Governor's Grades Part II: The MSU Defense

I broke down the MSU offense assigning grades through the first four games yesterday. It is now time to review the much-improved MSU defense. It is amazing what

I broke down the MSU offense assigning grades through the first four games yesterday. It is now time to review the much-improved MSU defense. It is amazing what happens when you put the best eleven players on the field and run a defense that is conducive to stopping the run. MSU seems to cover so much better in the secondary now that they know where they are supposed to line up and aren’t ten yards off the ball. I compared Chris Smeland to Elmer Fudd last season shortly after the 2006 ND debacle. The 2007 MSU defense is comprised mainly of John L. Smith recruits, how did they get so much better overnight? I’ll give you a clue, calling Smeland Elmer Fudd is probably being too generous as intellectual comparisons go. It just amazes me what Pat Narduzzi, Ted Gill, Mike Tressel and Harlon Barnett have done to transform MSU’s defense from terrible to unbelievable. Hats off to your defensive crew Mark; they are doing an incredible job.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Coming into the 2007 campaign, MSU’s defensive front was thought to be the team weakness. Most analysts put them dead last in the conference and figured that one or both of MSU’s true freshman DT’s were assured a starting job. The good news is that neither Wheat nor Jeremiah are in the starting rotation. Wheat will likely take a redshirt; I can’t wait to see him on the field next season. I hear Ryan has a real football field mean streak. Jeremiah has played sparingly only because MSU’s three other DT’s in the rotation have been playing well. OG is making a bid to become the next virtually unknown DT at MSU to make the NFL (both Domata Peko and Cliff Ryan start for their prospective teams). He has shown the ability to play low and create a pile in the middle. So far Ted Gill’s experiment moving Justin Kershaw inside appears to be paying dividends. Kershaw is strong and athletic. Most would consider Kershaw undersized, but his speed more than makes up for his lack of beef. Oren Wilson is my favorite MSU newcomer. He got an extra year of ‘man strength’ at prep school and is a very solid contributor as the third DT in the rotation. He is going to be special before he leaves East Lansing. Who knew that MSU had another DE on the roster other than Ervin Baldwin? Don’t look now but Jonal Saint-Dic is leading the Big Ten in sacks. How did Saint-Dic go from an unknown to being drafted in the first day next spring? Let’s just call it the Elmer Fudd factor. Saint-Dic is powerful and fast. He is an offensive tackle’s nightmare. He is a warrior. Baldwin continues to show improvement playing contain and has registered a couple of sacks. Brandon Long is a solid all-around back up and plays with lots of athleticism. Two-way star Kellen Davis has truly put his versatility on display. Pro scouts are now mentioning Davis as both a TE and DE prospect. He is so fast and so quick that he is virtually unblockable when he gets a step. Davis has that prototypical NFL DE build and certainly has the acceleration to be a force. He has a couple of sacks under his belt and will get more as he is given more snaps on defense. He is truly taking advantage of his senior opportunity and is a game changer. I want to see Kellen get a pick just to watch him outrun the opposition’s tailback to end zone. This unit has played extremely well in its first four games. There is room for improvement, but these guys are currently the MVP’s of the MSU football team. We will find out just how got they are this weekend against a mammoth Badger offensive line.

GOVERNOR’S GRADE: A-
End of Season Prediction: A-

LINEBACKERS: Much like MSU’s offensive line, this unit has room to improve. The good news is that the linebacking corp is improving every game. The bad news is that they have to line up against the Badgers this weekend. I’ll say one thing; Narduzzi and Tressel have gotten a lot of football out of this group. A year ago, SirD was playing the “bandit.” It almost hurts to say the word bandit doesn’t it? Thornhill was all “banged up” and neither Misch nor Gordon were on the field. True freshman Greg Jones was hanging out in high school. He was headed for Minneapolis until Glen Mason was fired. Minnesota’s loss was MSU’s gain; I’ll bet Tim Brewster would like to have him right now in Gopher maroon. We’ll get back to Greg in a minute. Kaleb has been very serviceable and cerebral anchoring the middle for MSU. He is a solid middlebacker and plays with the heart of a lion and two generations of Spartan pride. Thornhill wasn’t given all of the gifts when the football gods handed out talent, but he is assignment sound and prepared to give up his body on every play. Thornhill’s manhood will be tested this weekend against the Badgers. Misch has some serious wheels and plays with a ton of passion. When Misch gets ‘locked up’ by an OL, he is quickly taken out of the play. Misch will continue to improve as he adds strength and weight. SirD has quietly found his way back into the starting line-up. His foot speed makes him a huge asset covering receivers and blitzing the QB. He has yet to demonstrate a linebacker’s mentality and take a tailback off his feet with a viscous hit. Narduzzi alluded to SirD’s improvement this week in practice and I truly hope he is finding his football mean streak. He has all the physical tools to play on Sunday. The question is whether or not the light goes on and whether or not it happens when we need him most. SirD, the Badgers are coming, so are the Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes, the Wolverines and the Nittany Lions. Now is the time; it is go time!! Greg Jones is the next great linebacker at MSU. He brings back the memories of guys like Percy Snow, Dixon Edwards and Carlos Jenkins. He loves to hit. He has a linebacker’s mentality and his quickness and agility make him tough to handle. He is going to be hard to keep off the field in Big Ten play. Eric Gordon had the best game of his Spartan career this past weekend against the Irish. Gordon brings speed and toughness to the field. We’ll have to see whether or not Gordon can put together good back-to-back games. Josh Rouse hasn’t played enough snaps to know whether he can be a factor. Narduzzi has good things to say about Josh; I’ll have to take his word for it. The depth at LB is coming along, but they are young. This unit has the opportunity to improve greatly throughout the season. We’ll find out just how much they’ve improved this weekend.

GOVERNOR’S GRADE C+
End of Season Prediction: B

SECONDARY: Much like their counterparts on the DL, MSU’s secondary was thought to be soft and susceptible to giving up big plays. Harlon Barnett has been feeding these guys their Wheaties and they have played remarkably well. They were especially stout against BGSU and Notre Dame. They will continue to get better as the season wears on. Otis Wiley is the leader of this unit and he makes plays all over the field. There’s little more to say about “my-man” Otis other than he is a football player and a great example. Put him down on your All Big Ten list. Nehemiah Warrick hits like a safety is supposed to hit. He makes receivers and running backs crumble when he creates the collision. He has been beat up a bit with a bum ankle, but will likely play a ton of snaps this weekend in Madison. He will be needed; PJ Hill is a beast. Travis Key is the defenses unsung hero. He took one to the house against Pitt. He has stepped in seamlessly for Nemo and provides a ton of depth at a much-needed position. Much like Wiley, Key is just a heady football player that loves the game and plays inspired football. When Key is on the field, good things happen in the Spartan secondary. The Spartan safety trio of Warrick, Wiley and Key is among the best in the country. At the corners, MSU has had its share of injuries. The coaching at this position has been a total metamorphosis. A year ago, MSU’s corners couldnâ���™t cover a homeless man with a blanket. This year they are making a bid to be among the top five in the conference. Ross Weaver has looked good covering downfield. He has been limited by injuries the last couple of weeks and his return is unknown. We’ll need him against OSU and Michigan. We can survive the weekend without him in Madison. Chris L. Rucker, much like Jones and Wilson, has been a newcomer that has overachieved. He is a very good cover man and is both big and physical on the edge. I like what Rucker brings to the field. He is confident and tackles well in space. Kendell Davis-Clark has gotten some serious coaching and is arguably MSU’s best cover corner when Weaver is on the bench. Davis-Clark looked fast coming completely across the offensive formation last week on a blitz when he blew-up QB Jimmy Clausen. Kendell is also a good tackler and plays with solid technique. He is big and physical and should be a staple in the secondary at MSU for the next couple seasons. Ashton Henderson shows glimpses of greatness. He has also been prone to penalties and looks overmatched against big, physical wide receivers on the post. MSU hasn’t faced many good, big receivers, but the competition is on the way in the coming weeks. Henderson will continue to get snaps with Weaver on the sideline. He is a solid back up that will improve as he continues to get better coaching. Henderson will find himself matched up against a big receiver come November. The more football he plays the better he’ll become. The MSU secondary will certainly improve throughout the season. The receivers they match-up with will raise the bar immensely as the Spartans get into conference play. This why I predict their grade to be the same in November as it is today.

GOVERNOR’S GRADE: B
End of Season Prediction: B