“My mentality is prepare like I’m the starter and if on Saturday morning I can say, ‘If I was starting this game, I’d be ready to go,’ then I feel that I’ve done all I needed to do to prepare.”

That scenario has already happened once this year, when Hoyer was knocked out of the Ohio State game with hand and head injuries. Dantonio summoned Cousins, who had thrown just four passes in his collegiate career, onto the field against the then-No. 12 team in the country.

Despite his inexperience, Cousins looked like a seasoned veteran against the Buckeyes, completing his first 10 passes and finishing the game 18-for-25 passing for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Hoyer said Cousins’ performance against the Buckeyes was a product of his hard work and preparation.

“It really showed when he came in when I got taken out of the Ohio State game,” Hoyer said. “He came in and was able to move the offense because he does prepare that well.”

Film room fanatic

During practice, Cousins gets about 35 percent of the snaps with the first team offense — a fair amount, but not nearly enough to get him fully prepared for Saturday. Because his hands-on experience is limited, Cousins spends about an hour and a half each day in the film room.

Five days a week, players get together and watch film with their position coaches and position players during practice. On Monday, the team’s off day, players routinely come into the Skandalaris Football Center to work out and watch film on their own.

Cousins spends every Monday in the film room, trying to pick up as much information as he can about MSU’s upcoming opponent. He focuses especially hard on the opponent’s defensive coverages and blitzes.

Cousins also puts the names of the defensive personnel on the whiteboard in the quarterbacks’ meeting room — something MSU quarterbacks coach Dave Warner used to do before Cousins started beating him to it.

“What I learned big time when I got here is … I didn’t quite realize how much it (takes) mentally to play at this level,” said Cousins, who also watches film in his apartment when he has downtime. “I kind of underestimated that aspect of it and I realized that if I’m ever going to be out here in a game I need to be sharper (mentally) than physically.”

Eager to learn

The easiest teaching technique is often learning by doing, but with Hoyer — a second-year starter — in front of him, that method isn’t practical for Cousins. Instead, he takes advantage of Hoyer’s experience by constantly nit-picking his brain.

“Kirk reminds me a lot of myself when (former MSU quarterback Drew Stanton) was here,” Hoyer said. “You have to ask questions, you have to do the same amount of work as a starter, because at any given notice, if someone goes down, you have to be in there in a matter of minutes. Kirk does a great job of it and he’s always asking questions.”

Cousins’ questions vary from how to read defensive coverages to why Hoyer made a particular check-down throw. One of the biggest things Cousins tries to learn from Hoyer is how and when to audible play calls.

“Fans don’t see when he gets under center and we have a bad play called for the defense and he checks out of it and calls a different play,” Cousins said. “It takes time to get used to doing that.”

Game day

On Saturdays, Cousins sets his helmet aside — but always within grasp — and straps on a headset that he uses to relay play calls from MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell to Hoyer via hand signals. He also acts as an extra set of eyes for Hoyer and Warner, giving feedback on coverages, blitzes and passing reads while staying focused on the secondary.

Cousins and Warner know that Cousins’ hard work is part of the job of being a backup. Still, Warner said he’s impressed by how hard Cousins works for someone who knows the probability of seeing playing time is slim.

“He’s one of hundreds of quarterbacks in the country that are the backup guy, and I can’t say that there’s a better one in the country that handles it from a team standpoint better than he does,” Warner said. “He’s been that way since he’s stepped on campus here. He does a fantastic job with it.”

Reuse, rinse, repeat

As a competitor, Cousins said it hurts not to play. But he also emphasizes that as a competitor, he wants what is best for the team, which in this case means Hoyer being the starter.

At this point, Cousins’ role on the team is set in stone. With Hoyer in front of him, Cousins’ workload will remain high, with the immediate return being slim-to-none. But that notion doesn’t stop him from competing like he’s the starter.

“I knew that going into this season, I knew going into last season that I was going to be behind a great quarterback and I was going to have a phenomenal chance to learn from (Hoyer),” Cousins said.

“So I look at it as I have a lot to learn from a guy who’s a really great player — I wish I could be out there, but I feel like my chances will come (and) I have plenty of time to get out there.”