(Monday Morning Quarterback)
MMQB: Williamson injured, Spartans adjust
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - Michigan State's quest to improve its pass defense and tackling in the back seven just got a lot harder.
Senior
RJ Williamson is out for several weeks, possibly the rest of the regular season, with a torn bicep, head coach
Mark Dantonio said Sunday night during his weekly teleconference.
"RJ Williamson had surgery this morning on a torn bicep, so he is out indefinitely - probably until maybe the last game or the bowl game," Dantonio said.
Williamson missed portions of the Central Michigan game with the injury, and the latter stages of Saturday's victory over Purdue.
"I talked to him (Williamson) last night," Dantonio said. "It's another form of adversity in a young person's life, so it's difficult to deal with. But he was solid. He will have a role on this football team and he will be back and play this year. I'm not sure when, but he will be back."
No. 4-ranked Michigan State has notched a 5-0 record despite uncharacteristically inconsistent tackling in the back end and a pass defense which ranks No. 10 in the Big Ten. Michigan State is No. 9 in the Big Ten in total defense.
Michigan State is hoping to improve its defensive struggles in the back seven in time to make a run at the Big Ten title and a berth in the College Football Playoff - MSU's ultimate goals for 2015.
Williamson, a two-year starter and the most experience starter in the secondary, had shown considerable improvement in his dependability at boundary safety. Now, with Williamson gone, the Spartans will be without its vocal leader of the unit.
Sophomore offensive tackle
Dennis Finley was lost for the season to a broken leg during the Purdue game.
"We've got to pick up the slack and go," Dantonio said. "Those are two big guys. Just like everything else. We've had some injuries. We've got to adapt, we've got to reconstruct what we do and keep playing. We've got good players. We'll maintain."
Dantonio is taking an optimistic and admirable approach to trying to lead the Spartans through this rash of injuries, but at some point the hit to Michigan State's level of experience and depth will be felt.
Michigan State finished the Purdue game with nine starters sidelined, including left tackle
Jack Conklin, right tackle
Kodi Kieler, tight end
Josiah Price, fullback
Trevon Pendleton, wide receiver
Macgarrett Kingson offense.
On defense, cornerback
Vayante Copeland was lost for the season during the Oregon game, and All-Big Ten candidate linebacker
Ed Davis went down with a season-ending knee injury in August.
The injuries actually started prior to the season, when senior cornerback
Arjen Colquhoun went down with a lower body injury for more than a week. Freshman offensive tackle
David Beedle also was lost for more than two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Now, Colquhoun and Beedle have moved into significant roles in the playing group as the result of other injuries.
David Beedle, 59, saw action on the offensive line for the first time, Saturday.
Beedle finished the Purdue game at left guard, marking the first playing time of his career. He was ahead of Finley a second-string left tackle when he was injured in August. Now, despite having seen his development interrupted, he is working to break into the playing group on regular basis, and may be needed to do so.
It's unclear whether Conklin and Kieler will be back in time for Saturday's game at Rutgers. The same goes for Pendleton and price.
"I think we had five offensive players not playing (against Purdue)," Dantonio said. "We adapted. We ran for almost 300 yards in a bad weather day. We wish we would have scored more points. We left points off the board, but we won the football game.
"Defensively, we gave up a couple plays, but we played with some consistency - more consistency at the end of the game. Got off the field when momentum had sorta turned. We had to turn it back."
Colquhoun moved into the starting lineup for the Air Force game after Copeland went down. The fifth-year senior showed marked progress while starting against Purdue along with
Darian Hicks at cornerback.
Hicks was back in the starting lineup as
Demetrious Cox moved from cornerback to free safety in place of
Montae Nicholson. Nicholson, hailed as a preseason All-Big Ten candidate, lost his starting job after struggling with his tackle, as well as problems with assignments in pass defense.
Now, with Williamson out, Nicholson will likely be back in the starting lineup, for better or worse.
Dantonio continues to stress the positive, although attempts to live up to MSU's defensive identity of 2013 and '14 are becoming more difficult by the day.
"As I said yesterday, there's no excuses not to win," Dantonio said. "We're not making excuses that we had these guys out. That's not going to happen. We have enough football players in this program to perform and perform well. And we'll have enough players coming back off of injuries to perform well. So that'll be the mental makeup of who we are and what we do. And sometimes there are no great victories without great adversity. I mean that's just the case of it. Let's rally up."
'Got To Tackle With Confidence'
Nicholson's tackling issues began in the Western Michigan game and continued, at safety and on special teams, against Oregon.
Nicholson (9) and Hicks (2) are being called upon to improve their tackling.
Dantonio called for better tackling heading into the Air Force and Central Michigan games, but Nicholson continued to occasionally struggle in this area.
He lost his starting job for the Purdue game, but was back on the field in the second half after Williamson went down. And Nicholson missed a tackle during a 68-yard touchdown run by Purdue's Markell Jones, which cut Michigan State's lead to 21-14 and put the Spartans on upset alert.
Nicholson and Hicks closed in on the running back after he broke into the secondary, with neither player going low or seemingly going hard to make the stop.
"He (the running back) is going straight down the field and our safety missed the tackle," Dantonio said on Sunday night. "Our corner (Hicks) is out on the edge because he's drawn out. If you watch the film, he is drawn out because of the little naked boot they were running. They put a receiver in the flat, which needs to be covered. He's a little bit late on it, so it splits us.
"Ultimately, you've got to be gap sound."
A gap error by defensive end
Lawrence Thomas allowed Jones to get into the secondary. That problem was compounded by Nicholson's tackling error.
"You've got a good Big Ten running back, going downhill with an unbalanced set and we run the blitz off the edge (with linebacker
Jon Reschke)," Dantonio said. "The defensive end doesn't get the B-gap. Things happen.
"You see those things happening every single week when you turn on the film. We just need to be perfect on everything. It's difficult to do."
Arjen Colquhoun clinched victory for MSU with this pass break-up on fourth down, Saturday.
Improving individual tackling is a difficult thing to get accomplish at mid-season.
"I think it is difficult to work on because you can't tackle throughout the entire week without getting people hurt," Dantonio aid. "We do work on it. On Tuesdays we actively work on it, especially on the perimeter. But you can't do it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. You've got to get to the game."
Michigan State has been known as a program that tackles more and hits harder in practice during the regular season than most other programs. But, as injuries mount and the ranks grow thin, Michigan State will likely have to step back greatly from its usual level of mid-season, in-practice hitting. Whether that has an impact on MSU's toughness later in the year will remain a question for the coming weeks.
Dantonio will continue to challenge Nicholson to improve as a tackler. Williamson had similar struggles at this time last year, and worked out of them.
"He (Nicholson) is a tremendous athlete," Dantonio said. "He needs to play better, obviously. We all need to play better and coach better. But he's got to tackle with confidence.
"He is a big hitter. He can tackle. When things start to happen bad, you start to fall into a slump a little bit and you start to lose your confidence a little bit.
"I thought he played better. He missed the one tackle yesterday, but other than that, I thought he played better.
"We will look for improvement. It's not from lack of effort. It's not from lack of toughness. You're asking guys to make plays in space and it's difficult on skill players in space. That's what you have to do. But usually when a guy misses in the back end, especially missed more that once, people tend to say, 'Oh man, that guy can't tackle.'
"Montae is an explosive player. The guy (is a) 25-8 long jumper and 13.9 hurdler. Got to get them down. That's the nature of college football today. Again, if you turn on the TV and watch yesterday's games, it's all over the TV set. It's not just happening here. Again, the bottom line is, our consistency and performance, we will keep working to get it.
"Just keep working and we will get it squared away."
Next Men Up
With Williamson out, true freshman
Grayson Miller made his from-scrimmage debut late in the Purdue game. Miller played safety in the nickel defense on the final drive of the game as Purdue tried to manufacture a go-ahead touchdown.
Miller, the son of former Spartan Rose Bowl safety
John Miller, will likely be the first safety off the bench this Saturday, and possibly the remainder of the year. He may also remain as the fifth DB for the nickel defense, unless Dantonio opts to go with a cornerback, such as
Jermaine Edmondson as the fifth DB.
"Grayson is a very good football player," Dantonio said. "He's got great ball skills, size, speed, he tackles well. He's a freshman. But he'll grow up quickly. Very smart football player, he's solid."
Fellow true freshman
Khari Willis was also activated into duty in the past two weeks, on special teams. He will work as a back-up safety, along with redshirt freshmen
Matt Morrissey and
Jalen Watts-Jackson.
Watts-Jackson saw a handful of brief snaps in the Oregon game. He and Morrissey have also seen the field on coverage units.
"Basically we were working six safeties prior to (the injury) with Cox being one of them," Dantonio said. "Grayson Miller will become more active in there. Khari Willis has played already. Both of those guys got some game experience. They've been playing a couple of games.
"Matt Morrissey is a guy that is showing up on special teams and playing well. Jalen Watts-Jackson is another guy. Two redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen, but they've gotten reps and they have been on the defensive end of the field and they've been coached so it's their time now.
"We also have Montae Nicholson and Demetrious Cox playing at safety. So we're still three-deep there, three-deep of quality players who play on special teams and play football for us. So as much as we miss R.J.'s leadership, accountability and knowing the defense and everything, you've got to push through."
Junior
Mark Meyers played as Michigan State's first safety off the bench in the season opener against Western Michigan, but then was suspended after being arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated on Sept. 6. He pleaded guilty to impaired driving on Sept. 30.
Dantonio was asked on Sunday night if Meyers' indefinite suspension could be lifted soon.
"Mark needs to take care of things from a court standpoint and then we'll address the situation," Dantonio said, without indicating if or when Meyers may rejoin the team.
With Cox needed at safety, continued improvement at cornerback from Colquhoun and Hicks is a must. Dantonio said he saw progress from them on Saturday, especially Colquhoun.
"I thought Arjen played very well, had some big plays in the game," Dantonio said. "Pass break-up at the end of the game, a sack, a tackle on a tight end screen, a deep ball break-up he covered well down the field. Contested every throw.
"I thought Hicks played well as well. He had two deep balls that he contested, but you've got to come up with them. You've got to come up with them or knock them out, but other than that, if you take those things away I thought he played pretty well.
"Beyond that, Jermaine Edmondson is still working. And then we'll see from a freshman standpoint."
With Cox likely entrenched at safety, it's unclear who will be the fourth cornerback in the two-deep heading into this week's practice. The choice will likely have to be a true freshman.
"Do we need to get a freshman involved?" Dantonio said. "We may, because I think we have some talented freshmen."
Josh Butler,
David Dowell and
Kaleel Gaines are possibilities to shed the redshirt and join the playing group.
"But you're trying to just hold on to them and not use them just to use them a couple plays," Dantonio said. "So, but I think when the situation arises we'll use them and see what happens. Day-Day (Cox) can always go out there as well, but we'll see what happens."
Wide receiver
RJ Shelton played cornerback for a handful of plays in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 after a brief stint of practices on both sides of the field in December. After Copeland went down, Dantonio said there were no plans to play Shelton both ways. But with continued injuries and issues in the defensive backfield, double-duty from Shelton might be considered at some point, although Dantonio wasn't asked specifically about it on Sunday.
Left Tackle Questions
Senior center
Jack Allen moved to left tackle after Finley became injured, Saturday.
Brian Allen moved from left guard to center.
Finley was in good spirits, Sunday, after surgery.
Dantonio said Allen will be under consideration to play left tackle again, if Conklin is unavailable.
"I thought Jack did a great job out there," Dantonio said. "He's capable of playing any position on the offensive line.
"We've got a variety of ways to go with it, depending on who's back this week and things of that nature."
Right tackle
Donavon Clark has played left tackle in the past. He began the season as an All-Big Ten candidate at right guard, but moved to right tackle when Kieler went down.
Beedle also has repped at left tackle in practice. Seocnd stringer
Miguel Machado has seen action in games at right guard and right tackle.
Spartan o-line coach
Mark Staten crammed players with reps at various positions last week - including some clairvoyant work with Allen at left tackle - in order to manufacture depth in case of emergency. Then emergency struck when Finley went down.
More shuffling is likely this week.
"We'll see how everything works out as we go through the week," Dantonio said. "We really don't know that until we go through the week and talk to Coach Staten and see how he wants to address things.
"But I thought the guys who played, played well in the second half. We had a lot of different guys spinning around at different positions but that adds depth to our offensive line. So it's a positive thing at that end."
Finley In Good Spirits
Despite sustaining a gruesome injury that had his teammates grabbing their heads in emotional despair, Dennis Finley managed a half smile and a fist of encouragement as was carted off the field at Spartan Stadium on Saturday. Dantonio said Finley remained positive after surgery.
"His spirits are very, very good," Dantonio said. "He's a positive young man. His high school coach
Thomas Wilcher was up here as well, along with his parents and sister.
"He is a strong guy, in terms of his ability to handle adversity. He was good. He was good coming off the field. Very strong. Something that, as a football coach, you really admire how he has handled everything.
"He'll heal. He's going to be okay. He was in a good state of mind today."
Down To No. 4 In The Polls
Michigan State fell to No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 TCU and No. 3 Baylor.
Michigan State spent two weeks at No. 2, the program's highest ranking since 1966.
Dantonio indicated that he believes there are positives associated with a high ranking, but the difference between No. 2 and 4 is slim at this point in the season.
"My thoughts are on the Big Ten Conference right now and what we have to do," Dantonio said. "Polls take care of itself as you move forward, if you win, when you win.
"We've got media attention, where we're at in the polls. It should pay dividends at the end, but it means nothing unless you perform and win every Saturday. So that's our intent, that's our focus."
Dantonio Unplugged
- On kicker Michael Geiger who missed a short field goal again on Saturday, making him 3-of-6 on the year: "It was a very windy day out there yesterday, very slippery. You've got to look at the hold and where it comes, where the laces are on the hold. Right now Mike Geiger is our kicker."
- On Macgarrett Kings, who missed Saturday's game: "Macgarrett was hampered a little bit, wasn't full go. No disciplinary action whatsoever. And so we held him."