Good story by our guy Ricardo Cooney
Quick little profile & developmental update on a guy i like to refer to as Psycho Killer:
Glue Guy: Frey keeping it cranked
Ricardo Cooney | SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - While Michigan State entered the 2016 season with question marks concerning the effectiveness of a defensive line whose depth was gutted by graduations and departures, the one area where MSU was expected to excel was at linebacker.
With a lineup that features a strong rotation of five to six players at the position, especially when you factor in the return of senior Ed Davis, who will enter Saturday night’s game at Notre Dame No. 2 on the Spartan depth chart at Sam linebacker after being granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA earlier this week, MSU’s defense is expected to go as far as its linebacking corps will take it this season.
“Linebacker-wise we have a lot of guys with a lot of talent,’’ said junior Chris Frey, who is listed as the starting Sam linebacker for the second consecutive game. “So everybody’s going to play. Everybody’s going to have the opportunity to come in and play well, and make plays.’’
Frey led Michigan State in tackles (nine) in the season opener two weeks ago against Furman, in the first starting assignment of his career. He started in place of Jon Reschke, who was out with an undisclosed injury. Reschke is listed as the No. 2 ‘star’ linebacker for this week’s game against Notre Dame, although Sam linebacker is his usual position.
Reschke started at Sam linebacker last year, filling in for Davis, who started at the position in 2014 before being lost for the season with a torn ACL.
With Frey, Michigan State now has three players who have played winning football at Sam linebacker. It remains to be seen which player emerges as the long-term starter at the position. SPARTAN Magazine is still projecting Reschke to be the guy.
But for now, Frey is a capable starter at the worst, and a plus reserve at the best.
And while the Spartans have featured a number of great trios at linebacker during head coach Mark Dantonio’s tenure, the trio of Frey, Riley Bullough at the Mike linebacker and sophomore Andrew Dowell at the ‘star,’ could be the Spartans fastest threesome in that second tier unit’s history under Dantonio. That group will get faster if and when Reschke or Davis fill in at the Sam. But Frey runs well, too. He dropped about 10 pounds heading into the season and played faster last week than he did last year as a back-up linebacker.
Frey (23) led Michigan State with nine tackles against Furman.
With no linebacker weighing more than 230 pounds, it’s the lightest linebacking trio of the Dantonio era - which might help them to become the most mobile LB unit Dantonio has had.
“Everybody knows we’re always looking to play fast but with that comes the knowledge of what needs to be done in the different situations,’’ Frey said. “So part of my job is to know that and help communicate that to the rest of the team.’’
While Frey has always been a high-energy option at linebacker, he has developed into a dependable one too. A transition Bullough says Frey has made this season.
“With our defense, we’ve got to be gap sound and sometimes, I think, in his earlier days, he’d play a a little bit crazy and not always be in his right gap,’’ Bullough said. “Which is typical for a younger guy. But now he’s definitely changed that and become an all-around player and a great guy for our defense.’’
Frey will continue to get the chance to continue to prove himself against an Irish offense that has settled on junior quarterback DeShone Kizer as its every-down starter after he split snaps with senior Malik Zaire in the team’s first two games against Texas and Nevada.
Kizer, a polished dual threat option under center, enters Saturday with 30 completions on 42 attempts for 371 yards and seven touchdowns against just one interception. Additionally, he has bolstered the Irish’s offense with 112 rushing yards and two TD runs, making himself the team’s third-leading runner.
Which means Frey and the rest of MSU’s linebackers are facing a huge test on Saturday.
Since his arrival as an early enrollee, along with tight end Matt Sokol, back in 2014, Frey has battled to prove he was more then just a special teams demon and a special situations linebacker.
He tried to add weight in August of 2015 after Davis went down, in order to compete with Reschke for the opening at Sam linebacker. Frey held the No. 1 spot at that position for a couple of weeks in training camp, but Reschke eventually won the job, and Frey spent the rest of the year playing a bit heavier than was optimal.
This year, he cut weight in order to become more serviceable and versatile. He still has the ability to play Sam linebacker, but is also available at ‘star’ linebacker, and as a special situational linebacker - something that MSU might begin unveiling more as the season progresses, especially against uptempo teams.
With Reschke out and Davis still yet to be awarded a sixth year of eligibility, Frey was rewarded in MSU’s opener with his first career start.
“It was my first start and a I played a lot of plays, so I was really excited about that but I’m looking past that and looking forward to a huge game against a very good team,’’ Frey said. “The coaches are always going to put us in the best positions to make plays and I think I’ve proved to them that I can make plays and that I can be in the right place at the right time to be on the field more.’’
Now, with his name sitting atop the depth chart for his first start against a Top 25 opponent on the road, Frey hopes to further prove to his coaches and his teammates that he too is an every-down performer.
Even more than that, he wants help further develop the strong reputation MSU has established on defense over the past six seasons.
“Us linebackers, we have a real chemistry right now. We feed off of each other and we all bring energy to the field. But it’s not just us linebackers,’’ said Frey, who entered this season with 23 tackles, including five for loss, and a fumble recovery. “Chemistry is one of the main keys when it comes to being out on the field and I think as a unit we bring that to the rest if the team.’’
It’s a chemistry that Bullough credits Frey with help building even though it early in the season.
“Chris has done a great job,’’ Bullough said. “The biggest thing is that he’s been fundamentally sound. He’s always in his gap now and he’s making the rights reads and doing the right things when he needs to so them. And that’s important for the linebackers and our defense as a whole.’’
Chris Frey celebrates a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter of last years' victory over Indiana.
Quick little profile & developmental update on a guy i like to refer to as Psycho Killer:
Glue Guy: Frey keeping it cranked
Ricardo Cooney | SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - While Michigan State entered the 2016 season with question marks concerning the effectiveness of a defensive line whose depth was gutted by graduations and departures, the one area where MSU was expected to excel was at linebacker.
With a lineup that features a strong rotation of five to six players at the position, especially when you factor in the return of senior Ed Davis, who will enter Saturday night’s game at Notre Dame No. 2 on the Spartan depth chart at Sam linebacker after being granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA earlier this week, MSU’s defense is expected to go as far as its linebacking corps will take it this season.
“Linebacker-wise we have a lot of guys with a lot of talent,’’ said junior Chris Frey, who is listed as the starting Sam linebacker for the second consecutive game. “So everybody’s going to play. Everybody’s going to have the opportunity to come in and play well, and make plays.’’
Frey led Michigan State in tackles (nine) in the season opener two weeks ago against Furman, in the first starting assignment of his career. He started in place of Jon Reschke, who was out with an undisclosed injury. Reschke is listed as the No. 2 ‘star’ linebacker for this week’s game against Notre Dame, although Sam linebacker is his usual position.
Reschke started at Sam linebacker last year, filling in for Davis, who started at the position in 2014 before being lost for the season with a torn ACL.
With Frey, Michigan State now has three players who have played winning football at Sam linebacker. It remains to be seen which player emerges as the long-term starter at the position. SPARTAN Magazine is still projecting Reschke to be the guy.
But for now, Frey is a capable starter at the worst, and a plus reserve at the best.
And while the Spartans have featured a number of great trios at linebacker during head coach Mark Dantonio’s tenure, the trio of Frey, Riley Bullough at the Mike linebacker and sophomore Andrew Dowell at the ‘star,’ could be the Spartans fastest threesome in that second tier unit’s history under Dantonio. That group will get faster if and when Reschke or Davis fill in at the Sam. But Frey runs well, too. He dropped about 10 pounds heading into the season and played faster last week than he did last year as a back-up linebacker.
Frey (23) led Michigan State with nine tackles against Furman.
With no linebacker weighing more than 230 pounds, it’s the lightest linebacking trio of the Dantonio era - which might help them to become the most mobile LB unit Dantonio has had.
“Everybody knows we’re always looking to play fast but with that comes the knowledge of what needs to be done in the different situations,’’ Frey said. “So part of my job is to know that and help communicate that to the rest of the team.’’
While Frey has always been a high-energy option at linebacker, he has developed into a dependable one too. A transition Bullough says Frey has made this season.
“With our defense, we’ve got to be gap sound and sometimes, I think, in his earlier days, he’d play a a little bit crazy and not always be in his right gap,’’ Bullough said. “Which is typical for a younger guy. But now he’s definitely changed that and become an all-around player and a great guy for our defense.’’
Frey will continue to get the chance to continue to prove himself against an Irish offense that has settled on junior quarterback DeShone Kizer as its every-down starter after he split snaps with senior Malik Zaire in the team’s first two games against Texas and Nevada.
Kizer, a polished dual threat option under center, enters Saturday with 30 completions on 42 attempts for 371 yards and seven touchdowns against just one interception. Additionally, he has bolstered the Irish’s offense with 112 rushing yards and two TD runs, making himself the team’s third-leading runner.
Which means Frey and the rest of MSU’s linebackers are facing a huge test on Saturday.
Since his arrival as an early enrollee, along with tight end Matt Sokol, back in 2014, Frey has battled to prove he was more then just a special teams demon and a special situations linebacker.
He tried to add weight in August of 2015 after Davis went down, in order to compete with Reschke for the opening at Sam linebacker. Frey held the No. 1 spot at that position for a couple of weeks in training camp, but Reschke eventually won the job, and Frey spent the rest of the year playing a bit heavier than was optimal.
This year, he cut weight in order to become more serviceable and versatile. He still has the ability to play Sam linebacker, but is also available at ‘star’ linebacker, and as a special situational linebacker - something that MSU might begin unveiling more as the season progresses, especially against uptempo teams.
With Reschke out and Davis still yet to be awarded a sixth year of eligibility, Frey was rewarded in MSU’s opener with his first career start.
“It was my first start and a I played a lot of plays, so I was really excited about that but I’m looking past that and looking forward to a huge game against a very good team,’’ Frey said. “The coaches are always going to put us in the best positions to make plays and I think I’ve proved to them that I can make plays and that I can be in the right place at the right time to be on the field more.’’
Now, with his name sitting atop the depth chart for his first start against a Top 25 opponent on the road, Frey hopes to further prove to his coaches and his teammates that he too is an every-down performer.
Even more than that, he wants help further develop the strong reputation MSU has established on defense over the past six seasons.
“Us linebackers, we have a real chemistry right now. We feed off of each other and we all bring energy to the field. But it’s not just us linebackers,’’ said Frey, who entered this season with 23 tackles, including five for loss, and a fumble recovery. “Chemistry is one of the main keys when it comes to being out on the field and I think as a unit we bring that to the rest if the team.’’
It’s a chemistry that Bullough credits Frey with help building even though it early in the season.
“Chris has done a great job,’’ Bullough said. “The biggest thing is that he’s been fundamentally sound. He’s always in his gap now and he’s making the rights reads and doing the right things when he needs to so them. And that’s important for the linebackers and our defense as a whole.’’
Chris Frey celebrates a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter of last years' victory over Indiana.
