How Theo Day went from Michigan State backup to UNI starter

CEDAR FALLS — There are many different reasons college football programs are able to land commitments.

Program culture, facilities, staff and players, scheme and uniforms are among some of the most popular these days.

Occasionally, though, all it takes is a former player having risen to stardom to put a program on a prospect’s map.

For Michigan State transfer quarterback Theo Day, his awareness of Northern Iowa football was twofold — Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner being an alumnus and the Missouri Valley being the FCS’ most dominant conference.

Beyond Warner and the MVFC, though, Day was recruited by current UNI offensive coordinator Shawn Watson in 2017 while he was at Pittsburgh.

“I had some background on UNI and that’s why I made the decision to come here,” Day said. “(Coach Watson) recruited me pretty hard. He was kind of always there by my side, so that played a big role.”

The timing of Day’s transfer was anything but perfect. When he entered the transfer portal most FBS teams had already filled their quarterback rooms and that led Day to look closely at FCS programs.

Now, after taking hold of the Panthers quarterback job in the second half of week 2’s matchup at Sacramento State, he’s feeling settled in as both a Panther and an Iowan.

“When I first got here, it was definitely a tough transition, because I’d never been to Iowa before, I’ve always been in Michigan,” said Day, who’s from Canton, Mich. “I thought the coaches and the players did a good job at welcoming me in and showing me around the area.”

Day’s path to becoming a starting college quarterback was anything but brief.

After a redshirt in 2018 at Michigan State, he played behind Brian Lewerke in 2019 and fell short in a preseason quarterback battle to former West Des Moines Valley prep Rocky Lombardi in 2020. So, with three years as a Spartan and only two games and six snaps to show for it, he entered the portal and between Watson’s overture, his knowledge of Warner and the MVFC, he felt confident about a move outside Michigan.

One week after a two-touchdown comeback win at Sacramento State, Day made his first career start in what became a 44-3 home-opening win against St. Thomas.

“It was exciting (and) it was definitely nerve-wracking not having started a game since my senior year in high school,” Day said. “Just to be out there was something that I know I’m not going to forget.”

Having cemented himself as the Panthers starter through three starts, the conversation has shifted toward game-to-game improvements and Watson and his teammates becoming familiar with his skill set.

Last Saturday’s 34-20 loss at North Dakota State marked the first of Day’s career as a starter and he told The Gazette that despite the loss, he and his teammates feel they can compete with the Bison and the arrow is still pointing up for their offense.

“They’re obviously a good team, but it’s also a team that I think we could compete with and beat down the road,” Day said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined and I think that will go a long way for us. I’m very excited for what this offense can do, because we obviously have a lot of playmakers.”

No. 16 UNI (4-2, 1-1) hosts No. 21 South Dakota (4-2, 2-1) Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN+).