Typically, the title of backup quarterback is not all that desirable.
For Michigan State’s Tommy Schuster, though, he knew the situation when he committed to the Spartans out of the transfer portal.
After a historic career at North Dakota where he was the Fighting Hawks’ all-time leading passer, Schuster opted to spend his final year of college eligibility in his home state of Michigan with the Spartans.
He was well aware that first-year head coach Jonathan Smith was bringing the talented dual-threat incoming sophomore Aidan Chiles to East Lansing with him.
Chiles had the head start over Schuster as he knew the coaching staff and the offensive system well.
Despite his role changing from being the guy under center all game long to being the backup quarterback, Schuster still wanted to be a Spartan.
“Coming in the portal, I weighed a couple of my options,” he said after Michigan State’s 40-0 win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday in which he scored his first touchdown as a Spartan. “Being able to play for the home state Big Ten school, Michigan State, was really big for me — to be a part of this. I just believe in what (Coach Smith) is building here. It’s really something I wanted to be a part of. Obviously, I knew the circumstances coming in, it’d be a different role, but [I] just really wanted to be a part of this.”
By all accounts, Schuster is embracing his role as the experienced guy guiding Chiles as he learns on the fly what it means to be a starting quarterback at the collegiate level.
“Aidan’s young but he’s a very talented player,” Schuster said about Chiles in the media room in Spartan Stadium in front of dozens of media members and onlookers. “It’s a different role for me, but I’ve enjoyed it, being able to work with him every day, being beside him. He’s a great player, a great leader. [I’m] just trying to offer whatever I can, try to do my job, be prepared.”
Schuster brings a level of composure to the quarterback room as he’s surrounded by a group of young, hungry players like Chiles and true freshmen Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee.
“Tommy’s a dog,” Chiles said about Schuster after the Spartan victory Saturday night. “He’s just calm, cool and collected. We call him Aaron Rodgers in the QB room. [He’s a] very chill dude. [He] doesn’t say too much, just goes out there and plays football.”
Instead of identifying coverages from behind center as he did for the first part of his collegiate career, Schuster is doing it from the Spartan Stadium sidelines to help the MSU offense gain an edge.
“We’re trying to ID coverage and stuff like that to get reads on what the defense is doing to help the offense in general,” he explained regarding his role during games. “I think that keeps us (backups focused and) in the game. We’re in it every play mentally trying to see what they’re playing, what they’re trying to do to us, so we can have better adjustments on the sideline for the offense as a whole.”
Schuster saw some playing time in Michigan State’s dominant win over Prairie View A&M. There was no specific plan laid out by the coaching staff for him to enter the game, but Schuster said he had a good feeling that he would get on the field at some point.
“[I] really want to do my job and execute at a high level,” he said about his mindset when he goes into the game. “I think no matter who’s on the field as an offense — ones, twos, threes – that’s the goal. Try not to miss a beat, be assignment sound, just get out there and execute and try to move the ball on the field and get points. That was really our goal, just play clean and try to put the ball in the end zone.”
Schuster entered the game late in the third quarter (3:50 left) and led the team on a 12-play, 84-yard drive, which ended in a field goal. His fourth-quarter drive went 10 plays for 56 yards. Schuster capped off that possession himself with a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak.
He ended the day with a nice 8-for-10 passing stat line for 97 yards and the aforementioned rushing touchdown.
Smith was not surprised that Schuster was able to have success when he got on the field.
“He’s been [an] awesome teammate at practice, helping out, suggestions, his experience,” Smith said after the game. “When he’s gone in, he’s been really effective in practices and the scrimmages. Today, it was not surprising to me for him to just see the ball going where it’s supposed to be, operating, getting us in the right play. All I can say is I’m really glad he’s here.”
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