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Spartan Offense Springs Forward
Chris Vannini
Tom Izzo was given the Gatorade bath after his Green team beat the White team 23-21 at MSU’s Spring Football Game on Saturday. Izzo was named an honorary coach by Mark Dantonio.
This was the second Spring Football Game since Dantonio re-introduced it last year. Admission was free for all and although it didn’t get the 80,000 who showed up at Nebraska’s spring game, an estimated 27,000 fans came to Spartan Stadium to see their team play. Former football player Jehuu Caulcrick and other graduated seniors were seen prowling up and down the sidelines talking to former teammates.
It was indeed a beautiful day for football with temperatures in the low 70s.
As for the game, there were some noticeable differences in the team. (note: class given for each player is based on next year)
There were many questions about MSU’s wide receivers after the departure of Devin Thomas to the NFL. These questions were answered as sophomore-to-be Mark Dell and redshirt freshmen B.J.
Cunningham and Chris D. Rucker all had great performances. Dell caught 6 catches for 120 yards while Cunningham’s day was highlighted by a 43-yard touchdown catch thrown by Brian Hoyer. Rucker had two touchdown catches of 55 yards and 29 yards. All three continually caught balls in traffic which pleased Coach Dantonio. The wide receiver position shouldn’t be a problem next season if Saturday was any indication.
All three quarterbacks played very well, although it appears senior Brian Hoyer will once again be the starter for the upcoming season. Hoyer threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns for the White team. He also threw one interception to Senior Safety Otis Wiley that clinched the game for the Green Team.
Redshirt freshmen Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles both performed well. Cousins was 12 for 19 for 196 yards and had a 19-yard touchdown pass to Blair White, the only score of the third quarter. Foles was 10 for 15 for 102 yards.
Senior running back Javon Ringer did not play due to injury. Dantonio has not named a backup running back so junior A.J. Jimmerson and redshirt freshman Andre Anderson are both competing for the No. 2 spot. Jimmerson had seven yards on only four carries, while Anderson had 28 yards on 17 carries. Dantonio did not hint on who would back up Ringer for the upcoming season.
The defense seemed susceptible to deep plays during the game. Many deep throws were either caught or resulted in pass interference penalties. Seeing the defensive backs continually getting beaten on deep throws brought back nightmares of Mario Manningham.
The run defense played very well, not allowing any big run plays.
One big question was the offensive line. Although they didn’t allow a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks, they didn’t make many holes for the running backs to get through.
Junior walk-on kicker Matt Haughey highlighted the special team’s game going three for three on field goal attempts. He hit two field goals in the final 2:09, including the game-winner with 1:18 left, to cap off the comeback victory for the Green team. However, junior Brett Swenson will be the number one kicker going into next season.
Overall, the offense looked very impressive, and the Spring Game was a resounding success.
The Spartans begin the football season on Aug. 31 at California.
Questions? Comments? Contact Chris Vannini at vanninic@msu.edu
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