Dennis Finley committed to MSU on Sunday. He’s the unlucky thirteenth commitment overall and the second first offensive lineman. Finley’s offer sheet includes Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois and a half dozen other BCS level schools. He’s an offensive tackle, from Detroit Cass Tech rated three stars by Rivals, Scout and 247. At 6’6” and 285 pounds he is literally a big pickup and we should be very…

Just what the shit are you trying to pull here?

Um, I don’t know.

MSU scored a commit from a highly sought after player from Cass Tech? No less a player who plays Offensive Tackle, the single position at MSU one might wonder if MSU dabbles in angering a relative of AIRBHG?

Yeah, that’s more or less the deal.

Here’s the thing, MSU doesn’t get players from Cass Tech. Ever. The ancient texts of Rivals.com indicate that since 2002 no kid has attended MSU from Detroit Cass Tech. Update: The last one was Roderick Maples back in 2000. If they didn’t go to Michigan and they could play, they’d leave the state. Also, Finley had a committable offer from Ohio State and instead picked MSU, the last kid to do that was Dion Sims. It should be noted that Finley did not have a Michigan offer. In case you were under a rock the day that Michigan filled their entire class full of Rivals Top 150 linemen back in February, they did exactly that. They went from zero to full Offensive Linemen in 24 hours. Finley is a very solid prospect, but Michigan felt they had better choices. This was a huge pickup in three ways.

So now we crack open Cass Tech forever and grab that juicy morsel of talented kids AMIRITE?

No, I think this is like how Hoke raided Farmington Hills Harrison(a notoriously MSU leaning school) in 2012. MSU got a kid they wanted at a position they needed in a year where UM had higher targets than Finley. The same was true in 2012, I don’t think MSU was particularly high on Funchess or Ojemudia. Allegiances gonna stay loyal bub.

A Predictor of Future Success is YOUtube

What’s to Love About This Kid?

Well, he’s a huge dude and fast. Like almost all Offensive Linemen he’s just too big and strong to really “play well” in these videos. They end up falling over because they hit their guy so hard they lose their balance. His hulksmash is fun and he should do well with a year or two of coaching before he sees the field.

Prediction for 2013 and Beyond

Finley redshirts in 2013. It’s so very rare for an Offensive Lineman to start as a freshman and usually signals a lack of depth on the OL in general. He’ll be groomed well though for when France and Burkland are both gone and could be a four year starter should he excel in the way his offer sheet would imply he should.

Upshot for the rest of the class

MSU will take 15 or 16 in this class unless there’s huge attrition in the offseason. I’d bet one more of those will be another Offensive Lineman. Taking only one for the class of 2013 seems a bit crazy pants. This class would have been sweet if Benenoch had stuck around.

I still need to do the write-up on Devyn Salmon, but given the timeliness issue I figured I’d write about something that happened in the recent past.

Demetrius Cooper committed to MSU over the weekend, he’s the twelfth commitment overall and the second defensive line commitment for the class of 2013. Cooper’s offer sheet includes highlights of Notre Dame, Purdue and the all important Single Redeemable Offer Good for Any School in the MAC. He’s ranked a three star recruit by Scout and 247 and has yet to be ranked by Rivals. A three-star Rivals ranking with that kind of offer sheet is virtually assured.

Hype on Cooper

Cooper arrived on the scene after blowing up the Sound Mind Sound Body camp earlier this summer. There’s a good video of Cooper abusing dudes including Spartan Commitment Dennis Finley over at SpartanMag($). At 6’5” and 220 he’s got great height to develop into the 6’5” 260 lbs kind of guy that Dantonio clearly likes at the Defensive End spot. At 220 lbs however, he’ll have a fair amount of work to do to put on some quality muscle before he sees playing time in anything other than obvious passing situations. Luckily this is what he does well already.

A Predictor of Future Success is YOUtube

ESPN also has video, NO PAYWALL! Unfortunately no highlights either.

What’s to love about this kid?

Well, from what limited video is available for free, he’s quick as a cat and viciously unkind to tackling dummies.  So if you’re an Indiana Offensive Tackle, he doesn’t need to improve at all to kick the crap out of you. That’s all the video we have on him right now.

Prediction for 2013 and Beyond

Cooper redshirts in 2013, even with the loss of Gholston and a four percent chance of losing Marcus Rush. There’s been no shortage of hype surrounding Shilique Calhoun and Joel Heath as the number two DE’s or even Lawrence Thomas as the #3 DE. Add to that the fact that Cooper’s high weight estimate is 225 right now, but in two interviews he was quoted as being around 205 he needs to put on quite a bit of good weight. He’ll probably see time in MSU’s Delta package as soon as 2014 though because he’s a crazypants pass rusher.

Upshot for the rest of the class

Unless your name is Montravious Adams I think it’s unlikely we take anymore Defensive Line in 2013. MSU will take 15 or 16 for 2013 and they’ve already filled 13 spots there’s just not a lot of room left.  MSU still needs to grab another Offensive Lineman in addition to Finley and I think the last spot or two might go to BATFAN(Best Available That Fills A Need).

This is normally where I write an advertisement looking for quality Offensive Linemen, but we seem to have gotten one over the weekend in Dennis Finley. More on that tomorrow.

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.

Overall Summary

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.

Throughout history, men have taken to name inanimate objects to create a “personal connection”. Everyone who owns a boat/yacht/ship/dingy names it something like “A Little Nauti” or “Hot Ruddered Bum”. (You can find more terrible ship names here.) The same is true of weapons. The A-Bomb detonated at Hiroshima was named “Little Boy”, the world’s largest gun, the Gustav Gun.

So seriously, doesn’t this terrible bit of HD genius need a nickname?

I originally tried nicknaming it Phil, in honor of Phil Knight. Phil Knight obviously is Aldous Huxley’s choice to play the role of Henry Ford in the sports world remake of Brave New World. But I didn’t really like it, it doesn’t seem a name befitting of such a monumental achievement in sports. How monumental you ask? Well MSU now sports the fifth-largest videoboard in the nation according to Wikipedia.* The two dinky boards in the north end zone would come in at 43rd overall at 1654 square feet a piece.

* – Heh heh heh. See who’s 13th on the list. Smaller seats and smaller screens == A Better Gameday Experience.

The main board needs a nickname and I’m asking your help in contributing the nickname to the blog. Leave a suggestion in the comments below. If we get enough suggestions we can do a vote. So c’mon, MSU just spent a yacht’s worth of cash on this thing or at least most of a yacht’s worth of cash. Let’s smash a champagne bottle on this thing and nickname it for the blog.

Jay Harris committed to MSU on June 25th just hours after Wide Receiver Trey Kilgore gave his oral commitment as well. He’s the tenth commitment overall and some of his notable offers were Temple, Old Dominion(do they even have a football program?) and maybe Pitt? Rivals indicates a Pitt Offer, Scout and 247 want you to get that weak sauce out of here. Despite the reported Pitt offer Rivals rates him a two star prospect where 247 and Scout rate him three stars. Apparently with Rivals if you get a Pitt offer you lose a star. Seems logical to me. The Freep reported offers from PSU, Rutgers and Maryland as well, but Rexrode didn’t work there yet. So get yer salt out on that.

40 Time

As always, I think they’re crap, but, people seem to care about them. So he runs a 3.7. Jay Harris flat demolished Usain Bolt in the 100 while eating a sandwich. This is where I usually list a 60 or 100 meter time, but he doesn’t appear to have run track. So a measurable guage of flat foot speed is going to be hard to get.

A Predictor of Future Success is YOUtube

What’s to love about this kid?

Well, at 5’11” and 175 if you guessed that MSU has a slot receiver on it’s hands you guessed correctly. If you watch the tube, you can see he has a great nose for where and how to get yards after the catch. He also has a very nice stutterstep to get his over coverage outta his face. It’s hard to judge his deep speed from this tape, all this deep routes were underthrown. I didn’t see him get lined up in man coverage, but that probably also means coaches knew better than to put him in man coverage.

Prediction for 2013 and Beyond:

Andre Sims, DeAnthony Arnett and MacGarrett Kings are all natural slot receivers who will have experience on this kid in 2013. Harris will redshirt undoubtedly. He’ll be more likely to see the field as an upperclassmen than early in his career. UNLESS…. Roushar as a secret Richrod package up his sleeve. Then it’s all Harris all day right away.

Impact on the rest of the 2013 class:

Between Trey Kilgore and Jay Harris that’s it at wide receiver unless the Super Stud Wants to Play at State Scenario transpires. Offensive linemen? We need you. Come to Michigan State pronto.