Usage / Role
70%
Major offensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2008-2011Michigan State
Kirk Cousins
QB • 6'3" • Holland, MI, USA
Balanced quarterback profileVolume operator
Kirk Cousins is a balanced quarterback profile with 9.9 usage in the latest tracked season.
Impact Production
27
Developing production for a quarterback
lowelite
Reliability
15
Sporadic game-to-game production
lowhigh
Star Power
33
Limited ceiling signals so far
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2011 Postseason · Michigan State
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Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 4
- Program Path
- Michigan State
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Northern Colorado
Player Story
Kirk Cousins built his college career from 2008 through 2011 as a quarterback from Holland, MI wearing No. 8, spending time with Michigan State. The clearest part of Kirk Cousins' career was his passing role: 9,131...
Read the story3★
- Committed To
- Michigan State
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2008
NFL Draft
- Draft Year
- 2012
- Selection
- Round 4 · Pick 7
- Overall
- No. 102
- NFL Team
- Washington
Kirk Cousins, QB. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2011 Postseason · Michigan State. Kirk Cousins is a balanced quarterback profile with 9.9 usage in the latest tracked season.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Total offense
- 9,004
- Passing yards
- 9,131
- Touchdowns
- 67
Featured Highlight
Watch Kirk Cousins on film
Kirk Cousins Michigan State Highlights
2011 · Michigan State · Player Highlight
Kirk Cousins college highlights at Michigan State.
- Season
- 2011
- Type
- Player highlight
Quick Answers
Kirk Cousins quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Michigan State · QB
- Career Total Offense
- 9,004
- Tracked sample
- 4 unique seasons · 8 entries · 43 games
- Best season
- 2011 Postseason · Michigan State
- Top game
- Northern Colorado
- Recruit profile
- 3-star · Holland Christian · Michigan State
- High school pipeline
- Holland Christian · 4 FBS recruits · 1 drafted player
- NFL Draft
- 2012 · Round 4 · Pick 7 · Washington
- Latest roster
- No. 8 · Class 2011
- 2011 Total offense rank
- 3,277 total offense · QB 30th (top 11%) · Big Ten 2nd (top 2%) · National 30th (top 3%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Total Offense | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Postseason | Michigan State | 4 | 26 | 36 | -10 | 0 | 34.9 |
| 2008 Regular Season | Michigan State | 4 | 272 | 274 | -2 | 2 | 34.9 |
| 2009 Postseason | Michigan State | 12 | 238 | 220 | 18 | 1 | 62.6 |
| 2009 Regular Season | Michigan State | 12 | 2,502 | 2,460 | 42 | 18 | 62.6 |
| 2010 Postseason | Michigan State | 13 | 64 | 120 | -56 | 0 | 60.5 |
| 2010 Regular Season | Michigan State | 13 | 2,625 | 2,705 | -80 | 21 | 60.5 |
| 2011 Postseason | Michigan State | 14 | 323 | 300 | 23 | 1 | 66.8 |
| 2011 Regular Season | Michigan State | 14 | 2,954 | 3,016 | -62 | 24 | 66.8 |
Related Context
Keep exploring Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins played QB for Michigan State. Across 4 tracked seasons, Kirk Cousins recorded 9,131 passing yards, -127 rushing yards, and 2 receiving yards. His top tracked season came in 2011 with Michigan State.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2011 Postseason
Michigan State paired 3,277 primary output with 61.8 efficiency.
Supporting note
2009 Postseason role shape
pass-led usage with 60.8 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value stayed steady
2011 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Montana State
Win with 183 yards of offense and 82.8 efficiency. It landed in the 25th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2009 Postseason · Michigan State
Games
12
Primary Metric / G
228.3
Efficiency
60.8
Usage
9.4
Consistency
85.1
Best Game by takeover score
Montana State
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Active game
Hover over a point
Hover or select a game to keep its context visible here without the page shifting around.
Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Texas Tech: 238. Montana State: 183. Central Michigan: 159. Notre Dame: 305. Wisconsin: 191. Michigan: 227. Northwestern: 276. Iowa: 202. Minnesota: 235. Western Michigan: 348. Purdue: 211. Penn State: 165
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Low volumeHigh quality
High volumeHigh quality
Low volumeLower quality
High volumeLower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Texas Tech: 32 by 55.6. Montana State: 17 by 82.8. Central Michigan: 19 by 62. Notre Dame: 37 by 60.3. Wisconsin: 37 by 46.9. Michigan: 28 by 73.4. Northwestern: 33 by 60.8. Iowa: 37 by 52.1. Minnesota: 36 by 51.2. Western Michigan: 26 by 72. Purdue: 26 by 60.8. Penn State: 31 by 52
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins249 · Games = 5 · +35.4 vs Losses
Losses213.6 · Games = 7 · -35.4 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
12 games
Featured metric
Total Offense
Top game by takeover score
Montana State
Best efficiency game
82.8 vs Montana State
| Result | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1/3 | @ Texas Tech | L 31-41 | 13 | 27 | 220 | 48.1 | 1 | 2 | 55.6 | 5 | 18 | 3.60 | 0 | 13 |
| Sat 11/21 | vs Penn State | L 14-42 | 16 | 28 | 155 | 57.1 | 1 | 2 | 52 | 3 | 10 | 3.30 | 0 | 12 |
| Sat 11/14 | @ Purdue3+ TD | W 40-37 | 11 | 25 | 208 | 44.0 | 3 | 0 | 60.8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Sat 11/7 | vs Western Michigan300-yard game | W 49-14 | 22 | 25 | 353 | 88.0 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 1 | -5 | -5 | 0 | 0 |
| Sun 11/1 | @ Minnesota | L 34-42 | 21 | 35 | 236 | 60.0 | 2 | 1 | 51.2 | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sat 10/24 | vs Iowa | L 13-15 | 16 | 32 | 225 | 50.0 | 1 | 0 | 52.1 | 5 | -23 | -4.60 | 0 | 4 |
| Sat 10/17 | vs Northwestern | W 24-14 | 21 | 31 | 281 | 67.7 | 2 | 0 | 60.8 | 2 | -5 | -2.50 | 0 | 0 |
| Sat 10/3 | vs MichiganDual-threat | W 26-20 | 15 | 21 | 152 | 71.4 | 0 | 2 | 73.4 | 7 | 75 | 10.70 | 0 | 41 |
| Sat 9/26 | @ Wisconsin | L 30-38 | 17 | 34 | 201 | 50.0 | 2 | 1 | 46.9 | 3 | -10 | -3.30 | 0 | 2 |
| Sat 9/19 | @ Notre Dame300-yard game | L 30-33 | 23 | 35 | 302 | 65.7 | 1 | 1 | 60.3 | 2 | 3 | 1.50 | 0 | 4 |
| Sat 9/12 | vs Central Michigan | L 27-29 | 13 | 18 | 164 | 72.2 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 1 | -5 | -5 | 0 | 0 |
| Sat 9/5 | vs Montana State3+ TD | W 44-3 | 10 | 17 | 183 | 58.8 | 3 | 0 | 82.8 | — | — | — | — | — |
Player Story
Kirk Cousins story
Kirk Cousins built his college career from 2008 through 2011 as a quarterback from Holland, MI wearing No. 8, spending time with Michigan State. The clearest part of Kirk Cousins' career was his passing role: 9,131 passing yards, 66 touchdown passes, and 1,128 attempts across 43 career games in the available record. His career also includes 2 receiving yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. That gives Kirk Cousins' career enough real context without stretching the story beyond the available production.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Michigan State
2008-2011
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
20082008200920092010201020112011
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Postseason | Michigan State | 298 | 67.8 | 4 | — |
| 2008 Regular Season | Michigan State | 298 | 67.8 | 4 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason | Michigan State | 2,740 | 60.8 | 9.4 | 2,442 |
| 2009 Regular Season | Michigan State | 2,740 | 60.8 | 9.4 | 0 |
| 2010 Postseason | Michigan State | 2,689 | 59 | 10.7 | -51 |
| 2010 Regular Season | Michigan State | 2,689 | 59 | 10.7 | 0 |
| 2011 Postseason | Michigan State | 3,277 | 61.8 | 9.9 | 588 |
| 2011 Regular Season | Michigan State | 3,277 | 61.8 | 9.9 | 0 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
vs Northern Colorado
Week 4 · W 45-7
Win with 290 yards of offense and 93.3 efficiency.
290
Total Offense
92.5 takeover
290 total offense with 93.3 efficiency.
#2
vs Indiana
Week 12 · W 55-3 · Conference game
272
Total Offense
86.8 takeover
Win with 272 yards of offense and 89.4 efficiency.
272 total offense with 89.4 efficiency.
#3
vs Central Michigan
Week 4 · W 45-7
213
Total Offense
69.9 takeover
Win with 213 yards of offense and 73.9 efficiency.
213 total offense with 73.9 efficiency.
#4
vs Montana State
Week 1 · W 44-3
183
Total Offense
67.7 takeover
Win with 183 yards of offense and 82.8 efficiency.
183 total offense with 82.8 efficiency.
#5
@ Georgia
Week 1 · W 33-30 · Postseason
323
Total Offense
63.4 takeover
Win shaped by high passing volume and turnover pressure.
323 total offense with 59.4 efficiency.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2011 Postseason · Michigan State
3,277 primary output · 61.8 efficiency · 9.9 usage
66.8
#2
2011 Regular Season · Michigan State
66.8
3,277 primary · 61.8 efficiency · 9.9 usage
#3
2009 Postseason · Michigan State
62.6
2,740 primary · 60.8 efficiency · 9.4 usage
Milestones
16
250+ passing yards
5
300+ total offense
9
3+ TD games
22
Above avg efficiency
Next best actions
Keep exploring Kirk Cousins
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