Chalk another one up for the good guys. Michigan State received its second verbal commitment for the recruiting class of 2010 on Thursday with the pledge of Detroit Crockett's Tony Lippett.
Chalk another one up for the good guys. Michigan State received its second verbal commitment for the recruiting class of 2010 on Thursday with the pledge of Detroit Crockett's Tony Lippett.
The athletic Lippett leads his high school team at quarterback, but in the green and white, he's projected to contribute as a wide receiver. Although with Lippett's versatility, it's awfully early to cement him anywhere on future depth charts.
In recent skills camps, Lippet made an impression on coach Mark Dantonio and the rest of the MSU staff. So when the young man's reported dream school offered, he was more than happy to make MSU his future four to five year home.
Looking at Lippett's film, it's not difficult to see why the young student-athlete is held in such high regard. Two attributes jump out when watching Lippett in action.
The first is elusiveness. The young man is, quite simply, as slippery as the day is long. He often side-steps tacklers while keeping his head up, looking for other would-be tacklers to elude. And when he’s at his best, he slips defenders off like a snake sheds skin. Punt and/or kickoff returns seem like they belong in his natural progression as a maturing football player.
His vision is also superb. Lippett's able to quickly identify and exploit an advantageous angle while in space, another skill that points to a potential future as a returner. But as a wide receiver, this means he should have the ability to make hay after the catch and beat his man to the sideline so that he can break a play up the field. It will also help him find weak seams or soft zones through the middle. In short, it's apparent that Lippett sees multiple levels of the playing field, the mark of a talented football playmaker.
His skills have come in handy at Crockett Tech, where his duality produces on the field. Last season, Lippett threw for 1967 yards and accumulated another 782 more on the ground. In the final five games of his junior season, Lippett ran for over 80 yards, highlighted by his 165-yard rushing effort against Detroit Denby. Lippett also threw for over 200 yards in four games last year, and, again, his best showing came against Denby with 292 passing yards. Lippett also scorched Kettering High School for six touchdowns, three through the air, three on the ground, and, at safety, led the team in tackles as well with four.
As for what his homework will be before he dons the green and white, like most players, Lippett, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 185 pounds, will do well to bulk up and become bigger, stronger, faster. Building acceleration appears to be one area he can improve on, but blazing speed is not required. As Dantonio says, track speed is different than football speed, and if a player has great instinct and runs crisp routes, he doesn’t need to run a sub-10 second 100-meter dash — just ask Jerry Rice.
Lippett joins Max Bullough as MSU's second verbal commitment for the class of 2010.
