About an hour before Michigan State's annual spring game was set to kick off, their former quarterback, Kirk Cousins, finally came off the board in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
In what must have been a nerve-wracking weekend, Cousins was selected by, of all teams, the Washington Redskins with the 102nd overall pick. He was the eighth quarterback taken and the second Spartan (Jerel Worthy, Titans) to be drafted this year.
"The Washington Redskins are getting a proven winner,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said.
Cousins was one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in school history: He posted a 27-12 record as a starter, and led the Spartans to a share of the Big Ten title in 2010 and earned a Legends Division title in 2011.
He also was only the second three-time team captain in team history, earning the distinction before he ever earned the starting job. Cousins was named the starter as a sophomore, after winning the position battle over eventual wide receiver and Oklahoma-transfer Keith Nichol.
Now, after a baffling fourth-round selection by the Redskins, Cousins will move from the state capital to the nation's capital.
The pick is surprising because the Redskins essentially sold the farm for another QB, Robert Griffin III, back in March. That trade sent their first-round pick this season (6th overall) in addition to their first-round picks for the next two seasons to St. Louis in exchange for the second overall pick.
Cousins now joins Griffin III and Rex Grossman in Mike Shanahan's offense, which ranked 14th in the NFL passing last season.
