Changing QBs full of risks and rewards for B1G

IOWA CITY — Through necessity, design or injury, the decision to change quarterbacks can be gut-wrenching for coaches. That's especially true if the previous starter has built equity and trust with his teammates.

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio spent the 2013 off-season assessing his quarterback situation. At Big Ten Media Days, Dantonio declared Andrew Maxwell as his starting quarterback and said Maxwell has 'a great deal of experience and confidence.'

In 2012, Maxwell started all 13 games his junior year and his teammates elected him as a team captain. He had earned academic all-Big Ten honors for three straight seasons and ranked fourth in Big Ten passing in 2012 at 200.5 yards per game. He completed 53 percent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was the face and voice of the Spartans.

But Michigan State, arguably the nation's best 7-6 team in 2012, lost five games by a combined 12 points. Maxwell struggled in the key moments, from a 3-of-16 passing performance in the fourth quarter and overtime against Iowa to completing nine of 27 passes against Nebraska.

While Dantonio was loyal to Maxwell, Dantonio need more from his quarterback. He opened up the competition, saying he had 'four guys with big-time talent,' but installed Maxwell as the de facto starter. Then-sophomore Connor Cook became a contender and the two split series and starts in their first two games. Two other quarterbacks also played.

The results were inconclusive. Michigan State won both games but scored a total of six touchdowns, four of which on defense. Maxwell was 15 of 30 for 114 yards and Cook was 12 of 27 for 74 yards. Dantonio's decision was grueling: stick with the veteran leader Maxwell or move on to the inexperienced, yet talented, Cook.

'It was very difficult in 2013 to do that for me personally,' Dantonio said. 'But at the end of the day as a coach and as a program, you have to play the player relative to what you believe is going to allow your program to be most successful at that point in time.

'But I think if you treat people as individuals and you'll stay with them and continue your relationship with them, everything in the end always seems to move forward. Life is full of a challenges so if nothing else you've learned how to handle those challenges when you're in a competitive environment like that. Like this, especially at the quarterback position which is a position of leadership by nature. It was very, very difficult, but you just try to be consistent and fair. Until we handled things. I thought everybody got a shot.'

Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Purdue face similar dilemmas midway through this season. Iowa junior quarterback Jake Rudock passed for 2,383 yards, 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2013. Entering this year, Iowa's coaching staff announced they'd give sophomore C.J. Beathard a few packages. When Rudock left Iowa's fourth game with an injury, Beathard turned a 10-point deficit into a four-point win. With Rudock out in the Big Ten opener at Purdue, Beathard sparked Iowa to a 24-10 victory. Both will play this week, Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Wisconsin Coach Gary Andersen also had a returning starter in Joel Stave, who passed for 2,494 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year. But the junior opened the season on the bench in favor of fellow junior Tanner McEvoy. Last week, Andersen switched McEvoy with Stave at halftime. The pair combined to throw four interceptions in a 20-14 loss at Northwestern and both will compete this week against Illinois.

Michigan replaced two-year starter Devin Gardner with sophomore Shane Morris two weeks ago against Minnesota. Following a rough performance that culminated in a Morris concussion, Michigan returned to Gardner.

Purdue changed quarterbacks from sophomore Danny Etling to sophomore Austin Appleby last week. Etling passed for just 61 yards against Iowa, while Appleby threw for 202 yards last week in a win against Illinois.

Selecting and distinguishing between quarterbacks is a bit nebulous. Before choosing Appleby, Purdue Coach Darrell Hazell said, 'We'll know when we see it,' when asked what he wanted from the position.

Andersen was equally vague.

'The key to the quarterback spot is the offense functioning as an offense,' Andersen said.

Likewise, Ferentz said Tuesday he his plan was undefined, adding, 'We'll just try to figure out the best way to work it.'

There's a leap of faith involved when discarding the safe veteran for an inexperienced player with upside. Dantonio opted for Cook in Michigan State's third game, and the youngster responded with a four-touchdown performance. But the following week when MSU trailed Notre Dame by four points and took possession with 2:11 left in the game, Dantonio went back to his senior. Three Maxwell incompletions and a loss later, Dantonio went to Cook for good. The Spartans won their next 10 games, including the Rose Bowl.

Cook's growth rewarded Dantonio's agonizing decision. Cook was inconsistent throughout the season but was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten championship game and the Rose Bowl's offensive MVP.

'You know there's going to be a learning curve involved when you put a young player in there,' Dantonio said. 'Experience should allow that player to at least rise his level of his play. At least you can find out where he's going to hit his plateau at, if you continue to play him. You'll know.'

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