Kirk Cousins Kirk Cousins ( born August 19 , 1988 ) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Michigan State University , where he was the Spartans ' starter from 2009 to 2011 . He was drafted with the 102nd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Redskins . Early life . Cousins is the son of Don Cousins , a minister who consults churches across the country , and Maryann Cousins . He is the second oldest of three children . Cousins attended Holland Christian High School in Holland , Michigan where he starred in football , baseball ( as a pitcher ) , and basketball . He broke his ankle in his junior year and was forced to attend camps in order to make an impression with recruiting colleges . He was about to sign with Toledo or Western Michigan when Mark Dantonio became the head coach at Michigan State . After Dantonio failed to sign his top targets at quarterback , he offered a scholarship to Cousins in January 2007 , and he accepted . He also participated in Athletes in Action sports ministry . Cousins majored in kinesiology throughout his college career . Cousins finished his high school football career with 3 , 204 passing yards , 40 touchdowns , and 18 interceptions . College career . In 2007 , newly hired Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio recruited Cousins to play for the Spartans . Cousins was redshirted for the 2007 season . In 2008 , he spent the season as the back up quarterback to Brian Hoyer . He played in five games passing for a total of 310 yards and two touchdowns and one interception . In 2009 , he competed for and won the starting quarterback job against teammate Keith Nichol . He led Michigan State to a 6 – 7 ( 4 - 4 ) season with 19 touchdowns , nine interceptions and 2 , 680 passing yards in 12 games . In 2010 , he led Michigan State to a 11 – 2 ( 7 - 1 ) record and won the Big Ten Championship . In 2011 his Michigan State Spartans went 11 - 3 ( 7 - 2 ) and played in the first ever Big Ten championship game . Cousins was named Second Team All - Big Ten by the coaches , and played his final game as a Michigan State Spartan on January 2 , 2012 defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl . His teams posted an undefeated 4 - 0 record against in - state rival Michigan . Cousins won the 2011 Lowes ' s Senior CLASS Award Kirk Cousins drew praise for a speech he delivered at the Big Ten kickoff lunch on behalf of all Big Ten student - athletes Professional career . Washington Redskins . In the 2012 NFL Draft , Cousins was selected by the Washington Redskins as the seventh choice in the fourth round , making him the 102nd draft pick overall . The pick surprised many analysts , as the Redskins had drafted 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick to be their franchise quarterback . Cousins officially signed with the Redskins on May 31 , 2012 to a four - year contract . In the second game of the preseason against the Chicago Bears , Cousins threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter , though the Bears would win 33 - 31 . In the fourth and final game of preseason against Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Cousins completed 15 - of - 27 passes for 222 yards , the Washington Redskins had a 30 - 3 win . He won the backup quarterback job over incumbent starter Rex Grossman . Cousins made his NFL debut in the third quarter of a Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons after Griffin suffered a concussion . Cousins scored his first touchdown on a 77 - yard pass to Santana Moss , but threw two interceptions in the last two series of the game while trying to tie the game . His second NFL appearance came in Week 14 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens . On the final drive of the game , with the Redskins down 8 , Griffin suffered a knee injury . Cousins went 2 - 2 and finished the drive with an 11 - yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon with 29 seconds remaining , to bring the Redskins within 2 . On the two - point conversion , Shanahan called for a run / pass option , and Cousins scored on a quarterback draw to tie the game at 28 . In overtime , rookie cornerback Richard Crawford gave the Redskins excellent field position after a 64 - yard punt return , setting up a game - winning field goal . The following week , on December 15 , 2012 , Cousins was announced as the Redskins starter for the Week 15 game against the Cleveland Browns , marking his first career start . After a slow first half , Cousins rallied the offense to a 28 - point second act . Cousins finished the day 26 - of - 37 for 329 yards with 2 touchdown passes , bringing the Washington Redskins a 38 - 21 win . Later that week , Cousins was voted the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week , becoming the third Redskins rookie to receive the honor that season ( after RGIII and Alfred Morris ) .