Perusing message boards last fall, and even this spring, there was nary a more polarizing player than quarterback Payton Thorne.

Thorne, the single-season leader in touchdown passes in Michigan State program history (27), was widely derided for untimely turnovers, poor decisions and missed throws this past season, and bore the brunt of blame for a disappointing offensive output in 2022.

It is neither the time, nor is it appropriate to pile on the mountain of criticism — whether deserving or not — upon the unheralded recruit turned captain. Like most things in life, Thorne's legacy is neither black nor white, but a shade of gray dependent on the predilections of the viewer.

MSU does not have the season it did in 2021 without Thorne (and yes, Kenneth Walker III was the biggest part of that campaign), but it may well have been better in 2022 had a different player been under center.

Thorne entered the transfer portal on April 30. As Thorne departs for the Loveliest Village on the Plains (Auburn), there are two plays that I think provide the summation of the highs and lows of his tenure.

I was scrolling Twitter when Cody Alexander, a fantastic follow, tweeted the above graphic. Inverted Cover-2 is something seen increasingly often as an answer to run-pass-option (RPO) plays, putting a "rat" or robber in the middle of the second level to take away mesh looks and help in run support.

It is the spiritual opposite of Tampa-2, which takes a middle linebacker and puts it in the middle of the field between two deep-half players, for a pseudo cover-3 shell. You can see an example of the invert below:

Thinking about the "pole runner" in the middle of the field, bailing out to close the gap between the two safeties made me recall one of Thorne's most egregious mistakes of the season, a dagger of an interception late against Michigan.

In many ways, I think it was emblematic of much of Thorne's play in 2022. He took the snap, surveyed his reads, and simply chose incorrectly, as though he had determined where he was going with the ball pre-snap.

The first determinations a quarterback makes when he gets to the line is identifying who the middle linebacker is, and whether the defense is in a one-high (Middle of Field Closed, or MOFC) or two-high (Middle of Field Open, or MOFO) look.

Here, from the view behind of play, one might think the middle of the field is open and there is a two-high look. However, looking at the sideline view, you can clearly see one safety is aligned five yards closer to the line of scrimmage than the other.

At the snap, you can see the deeper safety cover the middle of the field, as the shallower one plays toward the boundary. This is a definitional transition to a MOFC coverage, which would make it extremely unwise to throw a post meant to split a MOFO coverage.

Cornerbacks lie, but safeties tell the truth. As Thorne drops back, the safety is at the far hash, ready to break on a post route. As Thorne throws, the safety is already planting to drive downhill on the ball.

It wasn't going to make a material difference in the outcome of the game, but the post throw, the 8-cut, never had a chance.

Watching it slowly, Thorne never seems to come off of his ostensible pre-snap determination that the post is to be thrown. He steps up in the pocket and makes a confident throw, but neglects the shallow cross that would have been at worst, a short gain.

If that was Thorne at his worst, it would be remiss to not mention Thorne at his best. A do or die fourth-down play, a historic comeback, a glittering deep ball beating an NFL cornerback, thrown perfectly to the only place it could be.

Let's take a deeper look.

Not only was there a cornerback in phase, there was also a safety coming over the top. If the ball is a half-step inside or a half-step outside, the pass flutters incomplete and MSU likely doesn't complete the comeback.

However, Thorne perfectly fits the ball in, and wide receiver Jayden Reed is able to make the crucial play during the 2021 upset over Michigan.

People can make their own determinations on how they choose to remember Thorne. However, what is beyond reproach is that he has provided enough ups and downs to be worthy of conversation for a good, long, time.

Thorne will look to find success in the SEC with Auburn, and if he has the right talent and coaching around him, will have the opportunity to do so with the Tigers. It is up to him to do the rest.

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