Spring Football Brings Kicking Game Into Question for Mark Dantonio

 The Spartans are used to having a field goal kicker whose reliability will find him on the roster of an NFL team in less than three weeks. Brett

 

The kickers will have one of the most heated battles this spring for Spartan football

The Spartans are used to having a field goal kicker whose reliability will find him on the roster of an NFL team in less than three weeks. Brett Swenson’s success, however, leaves a big void that Mark Dantonio has to fill prior to the 2010 season.

 

In the system that Dantonio runs, the kicker is one of the most critical positions and the Spartans have two options in the spring to fill the kicker and place kicker rolls prior to the fall when a third and very viable option steps foot on campus.

 

1)     Kevin Muma: This red shirt freshman has a big leg and the credentials and accomplishments in high school to give the Spartan Nation high hopes. Had his kickoffs been better, there was a slight chance the staff would have taken off the red shirt to handle the poor kickoffs that plagued this team in 2009. Muma is very talented and will get every shot at winning the kickoff and place kicker duties.

2)     Dan Conroy: We have written extensively about Conroy at Spartan Nation. With scholarship offer at other division-one schools he followed his heart to MSU after growing up a life long fan of the school. He struggles with length on kickoffs, but is a very consistent kicker. As the spring develops, we will talk with him about what he did this winter to improve on kickoffs. You would be remiss to think that just because he is a walk-on that Conroy will not get a shot at the job. He is contending and by all accounts is in the mix for the job.

 

If Muma and Conroy can’t create separation, then both of them may get whiplash looking over their shoulders at 2010 freshman Mike Sadler.

 

Sadler comes to MSU as one of the top recruits of the 2010 class and he had offers from all over the college football landscape from the who’s who of college football. I have personally witnessed Sadler hit on three field goals of 60 yards or longer and his kickoffs are a thing of beauty. Ideally, the Spartans can red shirt Sadler with the best punter in the Big Ten Aaron Bates entering his senior season.

 

 

This spring is big for Muma and Conroy and along with the new look of Spartan depth will be one of the biggest areas of competition throughout the spring season. Check back this afternoon as we plan to talk with Mark Dantonio today about the Muma/Conroy spring battle. We will have video of that conversation.