PHOTO: Tommy Schuster celebrated his touchdown from the 1-yard line with teammates against Prairie View. He’s met in the end zone by redshirt freshman backup center Cooper Terpstra (54) and redshirt junior backup tight end Ademola Faleye (13).

By TOM SHANAHAN

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jonathan Smith inherited an empty quarterback room in December as Michigan State’s new head coach. But even though Aiden Chiles followed him from Oregon State, Smith still faced some big boxes to check.

— One was to find a veteran backup.

— Another was to feel confident an experienced QB would be content to play a supporting role to a talented sophomore.

— And a third was to be believe that backup would perform when taking the field off the bench.

Those three boxes were checked – at least for now – as Tommy Schuster saw his first playing time of the year for Michigan State (3-0) in a 40-0 non-conference victory over Prairie View Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

It looks easy now, but if we go back to December, the process confronted appeared more daunting.

The first checked box of a veteran was filled by Schuster’s 42 starts in four years at North Dakota State, a strong Football Championship Subdivision school. The NCAA’s 2020 COVID exemption allowed him to move to play a sixth year, and he opted to enter the transfer portal.

Schuster arrived for spring football at Michigan State while holding school career records for yards (9,075), completions (843), touchdown passes (63) and total offense (9,250).

“Being able to play for my home state was a big part of it for me,” said Schuster, who played high school football at Chippewa Valley in Clinton Township, Mich. “I believe in what coach is doing here. I really wanted to be a part of this. It’s a different role. But there are so many areas to grow.”

The second box looked like it was ready for a check mark throughout spring football and fall camp. But the full check didn’t come until Schuster watched the first two games without playing.

“As quarterbacks on the sideline, we try to ID coverage and get reads on what defense is doing,” Schuster said. “I just try to help the offense in general. It keeps us in the game. We’re watching every play, trying to see what they’re doing. I think we do a good job as a staying in the game and communicating what we saw to (Chiles).”

— The last box to check still awaits a Big Ten opponent, but Schuster was ready for his first playing time when he entered the Saturday’s contest in the third quarter.

Schuster was steady and smooth, completing 8-of-10 passes for 97 yards. He drove the Spartans for a field goal and a touchdown in his two possessions of work. 

“To me, it was not surprising to see him moving the ball where it was supposed to go,” Smith said. “He was operating and getting us in the right play. I guess all I can say is I’m really glad he’s here.”

Schuster entered the game late in the third quarter after the Spartans had taken a 30-0 lead on Jonathan Kim’s 33-yard field goal.

After Michigan State’s defense forced a punt, Schuster took over with a first-and-10 at the Spartans’ 44-yard line. His first two snaps were handoffs to Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams for gains of nine and 10 years.

The third snap was his first pass attempt. Sophomore Antonio Gates Jr. gained four yards on the short toss. The drive included completed passes of 15 yards to Lynch-Adams and receptions pulled in by fifth-year senior Zach Gillespie for three and 13 yards.

The possession ended with Kim hitting a 23-yard field goal for a 33-0 lead.

On Michigan State’s next possession, Schuster finished a 10-play, 56-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. His long completion of the day was a 28-yarder to Gates Jr.

The Spartans advanced to a third-and-goal at the 1 when Schuster lined up behind center. With the defense overplaying the Spartans to the right, Schuster went left, bounced off a tackle and remained upright stepping into the end zone. Sophomore backup offensive lineman Cooper Terpstra was the first of teammates to enthusiastically engulf Schuster in the end zone.

“He’s a dawg, man,” Chiles said of Schuster. “He was calm, cool and collected. We call him Aaron Rodgers in the QB room.”

As endorsement go, they don’t get much better than hearing the rising star on the team say he’s happy to have you on the team supporting him and succeeding when you see the field.

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