How Athlon Sports ranks the Big Ten QBs in 2022

Where does Michigan State junior Payton Thorne fall on the list?

Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne was handed the keys to the offense as a sophomore in Mel Tucker's second season with the Spartans, and Thorne proved his head coach made a wise decision with the way he played in 2021.

Thorne completed 60.4 percent of his throws (235-of-389) for 3,240 yards and 27 touchdowns, against 10 interceptions. The sophomore set Michigan State's single-season record for touchdown passes.

With the departure of star tailback Kenneth Walker III, Thorne is expected to make an even bigger impact on the Spartans offense in 2022, and the quarterback has his top target returning wide receiver Jayden Reed.

With that in mind, we take a look at where Athlon Sports ranks Thorne amongst their "Early 2022 Preview and Rankings" of Big Ten quarterbacks.

Athlon Sports Rankings

1. C.J. Stroud — Ohio State

2. Aidan O'Connell — Purdue

3. Cade McNamara/J.J. McCarthy — Michigan

4. Payton Thorne — Michigan State

5. Taulia Tagovailoa — Maryland

6. Casey Thompson — Nebraska

7. Sean Clifford — Penn State

8. Tanner Morgan — Minnesota

9. Graham Mertz — Wisconsin

10. Connor Bazelak — Indiana

11. Spencer Petras — Iowa

12. Tommy DeVito — Illinois

13. Ryan Hillinski — Northwestern

14. Gavin Wimsatt — Rutgers

There's little surprise at the top here, as Stroud put up video games numbers for the Buckeyes under Ryan Day, and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Likewise, Aidan O'Connell put up lofty numbers at Purdue in head coach Jeff Brohm's offensive scheme.

Athlon ranking both McNamara and McCarthy ahead of Thorne is certainly eyebrow raising. It appears Athlon assumes that no matter who the Wolverines name their starting quarterback they expect them to have a better season that the Spartan signal-caller.

Here's what Athlon had to say about Thorne:

Projected 2022 Starter: Payton Thorne
Running back Kenneth Walker III's prolific season overshadowed Thorne a bit, but the Illinois native threw for 3,233 yards and 27 touchdowns in his first year as the starter. Those numbers were good enough for Thorne to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
Key Spring Storylines: Thorne is entrenched as the starter, but Walker III must be replaced at running back, and Michigan State has to continue to improve up front to help their passing game grow.

It's fairly obvious that Athlon needs to see proof that Thorne can move Michigan State's offense up and down the field without Walker III has his counterpart in the Spartans' backfield. While Athlon may need further convincing, we at Spartan Nation have no such reservations about Thorne's ability.