor competed with Cook and Maxwell for the starting job, early in the 2013 season. O’Connor was a freshman at the time. He went 9-of-14 for 90 yards in three games that year but fell short of the more experienced Cook and Maxwell.
Maxwell lost the starting job by October, but did so with grace. O’Connor noticed.
“I’ve learned a lot from both situations,” O’Connor said. “Maxwell had his time and everything like that, but he was all about the team. That was the greatest thing about him - whatever the team needed, whatever the team wanted, he was all about it.
“If that situation were to come about for me, I’d do the same exact thing because to me it’s always been about the team. This team and the program is 10 times bigger than any of us will ever be.”
In looking back at the victory at Ohio State, O’Connor said he was surprised how slow the game seemed for him. He made decisions with ease.
“I have very high confidence in myself, and our coaches do a great job of getting us in any random situation that we might get in,” O’Connor said. “I truthfully would put my knowledge of the game of football against any other quarterback in the country at this point. I haven’t played as much as anybody but I feel like I’ve been taught and I know as much x’s and o’s - defenses, blitzes, situational - as anybody else in the country. I’m not naive to think that there isn’t plenty more to learn, because you’re learning each and every day as a quarterback. Even Peyton Manning says he is learning each and every day. So I continue to learn every day, whether it’s going over the same concepts that we’ve had for four years.”
For his career, he is 34 of 54 (.630) for 374 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in 14 games.
“I know this offense and I’ve been enough situations that the game should really be slow for me now,” O’Connor said. “And I have been able to get to that level, identifying blitzes and coverages before the snap, and understanding what the defense is giving me at pre-snap and not figuring it out necessarily as the play goes.
“The Ohio State game was very important to me and to Damion to have the respect and the confidence in our teammates, and that’s what pushed us that night. You can always look back at that night and realize that we went against something like seven draft picks that night, a fantastic defense statistically and athletically. But we had a mindset that night that we were going to do whatever we could to win, whether it was a pretty win or an ugly win, and do what we could as an offense to help us win.
“It gave us a great confidence boost, going against such a great team in such a tough atmosphere. It allows us to think back that anything is possible, regardless of the situation no matter who we’re playing.
“We’re such a team here that no matter who is under center and who is at wide out, we’re going to make things happen and have each other’s backs. We’re such a unit here, we’re such a family, that’s it’s never a one-person show and it’s always the next man up. Coach D creates such depth and puts young guys in such tough situations that makes those situations easier.”
