Michigan St. to start Cousins in opener

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — By the slimmest of margins, Michigan State has picked Kirk Cousins to start at quarterback for Saturday’s season opener against Montana State.

Coach Mark Dantonio said Tuesday that Keith Nichol also will see action at quarterback in the first half at Spartan Stadium. Both sophomores will get a chance to show coaches they’ve got what it takes to be the long-term starter well before Michigan State begins its Big Ten schedule.

“This is not a sprint,” Dantonio said at his first weekly press conference of the season. “This is an endurance race.”

Dantonio appears comfortable with both QBs but said Cousins is getting the nod because he has more experience in the Michigan State system. Cousins completed 32 of 43 passes for 310 yards last season as a backup to Brian Hoyer.

Nichol sat out last year and was relegated to practice duty after transferring to Michigan State from Oklahoma following the 2007 season.

Cousins is touted as an efficient game manager while Nichol is considered more of a dual threat who can create when a play breaks down. But the quarterbacks share many similar traits and both have had good preseason camps.

“I’m going to allow their play to dictate where we go from here,” Dantonio said. “I wasn’t going to flip a coin to decide who was going to start. We had to make a call and it was a tough call — probably the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in terms of who plays, who starts and who doesn’t start, since I’ve become a head coach.”

Dantonio also has made key decisions about who will play running back for Michigan State this season. The Spartans must replace Javon Ringer, whose 1,637 rushing yards in 2008 were the second-most in program history and led Michigan State to a 9-4 record.

Redshirt freshman Caulton Ray is likely to start Saturday after impressing coaches with his ability to block and catch as well as run. True freshmen Edwin Baker and Larry Caper also are expected to get a lot of carries, meaning none of Michigan State’s top three backs has a collegiate carry to their credit.

Montana State, a Football Championship Subdivision team from the Big Sky Conference, is expected to start Mark Iddins at quarterback Saturday. The senior started one game last season.

Aaron Mason is expected to be the main ball carrier for the Bobcats, entering the season with more than 1,000 career rushing yards.