Camp Update: It's about to get real
A closer look at MSU's final days of preparation.
Camp Update: It's about to get real
Jim Comparoni • SpartanMag
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@JimComparoni
East Lansing, Mich. - A differently demanding flavor of preseason camp has carried over into Rutgers week.
Veteran Michigan State players, who are hoping to help deliver something better than the .500 conference record the Spartans compiled over the past two combined seasons, have enjoyed the ramped-up calls for physicality and efficiency under first-year head coach Mel Tucker.
Tucker said on a Spartan Media Network radio show on Monday that he plans to be careful to avoid maxing out his players’ legs prior to Saturday’s season opener against Rutgers (noon, Spartan Stadium, BTN). He plans to taper down the intensity later this week in order to get the Spartans primed and fresh for Saturday. But the week began with calls for the type of intensity that seems destined to be the calling card of the Tucker era.
“Practice is not easy for anybody,” said senior linebacker Antjuan Simmons.
No one has noticed like the seniors, and their vast frame of reference.
“I can tell by the way we’ve been practicing and the way he’s been taking control of things and having us do certain drills, we’re going to be relentless,” senior center Matt Allen said of Tucker’s tactics. “We’re going to stay after the ball and stay after guys through the end of the whistle and through the end of the fourth quarter.”
“We have worked very hard,” Tucker said. “We’ve been efficient.”
Example: In past years, when certain periods midway through practice call for special teams players to work on field goal protection or punt coverage, players who aren’t involved in those special teams traditionally take a break, stand around, and watch.
Not this year. Not this week.
Simmons isn’t part of the special teams unit that repped on Tuesday. He didn’t get to take a break.
“Today during the special teams drill, instead of just standing there and watching the period like I’ve been doing the past few years, I had to work pass rush the whole period,” Simmons said with satisfaction.
Tucker’s predecessor, Mark Dantonio, was a stickler for intensity and efficiency too. He became the winningest coach in school history. He bucked a decades-long trend by turning Michigan State briefly into a national power.
Veteran Spartans have been surprised that the new head coach has sparked an even sharper level of attention to detail.
“Little things like that are going to get us better and help us develop as players,” Simmons said.
It has yielded bright-eyed optimism.
“I’m excited to see how this team is going to develop and grow,” Simmons said. “I know we’ve got the pieces. We’ve been working our butts off. Now the time has come to put it all together and show you guys what we’ve been doing this whole time.”
Vegas oddsmakers have put MSU’s win total as part of a nine-game season at just 3.5. That’s reasonable, considering the Spartans’ major question mark at quarterback and the need to replace seven starters on defense. Dantonio’s first team went 3-5 in the Big Ten. A similar regular season record for Tucker wouldn’t surprise anyone - aside from the Michigan State players.
“We’re not really listening too much to the outside talk,” said junior safety Xavier Henderson. “It’s all about the people in here.
“One thing that Coach Tuck has been preaching is that we are going to be process-driven. We are not saying that we have to win this game or win that game, we are saying that we have to get better today at practice to give ourselves a chance when it comes to the fourth quarter against Rutgers to have a chance to win. So we are process-driven, we are trying to get better every day and the new stuff we’re getting in, we’re trying to perfect that.”’
SCRIMMAGE IMPROVEMENT
Simmons liked the progress he saw between the first scrimmage on Oct. 3 and the second scrimmage on Oct. 10.
“I feel like we have made some big strides as a team in the past two weeks, being able to learn the defensive system,” Simmons said. “I feel like our second scrimmage was completely different from the first scrimmage, so that was good for us.
“In the second scrimmage we were just really active. The production for our linebackers went up in the second scrimmage. Our player impact was significantly higher than it was in the first scrimmage, and how hard we were working was up as well.”
Those things are measured by GPS trackers these days.
“I felt we were just flying around, striking people,” Simmons said. “There were some good hits in the second scrimmage that weren’t there in the first scrimmage. Guys were going for the ball as well.”
Tucker was satisfied with the scrimmages, too.
“Our players seem to look forward to those scrimmages and when we’ve had those scrimmages, they’ve been ready to play,” Tucker said. “The scrimmages are very revealing. They’ve been physical, guys have played fast and players have emerged and we’ve seen improvement from the first scrimmage to the second scrimmage.
“We continue to see improvement daily with our guys with the corrections that our coaches make. It’s been a steady progression and steady improvement.”
CHANGING GEARS TO GAME WEEK
Late last week, things began being geared toward Rutgers.
“Saturday was our first official day really putting Rutgers into practice stuff,” Simmons said. “That’s kind of been the vibe for about two days now.”
Traditionally, first- and second-string personnel get all of the game plan practice reps during game week. The third- and fourth-stringers are relegated to the scout team - an assignment that can bruise egos. Tucker worked to soften the blow and strengthen the outlook.
“One of the most important things is to be able to develop a scout team,” Tucker said. “That’s a very interesting process because in order to be a scout player you have to be a very unselfish guy. You have to be very team-oriented and you have to give great effort, you have to give your teammates a great look to prepare them for the game.
“But it’s also an opportunity to develop. I’ve seen guys, even as freshmen, that have started the season on the scout team and ended the season as a starter. Developing those scout teams and getting those great looks is critically important to our preparation.”
Tucker didn’t reveal which players are part of the scout team, but said they will continue to be evaluated.
“We are always looking for guys to show up on scout team,” Tucker said. “It’s very competitive and we want our scout teams to get after it out there and everything we do is filmed and we watch all of it, and we’re always looking for improvement from players on the first and second units and also on the scout team, and if you do a great job on the scout team, that may earn you some playing time and eventually you will be on the field and be a starter.”
Meanwhile, the first- and second-stringers are being fine-tuned toward Saturday’s opponent.
“We’re working on knowing your checks and adjustments, the mental, where you’re supposed to be, how you’re supposed to react when you get certain looks or certain blocking schemes,” Simmons said. “Just knowing where you’ve got to be and how you’ve got to get there is the focus right now, and finishing. Finishing at the ball carrier, and tackles.”
Simmons has 156 career tackles, more than anyone on the team. He’s been a willing hitter and a sure tackler through three seasons, but stands to be even better at it this year.
“I feel like I’ve had the best off-season I’ve had,” Simmons said.
Simmons moved from slot linebacker to Mike (middle) linebacker late last season after Joe Bachie was ruled ineligible due to failing a Big Ten drug test. Simmons started two games at Mike linebacker, but then moved back to slot linebacker. The coaches wanted his speed back in space rather than in the middle.
Truth be known: Simmons felt some of his limitations at middle linebacker last year.
“I learned you’ve got to be a little bigger to play in the box all the time,” he said. “So I had to go put on some weight in the off-season.”
Tucker and Michigan State coaches have been quiet about player roles during fall camp. They don’t want to give Rutgers any hints. But Simmons’ comment, along with the fact that he has increased in weight from 216 to 225, is a strong indication that he is moving to inside linebacker full-time for 2020.
It remains unclear whether Simmons will be the play-calling Mike linebacker in the middle or a sidecar inside linebacker at the Sam. Sophomore Noah Harvey, who is up 11 pounds to 240, is regarded as the favorite to man the other inside linebacker position along with Simmons. Which of them will call defensive plays in the middle? We won’t know until kickoff on Saturday.
Harvey will be riding tag-team with a physically-improved version of Simmons who is more equipped than last year to man the middle.
“I was able to do everything I wrote down as goals at the beginning of the off-season,” Simmons said. “I wanted to gain weight; I gained weight. I wanted to get faster; I got faster, quicker. I’ve been able to learn the defensive system and I’m still learning and growing at that every day. My goal was to come back bigger, quicker, faster and I was able to achieve those.”
Simmons is one of many Spartans who have gained traction heading into Tucker’s debut as head coach.
“I feel like they really have bought into what we’ve asked them to do and the brand of ball we want to play,” Tucker said. “The identity of hard-working, meat and potatoes, not a lot of french pastry, good old Michigan State all-weather, all-purpose football is what we’re selling, and the players are buying it.”
