What the Central Michigan Game Says about Recruiting

After a loss to a MAC level team like Central Michigan, the natural reaction for many fans is panic, panic, panic. And that might be the right instinct were it

After a loss to a MAC level team like Central Michigan, the natural reaction for many fans is panic, panic, panic. And that might be the right instinct were it not for the foundation Mark Dantonio and staff are clearly building at Michigan State. And that foundation begins with recruiting. So how does such a terrible loss impact the recruiting trail?

In the short term, it can’t be good. The Spartan name, attached to "Same Old", is being traveling a bumpy road this week. But few people actually believe that moniker fits MSU anymore, even in the face of a loss to Central Michigan. Besides, William Gholston has not decommitted, nor has Isaiah Lewis or Max Bullough. The 2010 class will continue to be on solid ground, regardless of the final haul we see in February.

Aside from the near term negative impact in terms of critical media coverage (fueled in part, to be honest, by disgruntled fan reactions) the loss to Central could actually boost the Spartans in their recruiting efforts.

Let's look at a few stats from the CMU game first. One that jumps off the page is the 101 yards rushing. Not nearly enough against a MAC team. MSU should be racking up over 200 yards on the ground every time an over-matched team like Central steps into Spartan Stadium. In this equation, the solution requires a mix of talented running backs and an intimidating offensive line. The future is set at RB, with the depth chart stacked with underclassmen, but the offensive line clearly needs a recruiting year like the one at running back last year.

Sure, part of the problem might have been inexperience through the running back rotation on Saturday. But the offensive line has been a question mark for longer than this young season, and that cloud will remain until the talent level increases. Yes, there is plenty of talent in the line now; Joel Foreman and Joel Nitchmen are fine examples, and the youth coming into their collegiate prime will upgrade the line over the next couple years. And the rest of the players already here have worked their tails off to improve. But contenders who don’t lose to MAC teams stack every O-line position 2-deep with starters.

Of all the positions on a football team, the offensive line takes the longest to develop. And of all the positions within a program, it's the offensive line that takes the longest to transition from one coaching regime to the next. Unless you're lucky, it can truly take up to five years to get all of your players in place. And at offensive line, this staff should continue to have plenty to sell in terms of playing time and competition.

Next, the defensive line position should be an area for recruiters to highlight for potential early playing time, specifically at defensive end. Against the Chips, MSU mustered 1.5 sacks from its defensive ends. They recorded no fumbles. And, overall, the defense forced only 1 interception, a stat often originating from the pressure wrought by aggressive D-ends. Yes William Gholston will be a Spartan. Yes Tyler Hoover and David Rolf are young. And yes, it could have just been a bad game for Trevor Anderson and Co. But the defensive end position has sometimes been feast or famine over the last couple seasons, and if there's one thing that makes a defense intimidating, it's persistent, smack-you-in-the-mouth pressure from its defensive line. Hopefully, the high-caliber talent train doesn't stop with Gholston at defensive end.

Finally, wide receiver will continue to be a position of need for MSU in the future. Blair White works like no other, and he has the results on-field to back him up. But the more conventional route to take for star receivers is to enter with high accolades, and build from there. It's taken White years to build himself into being a great receiver; it'd be nice for MSU, at a position where players can make an immediate impact, to land a stud who will immediately light up the stat sheet.

Yes, like running back, the squad is relatively young. And talent does exist, especially at tight end. But consistency tempers talent, and this group of receivers, despite an abundance of potential, has not produced like Spartan corps of the past. One reason may be because of a missing superstar, as this program has become so used to with past standouts such as Devin Thomas, Plaxico Burress, Charles Rogers, and Muhsin Muhammad, to name a few. Keshawn Martin could be the next big thing, and B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell still have time left. But big plays at big moments is a big part of what it means to be a star receiver. Aside from White, who notched his second 100-yard game of the season, the big play at WR was missing against CMU.

In the world of recruiting, at wide receiver, recruits' eyes get as big as saucers when they see situations like the one MSU is in right now, where playing time is relatively abundant for someone ready to snatch it. Now it's up to the MSU coaching staff to use the experience this team went through against Central Michigan to its advantage.