Spartan spring football update & ES fall lineup projection

Coach Mark Dantonio addressed the media on Thursday about the Spartan gridders, and hilighted strengths at the skill positions - particularly QB, RB. The Doctor said that Cousins has had an excellent spring, and that both Maxwell and Boisture look excellent so far and will have a jump start in the fall. Keith Nichol is getting 80% of his reps at WR and is improving rapidly... he looks like he may be the featured slot receiver this fall.

A few players also made comments. Charlie Gantt stated, "I want to make sure I finish off my blocks." Larry Caper said he was trying to improve on "running strong after contact." DJ Young said that the team is working on a priority of "run block first, pass block second."

Below, the ES has his projected starting lineup this fall; unless incoming blue-chipper William Gholston cracks the defensive depth chart early, expect not too many upsets here. But, Gholston does have a shot to play as a true freshman: Michigan State lacks depth on the offensive and defensive fronts, again this year.

INJURY NOTE

OL Henry Conway has a neck injury and is out for the Spring.

ES PROJECTED FALL DEPTH CHART
(bold indicates previously started sometime at MSU)

OFFENSE (10 returning starters)
---------------------------------

QB 8 KIRK COUSINS (6-3, 202, Jr.)
10 Andrew Maxwell (6-3, 200, Fr.)

FB 44 JOSH ROUSE (6-3, 235, Sr.-5)
47 Adam Setterbo (6-3, 228, Jr.)

RB 22 LARRY CAPER (5-11, 220, So.)
4 EDWIN BAKER (5-9, 199, So.)

Z 82 KESHAWN MARTIN (5-11, 185, Jr.)
3 B.J. Cunningham (6-2, 206, Jr.)
13 Bennie Fowler (6-1, 206, R-Fr.)

X 7 KEITH NICHOL (6-2, 220, Jr.)
2 Mark Dell (6-2, 197, Sr.)

LT 59 D.J. YOUNG (6-5, 315, Sr.-5)
71 John Deyo (6-6, 294, So.)
79 David Barrent (6-8, 312, R-Fr.)

LG 67 JOEL FOREMAN (6-4, 306, Jr.)
68 Ethan Ruhland (6-5, 290, So.)

C 66 JOHN STIPEK (6-5, 292, Sr.-5)
72 Nate Klatt (6-4, 290, R-Fr.)

RG 61 ANTONIO JEREMIAH (6-5, 360, R-Jr.)
77 J’Michael Deane (6-5, 312, Sr.-5)

RT 75 JARED MCGAHA (6-6, 295, Jr.)
73 Henry Conway (6-6, 306, R-Fr.)

TE 83 CHARLIE GANTT (6-5, 255, Sr.-5)
80 Dion Sims (6-5, 275, So.) or
88 Brian Linthicum (6-5, 240, Jr.)


DEFENSE (8 returning starters)
---------------------------------

DT 52 DENZEL DRONE (6-2, 252, R-Fr.)
87 Todd Anderson (6-2, 240, Jr.)

DT 96 KEVIN PICKELMAN (6-4, 278, Jr.)
60 Micajah Reynolds (6-5, 302, R-Fr.)

NT 93 BLAKE TREADWELL (6-3, 277, So.)
97 Dan France (6-6, 283, R-Fr.)

DE 91 TYLER HOOVER (6-7, 270, So.)
63 Corey Freeman (6-2, 235, So.)

LB 43 ERIC GORDON (6-0, 228, Sr.-5)
36 Jon Misch (6-3, 206, Sr.-5)

LB 53 GREG JONES (6-1, 235, Sr.)
40 Max Bullough (6-3, 235, Fr.)

LB 10 CHRIS NORMAN (6-1, 225, So.)
28 Denicos Allen (5-10, 215, R-Fr.)

CB 5 JOHNNY ADAMS (5-11, 170, R-So.)
12 Dana Dixon (6-2, 173, R-Fr.)

CB 29 CHRIS L RUCKER (6-2, 195, Sr.)
32 Mitchell White (6-1, 172, So.)

FS 39 TRENTON ROBINSON (5-10, 190, Jr.)
21 Patrick White (5-11, 194, R-Fr.)

SS 11 MARCUS HYDE (6-0, 202, Sr.-5)
26 Jesse Johnson (5-10, 188, Sr.-5)


GREEN & WHITE SPRING GAME & YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC

The Green-White intrasquad game will be held Saturday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. Parking is free (in Lots T-79, A-62, S-56, P-39/40, H-63 and M-66), and the stadium gates (Gates B, C, J and K) open at 12 p.m. Admission is free. Prior to the spring game, MSU's coaching staff and players will conduct a free youth football clinic (no registration required). Children, ages 8-12, are invited to attend the youth clinic from 10-11:30 a.m. on the grass practice fields behind the Duffy Daugherty Football Building, located at the corner of Chestnut Road and Shaw Lane.

Michigan State vs Purdue predictions; Spartan running game

Spartan fans... Some early predictions on Michigan State vs Purdue so far: ESPN/Adam Rittenberg (MSU 27-26); CFN/Scout (MSU 38-30); Sports Network (Purdue 31-24); SpartyMSU (MSU 31-24). ES will have his preview out by early Friday morning.

Interesting to see Ed Baker, Ashton Leggett, and Larry Caper in the projected lineup. The ES isn't entirely sold on Leggett yet, his oustanding performance vs Western Michigan was against... well, WMU. Baker and Caper have experience against the Big Boys. But, Purdue is giving up 170 yards per game in Big Ten play, good for 8th-best in the conference. So, there should be room enough for all three to run.

Michigan State thumps Northwestern, 24-14

It took at stalwart second half from MSU, but the Michigan State Spartans' finally woke up on offense and took advantage of Northwestern mistakes to win, 24-14. MSU is now on a three-game winning streak in the Big Ten, and sits tied for second in the conference at 3-1/4-3.

The Spartans played well defensively all day, and only allowed 80 yards rushing by the 'Cats -- 44 by their QB, Franz Kafka (ha ha). The Spartan D hurried the Wildcat spread offense all day and forced Kafka to throw on the run repeatedly; MSU ended up with three sacks but handfuls of hurries. Junior LB Greg Jones had one of his best games as a Spartan and was all over the field, constantly pressuring Kafka, stuffing the run, and making plays in the secondary. Jones finished with 14 tackles, 2 QB sacks, a pair of hurries, and a pass breakup. Statisically, he was outdone by fellow LB Eric Gordon with 15 tackes and 2 tackles for loss.

On offense, Michigan State had its most sluggish first half of the year and trailed at the half, 7-0. But the Spartans woke up in the second half and had several long drives to lead the way. Kirk Cousins returned at QB this week for MSU (after taking last week vs Illinois off to rest his ankle) and allowed Keith Nichol's bruised elbow to heal. He was rusty in the first half, but woke up and connected with Blair White on 12 passes for 189 yards and 2 TDs -- and White showed off his gluey hands by catching everything in sight. Cousins finished 21-31 for 281 yards. Also on offense, Larry Caper led the way on the ground with 63 yards on 16 carries; but, more impressively on came Edwin Baker. Baker dropped his redshirt and fumbled early, only to look like a bruising back as the game wore on. Yes, Spartan fans, Baker is the real deal, as his running was inspirational, powerful, and awesome at times. He finished with 44 on 12 carries -- but you will see his carries increase as his performance and bruising style was inspiring.

Michigan State looked good defensively, again. On offense, it started slow but came on as the game wore on. An awful fumble by NW on a kick return led to another MSU score, but MSU also left 14 other points on the field with Baker's fumble and a NW goal line stand on the first drive. The Spartans played well and dominated for the most part. Now, at 3-1 and 4-3, the Big Green has a chance to ruin Iowa's storied, undefeated season. Welcome Mr. Hawkeye.

More later.... but, great job Big GREEN!

(Below: WR Blair White catches a pass from Cousin on a right out route for a first down in the 3rd quarter).

Team Totals	NU	MSU
FIRST DOWNS	22	19
Rushing	5	6
Passing	14	13
Penalty	3	0
NET YARDS RUSHING	79	94
Rushing Attempts	29	34
Average Per Rush	2.7	2.8
Rushing Touchdowns	0	1
Yards Gained Rushing	104	128
Yards Lost Rushing	25	34
NET YARDS PASSING	291	281
Completions-Attempts-Int	34-47-0	21-31-0
Average Per Attempt	6.2	9.1
Average Per Completion	8.6	13.4
Passing Touchdowns	2	2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	370	375
Total offense plays	76	65
Average Gain Per Play	4.9	5.8
Fumbles: Number-Lost	3-2	1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	4-25	4-46
PUNTS-YARDS	6-195	6-243
Average Yards Per Punt	32.5	40.5
Net Yards Per Punt	27.8	35.5
Inside 20	1	1
50+ Yards	0	1
Touchbacks	1	1
Fair catch	1	1
KICKOFFS-YARDS	3-202	5-305
Average Yards Per Kickoff	67.3	61.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff	38.7	44.0
Touchbacks	1	0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	2-10-0	1-8-0
Average Per Return	5.0	8.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	5-85-0	2-66-0
Average Per Return	17.0	33.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	29:03	30:57
1st Quarter	8:51	6:09
2nd Quarter	7:09	7:51
3rd Quarter	5:12	9:48
4th Quarter	7:51	7:09
Third-Down Conversions	8 of 16	5 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 2	0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	2-2	1-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards	0-0	3-15
PAT Kicks	2-2	3-3
Field Goals	0-0	1-1

Spartan injury update

Current word out of Spartan athletics: RB Glenn Winston with a knee sprain - MRI is pending; QB Keith Nichol with a bruised left elbow. RB Larry Caper is fine.

Confirmation of a BLOW OUT Spartan victory? Illinois fans booing relentlessly in the second half. You don't boo your team unless they're laying a turd.

Dantonio presser: "you have to get hits on the quarterback"

Some important takes from Dantonio as we head down to kick the Leprechaun's smelly tail...

On the Spartan Defense: "It's important for our defense to get back on track. If you look at this past week, we didn't pressure CMU enough. We couldn't get there, whatever the case was, but we didn't hit the quarterback enough. If you're going to affect the quarterback, you got to hit him more. You've got to do more in coverage. Whatever it is, you have to get hits on the quarterback. So that will be important. I'm sure we'll see screens. I'm sure we'll see all the things that they do."

On Trenton Robinson getting the starting nod at safety over Danny Fortener: "Trenton had an outstanding spring. He makes a lot of plays. He came into camp, a little short on experience. We went with the other guy because of the experience. I don't think Danny Fortener has played badly, it's Trenton has played very well and has been very active. I think he had seven solo tackles and three assists on Saturday. He's an active football player, and he combines speed with that activity."

About the Spartan OL: "Some of it can be traced back to experience both on the (right side) offensive line and at running back. I know that Larry Caper cut back one time where he could have stayed on the outside with it, but that's (a lack of) experience. It's also about experience on the offensive line, getting the right guys up there. You've got to stay on your blocks and everything. We only had 56 plays on offense (against Central Michigan). We ran the ball 30 times for 107 yards. Again, we scored 27 points. We didn't turn the ball over. It was more a fact that we didn't get the ball enough. At the end, they took the clock and didn't leave anything left. "

On what to expect out of the Friggin Irish: " Obviously, Coach (Charlie) Weis is an offensive coach, so they will be very fundamentally sound. They're going to throw it up top. That's the nature of what they've done (in the passing game). They go deep a lot, but they've established the running game as well... Clausen is in his third year (as a starter) now, so he's an experienced quarterback. He knows where to go with the ball, and he gets rid of the ball quickly. They're going to throw it deep... Defensively, Notre Dame has six guys back with starting experience. Jon Tenuta is the defensive coordinator. He was at Ohio State before I had arrived there. He's known as a pressure coach, so he's going to pressure. He's going to play an under front predominantly."

Biggest Dissapointment: DBs; Biggest Concern? Running game

The biggest disappointment on Saturday vs. Central Michgian? The play of the Spartan defensive secondary, being smoked left, right, and up the middle (CMU's LeFevour went 34-of-47, a blistering 73% completion rate, for 352 yards). D-coord Pat Narduzzi effectively tied their hands by playing a base defense... The ES kept yelling, "where the hell is the bump-and-run?" and, "where are the blitzes???" If this team has such damn good talent in the defensive backfield, why play scared? Where the hell is the aggressiveness? Tackle, hit, and get after the Goddam Irish on Saturday; the Spartan DBs better not be waiting, or they'll just get run over. Downright embarrassing.

The biggest concern? The Spartan running game. Let's start with the play of the Spartan offensive line. My God, they looked uninspired and couldn't run block as well as my grandma. They looked better in pass blocking, but not by much. John Stipek looked confused half the time replacing Joel Nitchman (sprained knee) at center. You wonder how much of an impact that had on the line - we NEED Nitchman back. At RB, at least Caulton Ray hit the holes going forward and had a few yards. Larry Caper needs to ditch the "I wanna look like Barry Sanders" dance moves and run forward and hit the holes or the Irish will break his ankles and eat him alive. Listen, ND gave up 190 yards rushing to the Yellow Bellies of Ann Arbor, so there IS room to run. But, MSU better find it.

Spartans... Touchdown Jesus is waiting for you. You want some, or you want to just give up? Here is the best opportunity to RUIN the Irish pride. What do you do when a rabid dog is in a corner? You grab it by the neck and stomp on it. Ruin their day, their season, their football tradition. I want it. Do you? Go out and do it. It will be sweet redemption and put the Spartan Nation back on track. 1-2 is unacceptable. Go get it done.

Michigan State 44, Montana State 3

Congrats to our opening, 44-3 whitewashing of Montana State. Yeah.

OK, we didn't learn much today -- which is why the ES traveled and spent the weekend at Disney World. But, from the stats and info from his Brudda, we learned the following: offensive line needs to run block better - it was a perceived weakness entering the fall, and vs a FCS team, it is confirmed. The longest run of the day was from Caulton Ray, with a 20 yarder. He was 12-71 (5.9). Our two freshmen studs, Larry Caper (7-34) and Ed Baker (8-27) sufficed but were nothing special.

Most of all, what we learned is that we need to STOP DROPPING PASSES. What's going on? The stats looks good, but official stats should also count dropped passes. According to my bro, we must have dropped 6-10 passes today, and it resulted in truncated drives. Blair White was 9-162, and BJ Cunningham was 3-62. What was more significant was that opponents (Mont St) could not keep Dion Sims off the field - and he caught 2-32 and 1 TD as a true frosh. He's a stud.

As for which QB is better? I have to go with my bro's opinion from personally witnessing game action and he said that Keith Nichol (9-18-0-135, 2 TD) looked to perform "a little bit" better than Kirk Cousins (10-17-0-183, 3 TD) and "seemed better in control of the offense."

Overall, Mich St outgained Mont St. 493-160. Just obliteration, as expected.

Montana State will receive at least $650,000 for traveling to East Lansing, enough to pay nearly a third of its annual football budget.

MONST - MSU

FIRST DOWNS................... 12 29
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 62 175
Rushing Attempts............ 28 40
Average Per Rush............ 2.2 4.4
NET YARDS PASSING............. 98 318
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 13-26-0 19-35-0
Passing Touchdowns.......... 0 5
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 160 493
Total offense plays......... 54 75
Average Gain Per Play....... 3.0 6.6
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 7-55 5-46
PUNTS-YARDS................... 9-335 2-114
Average Yards Per Punt...... 37.2 57.0
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 28.6 51.5
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 1-11-0 5-58-0
Average Per Return.......... 11.0 11.6
Possession Time............... 29:19 30:41
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 14 7 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 2 0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-1 3-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 3-22

OK, and then I saw the defensive stats and WTF - Greg Jones was a hoss, with 14 tackles, including 2.5 for loss:

53 Jones, Greg        5    9   14  2.5/16   .   .     .      .    .   1.5/11   .
11 Hyde, Marcus       2    4    6     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

Link here for video of the matchup


Of those 92 who voted in the ES' poll of margin of victory, only 28% said that MSU would win by 36 or more. 40% said by 20-29 points, 18% said 30-35 points. 6% said 10-19 points, and 1% said 1-9 points. Four people said Montana State would win.

Cousins & Ray win Spartan backfield starting battle; Spartans comply with NCAA conditioning rules

The depth chart has been released for MSU vs MSU. And the winners are...

Kirk Cousins has been named Michigan State's starter for the season opener against Montana State. Caulton Ray will start at running back, with Ed Baker and Larry Caper likely to see lots of reps. Colin Neely at the other DE spot opposite of Trevor Anderson. Brendon Moss will start at right tackle.

Also, kudos over to the LSJ for following up with Free Press' checking in on Michigan State and the Spartans' compliance with NCAA rules on off-season conditioning. As expected, MSU players are doing their own policing and conducting their own training... it's a free country and no-fouls involved. This report gives added credence to the Freep's investigation of scUM coaches' inability to rely on their players to do what needs to be done. Maybe the coaches felt they needed to directly put pressure on the players, require them to mandatory conditioning instead of relying on the players to get the message across -- this is no surprise, after the worst season in school history. More laughter from the ES...

Photo courtesy MSU Media Relations.

Second scrimmage: The Cousins and Caper show

The LSJ has a brief writeup of yesterday's scrimmage, the second of the week, and the ES broke out the statistics below to make it easier to follow. Highlighting the performance on offense was improvement from Kirk Cousins, which just tightens the QB race back up with Keith Nichol. TE Dion Sims made big plays, and RB Larry Caper has seemingly taken the lead with a productive 4.9 yards per carry average yesterday. And, you gotta love it when our LBs are our leading two tacklers. Said the Doctor, "I thought the offense played and executed better... The quarterbacks threw the ball effectively, and the offense ran the ball better, especially in third-and-short situations... Defensively, the guys up front know what they're doing, so they play fast and there aren't many missed assignments. We're 16 practices into camp and the guys are playing at game speed." Statistics from Friday's scrimmage:

Quarterbacks:

• Cousins: 6-13-119. 1 TD, 1 INT.
  
• Nichol: 7-14-54. 0 TD, 0 INT.
  

Running Backs:

• Caper: 14-68. 1 TD (7 yards). 4.9 ypc.
• Ray: 16-37. 2.3 ypc.
• Baker: 14-32. 2.3 ypc.
  

Receivers:

• White: 3-66.
• Sims: 2-38. 1 TD.
  

Defense:

• Jones: 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack.
  
• Gordon: 8 tackles.
• Rucker: 1 INT, 1 TD.
  

Punt and kick returners remain "up in the air"

A status report from the Lansing State Journal provided a few wrinkles to the projected starting lineup, particularly at punt and kick returner. The LSJ notes that Keshawn Martin and Mark Dell are the top two candidates at punt returner.... which is good, you need good hands at that position due to potentially being smacked down on a hanging punt and missed blocks, and Martin, Dell, and Blair White are the only players who could catch anything last year. At kick returner, Larry Caper, Ed Baker, AJ Jimmerson, Trenton Robinson and Glenn Winston, are all getting a look. Don't be surprised to see the senior, Jimmerson, back there to start the year as a reward for his years of service... but eventually, for Winston to take over by the ND game after the coaching staff feels he has enough practice and is ready to go.

Also, at LB, the coaches love Chris Norman to add depth to the linebacker position -- and has a bright future for the Green and White. But, the LSJ also reports that sophomore Drew Stevens and redshirt freshman Steve Gardiner are also getting a good look.

Dion Sims impresses Big Ten Network, Dantonio

One big positive out of the Big Ten Network is the ability to catch a glimpse of practice sessions, and today was Exhibit A as the BTN took a glimpse at Michigan State under 90-degree weather. It was a sweat box.

From some of what the ES saw, on offense pass protection seemed pretty good, but the Spartan defense -- particularly the 'backers -- were able to tee off on the running game, plugging the holes effectively. There was a particularly nice roll out right by QB Keith Nichol as he dodged out of the pocket, and threw across his body with great strength and accuracy, and hit a streaking receiver across the middle.

The Doctor was interviewed... and what was telling were the particular names he mentioned. He singled out Brandon Denson for his work ethic and the whole LB corps as a strength. He mentioned he expected to have a 3-RB rotation of 100+ carries by each this fall. As for the new recruits, two seemed to stick out: Chris Norman and Dion Sims who are "getting a lot of reps."

The BTN crew chimed in with their thoughts, and agreed there seemingly was no difference between Nichol or Kirk Cousins at QB. BTN commentator Howard Griffith was very impressed with Spartan receivers, and noted the teams' potential "to put a lot of points on the board." Both Griffith and Gerry DiNardo were impressed by the pair of true frosh RBs, Ed Baker and Larry Caper... although DiNardo feels Baker has the edge. The pair "looked good catching the ball and picking up blitzes." Hopefully, they can run well, too...

Finally, when asked about "under the radar" players, DiNardo mentioned Lansing native Micajah Reynolds as an OL that may be able to get some quality playing time. Griffith and Dave Revsine both drooled over Dion Sims at TE that he "was special."