Western Michigan third-year coach Tim Lester was thrilled to have Jon Wassink back at quarterback Saturday night in the Broncos’ season-opening 48-13 win over FCS Monmouth at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.
Wassink missed the final four games last season due a foot injury.
But now Wassink is healthy and he likely will need to play at a high level for the Broncos to stay competitive with Michigan State on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., BTN). Western (1-0) is a 17.5-point underdog to MSU (1-0).
Wassink, a senior from Grand Rapids, completed 20-of-25 passes, throwing for 368 yards and five TDs against Monmouth, including a pair of TD tosses to All-MAC tight end Giovanni Ricci and a 33-yard score to 6-foot-4 Jaylen Hall (Macomb Dakota).