Here we continue our 2012 position previews. I aim to be occasionally right, barring that I’ll shoot for humor. For your enjoyment, I present the Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Wide Receivers, Tight Ends, Offensive Line, Linebackers and Secondary.
Projected Starters: William Gholston(DE), Marcus Rush(DE), Anthony Rashad White(NT), Micajah Reynolds(DT)
Key Departures: Jerel Worthy, Kevin Pickelman
I saved the best for last. The dessert of the 2012 position previews comes now. The MSU defensive line is the heart and soul of the Michigan State football team for both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, this unit was the lynchpin of a defense that dominated the Big Ten and 2012 will be no different. MSU returns 3 of 4 starters losing only Jerel Worthy to the NFL. Much speculation has been made in the off-season as to whether or not someone will replace Worthy’s devastation on the interior DL. The answer is yes. And No. White showed out big time in the Outback Bowl with an explosive performance that culminated in a field goal block to win the game.
To fill the actual place of Jerel Worthy the spot has been bouncing back and forth between Micajah Reynolds(who has been MSU’s Mr. Fix-It for a year or two now) and Tyler Hoover( who has struggled with injuries on and off throughout his career). Reynolds goes 6’5 and Hoover goes 6’7”. This has lead to a bit of internet chatter that Mr. Hoover might be too tall to play the 3 technique. But Tyler Hoover would tackle the damn Sears Tower if you let him.
With the amazing work Heck did on the Double A-Gap Blitz a couple weeks ago it should be noted finding someone to blow up the interior line on heavy LB blitzes isn’t the key thing. The place Worthy will really be missed is in generating pressure in just a down four formation. Still, the other three starters should be plenty strong enough to cover if this position struggles to get out of the gates against Boise State.
The Other Guys(It’s Late and I want to start writing about Boise State tomorrow instead of finishing this).
Watch out for Joel Heath and Shilique Calhoun, both are younger versions of Gholston and Rush respectively. Lawrence Thomas is going to eat someone’s face on the Defensive Line whether it’s at DE or DT. Brandon Clemons was highly rated coming out of high school and James Kittredge turned some heads since transferring from Vandy Since it’s not uncommon for MSU to rotate 8-11 guys in at DL throughout a game any or all of these guys could play as early as the Boise State game.
Overall Summary
The Defensive Line is stacked. Like our Linebackers our second string would start for half the Big Ten. Expect them to continue leading the defense to lots of turnovers and sacks all season long.
Here we continue our 2012 position previews. I aim to be occasionally right, barring that I’ll shoot for humor. For your enjoyment, I present the Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Tight Ends, Offensive Line, Linebackers and Secondary.
Projected Starters: Bennie Fowler(X), Tony Lippett/Keith Mumphery(Z), DeAnthony Arnett(Y)
Key Departures: All of them. Cunningham, Nichol and Keshawn Martin. 68.8 percent of all receiving yards.
The script has been clear all summer long. The 2011 WR corps accounted for 68.8 percent of receiving yards in an incredibly effective passing attack. MSU has a ton of talent that has yet to prove itself on the football field. Just because these statements are boring and ominous doesn’t make them any less true.
Bennie Fowler has been the heir apparent at the Wide Receiver position since late 2010. Fowler is probably best known for the Mousetrap play below:
Fowler missed almost all of 2011 with some sort of ankle injury. He appears to be fully healed and ready to lead the WR corps in 2012. Dantonio recently mentioned that Fowler was having a camp like that of Devin Thomas back in 2007. Thomas had 79 grabs for 1260 yards and 8 TDs that year even though he was in triple coverage on every play by the end of 2007. Fowler is the surest thing MSU has going at a pretty unsure position.
At the Z position two guys who seem likely to see time on the field are Tony Lippett and Keith Mumphery. Lippett played QB in high school, CB in college and has moved over to WR for the 2012 campaign. One of my concerns for Lippett is that he’ll get drafted back to the defense if either Adams or Dennard goes down. The CB depth has improved such that this shouldn’t be an issue, but until it isn’t an issue I remain 22 percent skeptical.
Keith Mumphery was the leading receiver in the Spring Ball season this year and has played right alongside Maxwell the past two years, he figures to work in consistently throughout the season as well. Mumphery is one of those Georgia guys who brings the ESS EEE CEE speed to the MSU mix.
DeAnthony Arnett will likely be MSU’s starter in the slot position. MSU doesn’t really do three starters at WR(that’s a John L thing), but he’s most likely to be the first slot guy up when needed. Andre Sims also had a nice spring at this position. Here’s a video of DeAnthony Arnett blowing up some kids in high school camps Will Campbell style.
All of that said, after everyone but Fowler your consistent WR producers are pretty much a crapshoot. The great news is that everyone will get a fair shake, the bad news is that this MSU staff doesn’t seem real quick to settle in position battles. Love that in the long term, could lead to a frustrating ND game.
The Other Guys
MSU had a huge Wide Receiver class in 2012, none of whom are mentioned above. Top ranked WR commit Aaron Burbridge is out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury. Given where that would put him on the development curve plan on him redshirting this year. Monty Madaris was injured in fall camp with a high ankle sprain. This likely will end up in a redshirt for him as well. Kyle Kerrick enrolled early and could be one of those lunch pail guys who ends up making it, but not in 2012. MacGarrett Kings appears to have the inside track on the Keshawn Martin role down the road, but he’ll be more of a 2013 or beyond type guy as well. Juwan Caesar has been very talented since coming to MSU, but also injured often.
Future Blair White Watch
Tres Barksdale is a walk-on from Solon Ohio who has gotten lots of dap from coaches including this quote from Dantonio. “He makes catches down the field, he knows where to line up, he knows where to go on the routes, and he’s been impressive because he makes plays,” Dantonio said. “There’s not been a practice that’s gone by that he hasn’t made plays for us.” John Jakubik made noise in Spring Ball.
In addition to the loss of many receiving yards and touchdowns, a quieter thing that will be missed is that both Cunningham and Nichol were excellent run blockers. Martin was no slouch either, but Cunningham and Nichol were excellent. Frequently their target was deleted out of a play. We will miss that this year against defenses that are slow to the edge like Michigan. We’ll find people to make catches, but this is a critical aspect of second-level rushing that will need to get addressed at some point.
For 2012, Fowler is the only sure thing at a very unsure position. As is the blessedly wonderful script since our John L abuse took place, the talent is there, it’s just sifting through to find a cohesive unit that will be challenging. This year will undoubtedly be aggravating at points because MSU staff stick with a starter a game or two beyond where the general fan consensus would be to move them. Lippett, Mumphery and Arnett all will see plenty of playing time in 2012. The future of this position seems assured, but the present is pretty damn unsteady right now.
Here we continue our 2012 position previews. I aim to be occasionally right, barring that I’ll shoot for humor. For your enjoyment, I present the Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Tight Ends, Offensive Line and Linebackers.
Projected Starters: Johnny Adams(CB), Darqueze Dennard(CB), Isaiah Lewis(S), Jairus Jones(S)
Key Departures: Trenton Robinson(S)
It’s 2009, Marvin McNutt has just caught a slant pass to beat Michigan State on the last play of the game and 75,000 people just threw up in their mouth a little bit. Rick-Six Stanzi has just marched the length of the field and looked excellent doing it in under 2 minutes. Where the hell is MSU’s pass defense? There were implications in the following days, MSU doesn’t have the right players, they don’t have the right scheme, maybe Narduzzi isn’t all that good of a coach, etc.
My how times have changed.
In 2011, the MSU secondary put on it’s big boy pants and had improvements in almost every pass defense related metric.
What the hell? I thought you said they were a lot better.
Well, aside from the passing yardage they were really about the same. So how about an improvement from 20 sacks in 2010 to 45 sacks in 2011? An extra 40 Tackles For Loss from 2010 to 2011? The passing yardage improved so dramatically in 2011 because the blitzes were getting home quicker than John L would go three and out. From 2010 to 2011, the number of pass attempts as a percentage of total offense dropped from 48.3 percent to 44.4 percent. Not only were teams not as successful in throwing the ball, they were throwing it less often as a result.
So what about 2012?
MSU returns three starters in the secondary, Johnny Adams, Darqueze Dennard and Isaiah Lewis. All three had at least one pick-six last year. Something tells me that puts MSU in some pretty elite company in terms of returning secondary talent. Johnny Adams returns for his senior campaign after a brief flirtation with the NFL. He decided to return for 2012 and is a consensus potential first-round draft pick.
If I have a single bone to pick with Johnny Adams it’s that he draws penalties for being too aggressive. I’ll follow that up by saying if you want to make an omelet…
Darqueze Dennard
Dennard returns as a junior this year. A two-star recruit out of high school he had some pretty tepid offers, like Middle Tennessee State University and Utah State. He was forced into action as a true freshman in 2010 when Chris L. Rucker was suspended for his, ahem, legal issues. The craziest part of all was that he was pretty darned decent. As a sophomore in 2010 he recorded 3 picks, 1 for a TD. More importantly he proved that he has the Dantonio gift of being a corner who plays well in run support while being every bit as good as needed in pass coverage. In 2012, expect him to continue his development as a Chris L. Rucker like corner.
Isaiah Lewis.
Lewis had moments of tremendous athleticism in 2010 while playing more heady football. Lewis’ development curve reminds me a lot of Gholston. In 2010, it was raw athleticism leading the way, in 2011 it was lots of excellent athleticism with responsible play and in 2012 I expect both will take the next step of playing strong with some really heady plays as well.
The Other Guy(Free Safety)
Currently, all of the tea leaves point to Jairus Jones being the guy to fill Trenton Robinson’s shoes at Free Safety. Jones suffered an Achilles tear in Spring Ball: The 2011 Edition, but seems to have the inside track on the starting job. The real challengers to his precarious position are returning safety Kurtis Drummond who played in MSU’s nickel package last fall as the extra DB. Drummond had two picks in a fraction of the snaps that everyone else was on the field(although to be fair I’m sure an unnaturally high percentage of picks happen on 3rd and long). True freshman Demetrious Cox has earned high praise this fall as well. Cox committed to MSU around signing day over A Single Redeemable Offer Good for Any School in the Midwest. Cox is the future, but it looks like the present will be duked out between Jones and Drummond.
Corner: Fifth year senior Mitchell White will be the first guy up if either Adams or Dennard are injured. White was a starter briefly in 2011 but was replaced as the quality of Dennard’s play improved. Arjen Colquhoun,Trae Waynes and true freshman Ezra Robinson are the future of the position. Should Dennard/Adams get injured it wouldn’t surprise me to see one of the younger guys step in and play some minutes too. Mylan Hicks has finally recovered from whatever chronic injury has been plaguing him so depending on how he shows out he could be in the backup mix as well.
Safety: It’s pretty cut and dry here. Between Cox, Drummond and Jones, one will be the free safety and the other two will be the next guys on the field. RJ Williamson has also shown tremendous potential so far and I probably should have mentioned him above in “The Other Guy” section. True freshman Mark Meyers doesn’t figure to see the field this year given the enormous logjam in front of him at the position. BONUS Wild Ass Guess SECTION! One of the guys who doesn’t make the cut here takes a whack at returning punts or kickoffs. There have been no rumblings as such there’s just so much talent here that the staff will work hard to get it on the field somehow.
The 2011 MSU secondary was a good unit that played great with the help of an improved pass rush. In 2012 the secondary cannot count on the pass rush to help them out as much. The loss of Jerel Worthy will be felt especially in the first couple of weeks. To further complicate matters MSU opens next friday against Boise State home of the three step drop followed by a two yard pass. Fans will easily be able to take the temperature of the secondary with it’s minimum pass rush help and maximum confusion factor on account of the 9000 page Boise State playbook.
The remainder of the year this unit will be top of the class in the Big Ten. If for no other reason than they aren’t going to play any real formidable quarterbacks with the exception of Iowa’s James Vandenberg and mayyyyybe Braxton Miller? After those two the secondary really only needs to be good to play great.
Here we continue our 2012 position previews. I aim to be occasionally right, barring that I’ll shoot for humor. For your enjoyment, I present the Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Tight Ends and Offensive Line.
Projected Starters: Denicos Allen, Max Bullough, Chris Norman
Key Departures: No one. Absolutely no one.
In 2011, Max Bullough and Denicos Allen were tasked with the responsibility of replacing Greg Jones and Eric Gordon. Prior to the beginning of the 2011 campaign there were whispers that Bullough and Allen might be just as good, maybe even better than their predecessors. And they were every bit that good. The 2011 linebacker unit teamed up for 248 tackles, (32) TFL’s and one pick, whereas, the 2010 unit teamed up for 257 tackles, 17 TFLs and 4 picks. Every bit as good and depending on how you value TFLs maybe even better.
In 2012, the linebacking corps returns all three starters and a second string that would start for half the Big Ten and a third string that would start for a couple of Big Ten teams whose feelings I don’t want to hurt. Sorry Indiana. Even if he regresses slightly, Denicos Allen will still spend his time in the Big Ten harvesting the organs of Quarterbacks who are not spritely enough to get away. He might sell them on the black market, he might not. You don’t get to decide. Denicos Allen decides for you. Max Bullough will continue to be the pillar for the defense. His great Houdini act in 2011 was not replacing Jones’ production, it was knowing the defense well enough to get them in position. The internets have pointed to Chris Norman as the only guy who might be a little bit in danger of losing that starting job. Frankly this seems pretty damn unlikely to me, you don’t replace a four year starter. Unless….the other guys are that damned good.
Whew. Where to start. If you are a scholarship linebacker at MSU in 2012, you could start next week at beautiful Indiana University. As an added perk, you’d be able to continue battling for the Old Oaken Bucket each year! Added perk part 2! You’ll never have to worry about the bus space to bring it home!
If my photoshoppin’ were a bit more up to snuff this would be where I would drop a pic of our elder statesmen as the Jedi Ghosts at the end of Return of the Jedi. All three of the following guys have played in the past and can hold down their spot in case of emergency. Last year, Kyler Elsworth had several key stops in the Wisky and ND games. TyQuan Hammock hits like a wrecking ball from hell. Steve Gardiner has looked ok in spot duty the past couple of seasons. Of these three expect Elsworth to play rotationally and the other two to play in cases of injury.
But that’s not the story of MSU’s depth at linebacker. The story is with kids from the classes of 2011 and 2012. These are the kids who are rumored to be pushing for playing time now. Just today,the Free Press did a post on how Ed Davis might just be another Greg Jones. Riley Bullough and Jamal Lyles are true freshmen who may yet see the field in 2012. Darien Harris has consistently been listed in the two deeps at the Star position. And Taiwan Jones, oh Taiwan Jones. Aside from having the coolest name on the team, he was the only true freshman to play in 2011. Whenever he was on the field he was the dude who looked impossibly large for his size. Also impossibly fast for his largeness. Jones goes 6’3 and 230 and figures to be one of those players MSU will find a way to get on the field.
The linebacking corps is set for many years to come even if Allen(RS-Soph), Bullough(Jr) and Norman(Sr) all leave after this year. Did I really just type a sentence that implied two underclassmen linebackers will be good enough to leave at the end of 2012? Damn.
MSU’s quality starters and depth at linebacker are unmatched anywhere in the Big Ten this year. I guess if Ohio State counted they might be close, but they don’t, so there’s that. The biggest “concern” is that two of the three starters might be so good they leave as underclassmen and I’d rather have problems of talent than “Get Yer Piss Hot” John L Smith problems. Behind the starters are a bevy of players ranging from experienced and talented to young and very talented. This is the deepest position group in my MSU memory with apologies to…no one I guess. Expect the linebackers to compensate from any drop-off from the loss of Worthy and continue punishing quarterbacks.
Here we continue our 2012 position previews. I aim to be occasionally right, barring that I’ll shoot for humor. For your enjoyment, I present the Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Tight Ends.
Projected Starters: Dan France, Jack Allen, Travis Jackson, Chris McDonald and Fou Fonoti
Key Departures: Joel Foreman
In 2011, the much maligned offensive line managed to buy Captain Kirk enough time to get MSU to the Big Ten title game. The offensive line and Cousins teamed up to allow one sack per 27 passing attempts. Not too damn bad for a unit who was starting a first year JUCO Right Tackle and a converted defensive tackle at Left Tackle. So pass protection. Check.
Run blocking was another matter entirely, MSU finished 11th of 12 in the rushing game and struggled between the tackles. I had a theory that Baker’s regression in 2011 was tied to the fact that he would run to where the hole was supposed to be. If the hole didn’t develop for him, he’d just run right up the backs of his offensive linemen. Bell would adjust to where the hole developed and picked up a few extra yards. Beast Mode. So run protection. Needs work.
Despite the loss of four year starter Joel Foreman, you’re going to see a vastly improved offensive line in 2012. Dan France comes back for a second year at the Left Tackle spot but will be pushed hard by Skyler Burkland. Burkland suffered an ankle injury in the Notre Dame game last fall but was already showing flashes at the Right Tackle spot. Joel Foreman will be replaced by Blake Treadwell Jack Allen. Blake Treadwell has a stress fracture in his right leg and will miss a minimum of six weeks, meanwhile Jack Allen has been coming on strong. Unfortunately, I think Treadwell’s odds of getting Wally Pipp’ed are pretty high here. Travis Jackson is a redshirt sophomore who started 10 games last year and was a plus player on the offensive line at the center position. Chris McDonald has been selected as a pre-season contender for the Outland trophy and his nickname is Magnus. My nickname is nowhere near so cool as that, and neither is yours. Fou Fonoti also had a solid 2011 especially considering last year was his first with the program. This year he’ll take a big step forward too.
Also Fonoti’s hair is heavenly:
An article from the Wall Street Journal talks about the role of experience at the Offensive line position. Specifically, in 2008, eight of the top ten teams returned an Offensive Line that had more than 65 starts. This group from MSU has 48 starts between the lot of them. The best news. Two of those guys(France and Jackson) will be back next year. This should be the “Just For Men” offensive line, enough gray hair to know what it’s doing, but young enough to do it anyway.
Henry Conway has had a strange story at Michigan State. He suffered a cracked vertebrae a couple years ago and so despite being a mountain of a man hasn’t really seen the field. Best of luck to him of course. The two-deeps at all five spots are pretty respectable. Left tackle(France/Burkland) and left guard(Allen/Treadwell) could turn into straight up position battles throughout the season. Ruhland, Klatt and Conway are all fine backups at the C, RG and RT positions respectively. After the two-deeps, you get into walk-ons and true freshman. I doubt either group sees anything outside of mop-up time.
In 2012, the Offensive line will move from being a patchwork of who’s around and can stop Kirk Cousins from getting killed to a force who can clear some lanes for Bell, Caper and Hill. The four returning starters should aid Maxwell in making his transition to the Captain’s chair and get Bell some room to breathe. Expect McDonald and Jackson to contend for All Big Ten honors and don’t rule out Fonoti either. If MSU can get back to Pound Green Pound, you can probably thank some of these gents for that ability.
