Mark Dantonio's Roster has Depth At Every Position. Now Experience is On the Menu for 2010.
Talent is everywhere around ‘The Duffy’ these days. Michigan State football has not been on solid footing like this since the 1960’s. Many will read my previous statement and merely dismiss it as a leap of faith. The biggest factor contributing to my position of optimism is Mark Dantonio himself.
It is obvious that he has a vested interest in Michigan State. He just fits the MSU culture. He cares about more than the healthy paycheck he receives. He regards himself as part of the MSU community. Most importantly he and his staff actively contribute as members of the community they work in. It is easy to see that Dantonio likes East Lansing and he likes the results he is getting doing things his way, the right way.
Stability is being built. Much to Dantonio’s credit, he didn’t let the events of last fall derail his momentum or his plan. His players are buying into the system. Dantonio finally has his guys in place and it is easy to see that his program has taken root. It will grow into a consistent power under this coaching staff. The program is ready to take another big step forward this season, but everyone needs to temper his or her expectations a bit. Youth will be on display. Check it out. There are freshmen and sophomores everywhere.
Sure we have some experience at key positions. Let’s look at the offense first. Cousins is a junior with a year of starting experience. Cunningham and Dell (WR’s) are upperclassmen as are Linthicum and Gantt (TE’s).
The offensive line has upperclassmen with experience (Young, Deane, Foreman and Stipek), but not really any games played together as a unit when you consider that Deane and Young have changed positions. The depth is good on the offensive side of the ball, but it is chalked full of youth. Chris MAGNUS McDonald (RG) is only sophomore. Maxwell (2nd string QB) is a redshirt freshman. Caper and Baker (top 2 RB’s) are only sophomores. After Baker and Caper are two true freshmen running backs who are immensely talented (Bell and Hill).
The best athlete at tight end is Dion Sims; he is only a sophomore. All of the key back-ups across the offensive line are relatively young. Sophomore Zach Hueter can play both tackle and both guard positions. Deyo is a back-up tackle; he is a sophomore. David Barrent is going to be a star someday. He is a redshirt freshman tackle. Ethan Ruhland is a back-up guard with game experience; he too is a sophomore. Nate Klatt is giving Stipek a run for his money at the center spot. Klatt is a redshirt freshman. Everywhere you turn on offense, there is talent. There is also a lot of youth.
The defense is very similar to the offense. There is talent everywhere and youth is plentiful. Up front on the defensive line, State will likely start two sophomore defensive tackles (Treadwell and Worthy). Both of these guys are rising stars. Worthy was a freshman All-American and Treadwell was arguably the best true freshman on the squad last season. Pickleman is a junior back up that will see a lot of snaps this season. He is relentless. Dan France is a redshirt freshman who is going to be an All-Big Ten performer before he leaves East Lansing. He was awesome in the green and white game.
Sophomore Tyler Hoover will start at defensive end. His counter part, Colin Neely is the lone senior on the defensive line. Back-up defensive end Jason Strayhorn is a junior. Corey Freeman is only a sophomore and Denzel Drone is only a redshirt freshman. Drone was on fire during the first scrimmage.
The linebacking corp is lead by two seniors. All-American Greg Jones holds down the middle with Eric Gordon occupying the weakside. Both of these guys are phenomenal talents. They are deserving of all of the preseason accolades. Gordon probably deserves more than he gets. Jon Misch is a senior LB with talent and speed to play the WILL or the SAM. After these three, youth quickly comes into play.
Chris Norman is only a sophomore. He is battling for the starting STAR position with redshirt freshman Denicos Allen. Both of these guys can run, both can blitz and both can cover. They are amazing athletes. Max Bullough who arrived for spring practice is the heir apparent in the middle after Greg Jones. Bullough is only a freshman. Max is going to play a lot of football this year. His freshman teammate Will Gholston has everyone wetting their pants with anticipation and rightfully so. Young Will stands a mere 79 inches tall and has a body that would make some lineman jealous. He is fast… very fast. He will need time to learn the defense, but will see the field this season.
Jeremy Gainer is another talented redshirt freshman that could play a lot of football in the coming years. He will play a ton of special teams. Steve Gardiner is a third year sophomore that can play either inside or outside. He looked great this spring in the green and white game. He is going to play a lot this year. TyQuan Hammock is another linebacker that redshirted last season is somewhere north of 250 pounds. Our linebackers are big, fast, deep and young. This is the best unit top to bottom on the MSU roster. Today’s third stringers would have started for MSU in Dantonio’s first season.
The defensive backfield is talented, but they are not very deep. We are going to have to count on true freshman this season to play winning football. You never get through a Big Ten season in the secondary without some injuries. Chris L. Rucker is a very good corner. He will have a breakout senior year. Do not be surprised if he is on an All-Big Ten list at season’s end. Johnny Adams redshirted last season. He is a third year sophomore with good ball skills. He will need to play big this year for MSU’s defense to get off the field on third and long. Dana Dixon and Patrick White will likely land in the two-deep; they are redshirt freshman. Both true freshman corners, Darqueze Dennard and Mylan Hicks could see time. So outside of CLR, there isn’t an upperclassman in the two-deep at the cornerback position.
Both starting safeties are upperclassmen. Trenton Robinson (Jr.) and Marcus Hyde (Sr.) need to have big seasons. These guys are very capable. Hyde needs to be consistent like he was when he was competing with Otis Wiley. Robinson just needs to make some big plays this season to ignite some confidence.
Like all of the other positions on this team, youth rules the two-deep. Jairus Jones is a redshirt freshman that impressed everyone last season on the scout team. He is going to push for playing time. Kurtis Drummond and Isaiah Lewis are true freshman that have turned heads already this fall camp. These guys could play this year.
I am excited about this season. I think this team is going to be very good. I think that the youth we have is really exciting, but should serve as a reality check as well. We are extremely young. We will be talked about as a title contender next season. Let’s enjoy the wins this season and be willing to accept the mistakes that come with youthful talent. I have never been this excited about Spartan football.
Critics call the mention of talent coupled with youth an excuse. Those people are just not close enough to the program to understand how empty the cupboard was when Dantonio arrived.
No doubt he had some older vets who could play. No doubt there were some great kids. That doesn’t translate into a stable of talent that can sustain a season of injuries. Perennially that is why teams like Northwestern and MSU had failed down the stretch. Their first strings were fine.  After the starting line-up, the depth was just not capable of competing. Injuries will and do happen in Big Ten Football.
The difference now is that there are talented backups at EVERY position and that hasn’t been the case in over forty years. Now they have to get some game experience to go with the talent.  For now I am content to enjoy what should be a great 2010 season with a lot of young depth.
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