Stats Notes and Quotes from Today's Scrimmage

2009 Michigan State Football

Preseason Scrimmage No. 2 Stat Leaders

Aug. 21, 2009

The offense (Green team) won the second preseason jersey scrimmage, 45-42. The 99play “controlled” scrimmage was held in Spartan Stadium.

 

RUSHING ATT GAIN LOST NET AVG TD LG

Larry Caper 14 74 6 68 4.9 1 22

Caulton Ray 16 49 12 37 2.3 0 8

Edwin Baker 14 37 5 32 2.3 0 5

TOTALS 60 240 64 176 2.9 1 29

 

PASSING COMP ATT INT YDS. TD LG

Kirk Cousins 6 13 1 119 1 36

Keith Nichol 7 14 0 54 0 22

TOTALS 13 27 1 173 1 36

 

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG. TD LG

Brian Linthicum 4 18 4.5 0 6

Blair White 3 66 22.0 0 36

Dion Sims 2 38 19.0 1 20

TOTALS 13 173 13.3 1 36

 

DEFENSIVE STAT LEADERS

Player                        UT AT T TFL YDS. SK. INT PBU HURRY

Greg Jones                5     5   10 2      12     1/7

Eric Gordon               1      7   8

Trenton Robinson      1      5   6

Kendell Davis Clark   3      3   6

Roderick Jenrette      4      2   6

Chris L. Rucker         1      4   5   1        4

 

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio:

“I thought the offense played and executed better today (than it did on Monday). We’re still trying to eliminate those unforced penalties, and we cut way down on that number this afternoon. Both quarterbacks played pretty well. The quarterbacks threw the ball effectively, and the offense ran the ball better, especially in third and short

situations. The defense played well, pressuring the quarterback and creating negative plays. Overall, I thought it was a good scrimmage on both sides of the ball. There was a lot of good hitting out there in the stadium. So it was a good work day for us, and we got a lot accomplished.”

 

“Both quarterbacks played pretty well. Kirk Cousins played very well throughout the scrimmage. Kirk threw one pick in the red zone, but Chris L. Rucker made a nice play on the ball. Keith Nichol had to throw into the wind on the first series, but he played very well after that. We’re pleased with the way both quarterbacks performed and we really

like the way that they’re competing each practice.”

 

“Three running backs (Caulton Ray, Larry Caper and Edwin Baker) got the bulk of the work this afternoon, and all three cut effectively and ran through some blocks. Each practice, we try to provide three or four backs opportunities to show us what they’ve got. This afternoon, those guys did a nice job of getting on the perimeter, so they had

chances to make people miss. The other backs had an opportunity to perform in the 40play scrimmage at the end of this morning’s practice. “Defensively, the guys up front know what they’re doing, so they play fast and there aren’t many missed

assignments. We’re 16 practices into camp and the guys are playing at game speed.

 

This afternoon, the defense did a nice job of running to the football, creating some tackles for losses and sacks. There were a lot of hits delivered today without too many missed tackles.

 

“Greg Jones played very well and made some plays in the backfield, while Oren Wilson did a nice job up front.”

 

 

Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell:

“Both quarterbacks threw some strikes today. In fact, Kirk and Keith each completed a throw with the defensive back draped all over the receiver. Those two guys know how to compete, and they continue to make our jobs tough in the evaluation process.

 

“Coach (Dan) Enos has really done a nice job of managing the carries for our running backs. With six or seven guys competing for playing time, it’s an on‐going evaluation process because we want to evaluate the backs as they get opportunities to run behind the first and second‐team offensive lines. That was a focus in today’s scrimmage and it will continue to be so in upcoming practices.

 

“Since we’re still installing the offense and not game‐planning yet, we continue to focus on the fundamentals and finishing each play. We’re still trying to identify the right combinations, both up front and at the running back position.”

 

Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi:

“Overall, it was a solid scrimmage for us. I thought a lot of kids made strides. We had some guys that hadn’t played a lot in the past that got some quality reps out there today. We’ll have to check out the tape to see where we were weak and where we were strong, but overall I’m happy with the performance.

 

“We were OK against the run. We didn’t give up any huge runs like we did on Monday when we gave up a 63 yarder. The biggest run was about a 20 yarder, so overall it wasn’t that bad.

 

“I thought the tackling was a little bit better earlier in this scrimmage than the first one. We saw some huge hits out there, and that’s one of the things we like to see in our defense.”