LINCOLN — He will do every interview, on any subject, reliving any story the reporter wishes. Michigan State's Kirk Cousins is that guy, the insta-quote, the chicken soup for a pigskin soul.

There's a reason, after all, he thought that being a Big Ten starting quarterback was worth all the doubt he had to overcome.

"I thought I could make a lot of difference on the field and off the field — a positive difference in people's lives using the platform of football," Cousins said in an interview with The World-Herald.

To ESPN.com he speaks of a pot of boiling spaghetti that burned him badly when he was 19 months old. To Sports Illustrated it's a summer buffet crawl he took with his offensive linemen. To the New York Times it's a tale about how he won a scholarship to MSU by playing hard-nosed defense — in a basketball game.

A devout Christian, Cousins imparts his life story as a mixture of constant challenge met by ever-present blessings. In a 10-minute speech at Big Ten Media Days that drew ovations from league coaches, he made a compelling argument for the current "privilege" of the college athlete.

But what drives Cousins right now, this minute, 48 hours before the Spartans' game with Nebraska, is this: Rose Bowl logos.

They're everywhere in Michigan State's football program. On the practice field. On the fence that lines the field. On the carpets of the meeting-room floors. On the goal sheets handed out at the beginning of the week.

When Cousins leaves the quarterback meeting room each day, he's greeted by the poster of quarterback Bobby McAllister, who led Michigan State to its last Rose Bowl — in 1988. Eight months before Cousins was even born.

"You can't escape it," Cousins said. "We're constantly reminded of it."

And that's how he wants it. This hour — the last contest of a brutal four-game stretch that was supposed to break Michigan State — is what Cousins pined to do in the Big Ten. Be in the thick of the Rose Bowl race, in control of his team, which in turn controls its own destiny.

"It's been very, very special," Cousins said of this run for the Roses. "And the road for it goes through Nebraska."

Cousins is effusive in his praise of the Huskers. He talks about toughness, character and the playmaking speed of NU linebacker Lavonte David. It's standard stuff from the fifth-year senior, who's learned how to be gracious — for his climb to the spotlight has been jagged, marked with adversity.

He was the afterthought quarterback recruit in Michigan State's 2007 class, a MAC-bound, two-star guy that then-new coach Mark Dantonio took a flyer on. Nick Foles was the headliner.

But during his redshirt year, Cousins turned heads on the scout team. He found strong chemistry with another two-star recruit, wide receiver B.J. Cunningham. They routinely torched the Spartan starters.

"We made some people mad," Cunningham laughed.

Cousins surged ahead of Foles, who transferred to Arizona and became a star there. He backed up Brian Hoyer in 2008 and spelled him in losses to Ohio State, Penn State and Georgia. He shook off a false accusation from a Detroit columnist that he had instigated a brawl. He beat out Keith Nichol — who had transferred in from Oklahoma — in 2009.

Nichol moved to receiver and caught Cousins' Hail Mary pass to beat Wisconsin last Saturday.

Cousins is a three-year starter with a 22-10 record. But he never felt like he owned the job until now.

"It's been a challenge," he said. "Day after day after day I was competing. I was never comfortable. I was never given the opportunity to sit back and relax and enjoy it. I always felt like I was being chased."

Critics would note his intelligence and accuracy but knock his lack of athleticism and mobility, the same criticism that kept him from getting better offers out of high school from other Big Ten schools — Ohio State, Penn State — that are sorely hurting for quarterbacks now.

It's the same criticism that reemerged when Michigan State was humiliated by Alabama in the Capital One Bowl.

Cousins was sacked four times for a loss of 56 yards. He lost a fumble near Alabama's goal line. He threw a costly interception and was battered and bruised out of the game. It got so bad for the Spartans that Nichol came in and played quarterback.

"I was throwing off my back foot and I wasn't sitting in there as well as I have been lately," said Cousins, who was also battling an injured ankle last year.

That ugly performance led some Big Ten pundits to claim that Michigan State couldn't possibly survive October without a loss. The menu was daunting: Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and NU all in a row.

The Spartans are nearly through it unscathed, and Cousins' play — 63 percent completion rate, 660 yards, seven touchdowns — is a reason why. He saved his 2011 signature performance — 290 yards and three touchdowns — for the 37-31 win over Wisconsin.

A three-year captain, Cousins has also been the team's emotional leader. He preaches having an "extra heartbeat" to beat teams with better talent. He works with Cunningham before and after practice on routes. He knows the offense so well that he draws up plays and assists with the game plan each week.

"When you have five years with the same terminology — and I've been pretty well-coached — and get a lot of repetitions on the plays we do, I use that to our advantage — to get us in the right plays," Cousins said.

Teammates uniformly call him an upfront leader.

"He's a guy that everybody looks up to," defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said. "He'll tell you at any given time how he's feeling. Everybody just rallies around him."

How is Cousins feeling at the moment? Hungry for roses.

"It's my dream," Cousins said. "You talk about how a Final Four in the basketball program is a big deal — but I think a Rose Bowl would trump a Final Four appearance any day."

Contact the writer:

402-202-9766, sam.mckewon@owh.com

twitter.com/swmckewonOWH

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