From Dantonio's Sunday teleconference:
Monday Morning QB: Copeland out for year
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - On a day in which Michigan State rose to its highest ranking since 1966, the Spartans began moving forward with some of the more extensive injury troubles of the Mark Dantonio era.
Dantonio confirmed on Sunday during his weekly teleconference that freshman cornerback Vayante Copeland has been lost for the season, due a fractured vertebrae. He suffered the injury late in the Oregon game on Sept. 12.
Copeland played strong in the season opener at Western Michigan.
The No. 2-ranked Spartans now have lost two starting defensive players to season-ending injuries. Senior 'money' linebacker Ed Davis was lost for the year to a knee injury during training camp.
With these injuries having taken place prior to two games being played, the Spartans have already lost more defensive starts to injury than in MSU's 2013 Rose Bowl and 2014 Cotton Bowl seasons combined.
The Spartans didn't lose a defensive starter to injury for any games last year - although situational starterMylan Hicks was lost for four games with a broken arm.
Michigan State lost only three defensive starts to injury in 2013, when defensive tackle Tyler Hoover was sidelined for three weeks.
"It's very unfortunate," Dantonio said of Copeland's injury. "He's a good player, he's a great person. But he's handling it very, very well. You cannot mess with that kind of thing.
"He'll heal fine. He'll be back for spring but right now it's too iffy of a situation."
MSU has now lost two of its top six defensive backs. In addition to Copeland's injury, the Spartans are without junior safety Mark Meyers, who was suspended indefinitely after a drinking and driving arrest earlier this month.
Privately, Dantonio may be lamenting the losses. Publicly, he claims the Spartans will be able to move on successfully.
"I do think we have depth," he said. "We have good football players on this team and that will not be an excuse not to win. In football, injuries are going to occur and you're going to have to handle them."
"I feel like we can handle that situation. I feel we have good players. We played a lot of defensive backs in the Oregon game."
But some of them struggled - especially Copeland's replacements.
Senior Arjen Colquhoun was picked on, late in the Oregon game. He allowed a touchdown pass on a fade to the corner of the end zone in which he briefly lost his footing and looked over the wrong shoulder. Later, he stumbled during a go route down the left sideline in the final two minutes, leaving an Oregon receiver wide open for what could have been the go-ahead touchdown for the Ducks. But Oregon's quarterback over-threw the receiver.
Colquhoun started against Air Force on Saturday. Although he was involved in two coverage busts that went for long gains, it's unclear whether he was the primary culprit. Dantonio seemed to be more upset with safety Montae Nicholson than Colquhoun when an Air Force receiver was allowed to run uncovered down the sideline for a 44-yard pass play in the fourth quarter.
Arjen Colquhoun is regarded as a sound tackler, but needs to prove himself in coverage.
Earlier in the game, Colquhoun and Nicholson were both guilty of allowing receivers to run wide open during a 32-yard TD pass. The Air Force QB happened to choose the receiver Nicholson was supposed to cover, but he just as easily could have gone with the receiver Colquhoun was supposed to cover, as the Falcons had two wide open receivers to choose from on that side of the field while Colquhoun and Nicholson were sucked upfield by the thread of the option.
On Sunday, Dantonio expressed faith in Colquhoun (6-1, 202, Windsor, Sr.), whose start against Air Force was the first of his career.
"Vayante is out, so Arjen Colquhoun is a guy who had a great spring, a very good summer camp in competition (with Copeland)," Dantonio said.
Colquhoun exited spring practice as a first-string cornerback, along with Jermaine Edmondson. But juniorDemetrious Cox began August camp as a No. 1 cornerback after moving from safety.
Colquhoun and Edmondson were then beaten out by Copeland for the starting job opposite Cox. An upper body injury hampered Colquhoun's ability to compete with Copeland in August.
"He was out with a shoulder for about a week and a half or two weeks," Dantonio said. "He has bounced back and is playing now.
"He is a guy with a lot of experience. He has great skill. Big. Physical."
Edmondson struggled as a tackler in the Oregon game. During the 80-yard Oregon drive which cut the lead to 31-28 in the final minutes, Edmondson missed two tackles on completions to the man he was covering that went for 51 yards. Thirty-one of those 51 yards on the 80-yard drive came after Edmondson's missed tackles.
Edmondson saw brief playing time against Air Force, Dantonio said, because the head coach wanted to keep the primary defenders on the field against the Falcons' tricky option offense. Reserve DBs didn't see as much time against Air Force as they did against Oregon.
"He (Edmondson) did not play as much (against Air Force), based on the option," Dantonio said. "I really didn't want to switch people up, based on the variations we were seeing. So once guys understood what was going on, not that we stopped it all the time, but I just thought change in the middle of the game or toward the end of the game might not be much of a positive."
Air Force rolled up 279 yards rushing. But sophomore cornerback Darian Hicks played a handful of downs and made a forceful tackle in taking the pitch man for a loss of 2 during a successful MSU goal-line stand against Air Force.
Hicks started the first 10 games of last season, but lost his starting job after a series of beatings on deep balls. He attempted to compete for the starting job last spring, but headed into August camp as a second-stringer. He was then lost for a few weeks to mononucleosis.
Hicks has made a gradual return to the practice field and playing group as he has worked to replenish his conditioning level. Saturday's tackle in the goal-line situation was a step in the right direction for him.
"Darian needed to get back in the flow there and I thought that was a big play in that goal line stand," Dantonio said. "So that was a positive. He's working himself back into the rotation. He has a lot of starting experience. We've got him back now, and think he's healthy."
MSU is expected to go into Saturday's game against Central Michigan with Cox and Colquhoun as starting cornerbacks, with Edmondson and Hicks as back-ups.
Dantonio says true freshmen are likely to get activated, namely Josh Butler.
Butler (5-11, 170, Mesquite, Texas) was a Rivals 4-star recruit for 2015, ranked the No. 31 player in Texas and the No. 241 player overall. He was the No. 5-ranked cornerback to sign with a Big Ten school.
"Josh Butler is one of those corners that we would talk about," Dantonio said. "He has played extremely well in practice. Whether we take the redshirt off of him or not; not sure.
"David Dowell is another (true) freshman that has shown a lot of things."
The Spartans activated two true freshmen in the Air Force game. Safety Grayson Miller saw time on special teams. Wide receiver Felton Davis also played, and was targeted or one pass, which fell incomplete on a short out route. Davis also played on the punt return squad.
Dantonio indicated that Miller won't be the last freshman to get activated - especially due to the loss of Copeland and questions surrounding Meyers.
Dantonio likes what he sees in Miller (6-3, 200, Georgetown Ky.)
"He's a big, physical guy that runs extremely well and is explosive," Dantonio said. "He's a good tackler. He was on every special team (Saturday). That's how we evaluated it. We just felt like we needed to play him.
"He's also probably the fifth safety or the fourth safety, possibly, as he continues to work forward. He's a quick learner and he's got football IQ.
"We are going to play the guys that are going to help us win. We don't want to take redshirts from guys unless they are going to play significantly on special teams, or significantly on offense or defense."
Miller and Butler might not be the only true freshman DBs to see time this year.
"We did recruit six defensive backs last year," Dantonio said. "We need to play some of those guys because we don't want six redshirted freshmen, either. So if they are capable of playing and there is a need - which we thought there was a need, because that's why we took them - then we will play them.
"You can't get three ready at one time. Grayson Miller was the first one up. So we will probably try to work one every week or see where it goes. But we are not going to play a guy just to play him a couple of plays.
"We are working with some freshmen in various places, whether it's on special teams or a little bit on offense or defense. It's pretty much a week-to-week process. It takes time. We are just making those decisions week-to-week.
"Possibly Khari Willis. (He) has been working with us. He is in that situation like Josh - do we take the redshirt or not? But if you can help us win, and win now, we will."
Redshirt freshman safeties Jalen Watts-Jackson and Matt Morrissey have gotten on the field in the past two weeks. Watts-Jackson has seen brief playing as part of the safety rotation, as a second-stringer.
"Jalen Watts-Jackson is playing on all the special teams and played in the Oregon game," Dantonio said. "Matt Morrissey is playing on all of our special teams.
"I think that we've got guys. Obviously, we still miss Vayante. He was a great tackler and a great player. He'll be back. We'll look forward to his return in the spring."
"We've got guys that can run and tackle and play the ball in the deep part of the field, and they have size and speed for their position. There is a depth there."
And it will need to be quality depth, if the Spartans are going to hang onto their No. 2-ranking for a long period of time.
What About The Ranking?
When Michigan State earned a No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press poll on Sunday night, it marked MSU's highest ranking by AP since the final vote of the 1966 season.
Dantonio stopped short of viewing it as an accomplishment when asked about it on Sunday night.
"I don't think there's any finished product here yet," Dantonio said. "We will evaluate this program at the end of the season, much like we have the last two seasons.
"These rankings, a lot of it is based on how you ended up last season. A lot of things happened yesterday that shakes up the rankings and those things will continue to happen, I'm sure. We need to keep our mind on our business and focus on the moment, and the next one up is Central (Michigan).
"We certainly have opportunities moving forward but it's a long road in front of us."
Riley's Hit
Dantonio said he would look into the possibility of appealing Riley Bullough's suspension for the first half of the Central Michigan game. Bullough was disqualified due to a targeting personal foul on Saturday. Because the foul took place in the second quarter, Bullough is required to sit out the first half of the next game, per NCAA rules.
"I'm not sure if there is a review process in place or not," Dantonio said. "I heard there was, but I'll check with the Big Ten office and see if there is."
"I don't think it was an intentional thing," Dantonio said of Bullough's hit. "You're playing football. He's trying to get the guy down. They made the call, they reviewed it.
"We play by the rules. Whatever the rules are, that's what we'll do."
"There are some things you can change. There are some things you cannot. So we'll see what we can do."
MSU Didn't Retaliate
Air Force players were penalized several times for personal fouls on Saturday, including three illegal chop block calls, a hand-to-the-face during a pass rush, and roughing the quarterback. The Spartans seemed to stop short of seeking retaliation.
"We wanted to play the game in regard to respect and integrity and we didn't get involved in those," Dantonio said. "I think those things helped us because they had some big penalties. They were legitimate penalties. They were called the correct way. I thought the officials probably did a pretty good job throughout the game."
Replacing Riley
If Riley misses the first half of Saturday's game, the Spartans will choose either second-string MLB Shane Jones or swing linebacker Jon Reschke as the replacement starter.
This is not the hit that resulted in Bullough's ejection, but was one of his 16 stops on the day.
Reschke has been a second-string Mike linebacker in the past. He moved to 'money' linebacker to help MSU replace Davis. He beat out Chris Frey for the starting job. Frey plays extensively as a back-up.
Jones saw the most playing time of his career in the Oregon game, and followed up with even more duty against Air Force.
When Bullough went to the bench briefly with a lower body ailment, Jones checked in and promptly helped force a fumble with a hard hit on an Air Force ball carrier, resulting in RJ Williamson's 64-yard scoop-and-score.
Jones saw duty on special teams, and also replaced Bullough after his ejection.
"Shane went in there and was productive," Dantonio said. "Reschke has played in there before. And Byron Bullough has played in there as well and worked a lot throughout fall camp. He's got knowledge of the position, too. There's three guys that, right off the bat, can step in there and play."
Run Game Problems?
The Spartans rushed 42 times for an anemic 77 yards against Air Force.
The Falcons loaded the defensive front with a safety as an extra defender in the box, and sometimes two safeties. Additionally, Air Force often came forward with blitzes - and did so with quickness and disciplined gap integrity.
MSU missed its share of blocks up front, but sometimes the run stoppages were due to numbers deficiencies, or problems elsewhere than on the offensive line.
"It goes beyond the running game," Dantonio said. "It goes to the back, it goes to play selection, or structure of it, and it goes to the tight ends and the fullbacks. Everybody on the field is involved in making a running play work.
"They (Air Force) did have everybody up there pretty close. Give Air Force credit. I thought they played square. I thought they tackled well. I thought they had a good plan.
"But with that in mind, we have to at least crease them some and bust out, which we weren't able to do. Usually that has happened with a 50-yard run or a 40-yard run, and you feel a lot better if those things happen two or three or four times.
"I don't think the consistency was there in terms of what we wanted. So you have to look and say is that mental errors by our players? Some. Is it physical errors by our players? Some. Is that structural - meaning they had the right play called or we don't have the right play called, or structurally what we were asking them to do based on what we were going to see. There was some of that too.
"We need to be results oriented and just move forward.
"We have always been a balanced offense. We need to continue to be that. We need to be able to run the football. Regardless of the situation, regardless of the score, we need to feel like when we want to run the football that we are capable of at least running it some, and effectively.
"We have to have different ways to attack it. Every play is not going to work every week, nor is every player going to play his best game every week. We're going to make some mistakes.
"All I ask is that we evaluate and try to correct the things that we did this week."
Co-offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said after Saturday's game that the Spartans sought to grind out the run partly as a means of resting the Spartan defense, which was getting taxed by Air Force's tricky option attack, which often went with an uptempo pace.
"In the second half, basically we ran the clock," Dantonio said. "They had a long drive. It was 35-7. They had a long drive to make it 35-14.
"Probably the biggest disappointment was when we didn't get it on third-and-two, and then fourth-and-one."
On the third-and-two stoppage, MSU tried to run power to the left with right guard Benny McGowanpulling. However, right tackle Donavon Clark didn't squeeze inside tightly enough to seal the area vacated by McGowan, as an Air Force defensive tackle shot through that daylight and chased down MSU's running back before he could turn the corner on a run to the left.
On forth-and-one, a Connor Cook QB sneak was stopped short of first-down yardage. MSU might argue the spot on the play, or the strength of Cook's surge, but there didn't seem to be much fault in the blocking up front on that play.
"We responded on defense and got an interception (after that), so that did not hurt us," Dantonio said.
But he would have preferred to continue to drive on offense and put a sixth TD on the board and break 40 points.
"We hit big plays pretty much throughout the first half, and in the third period as well," Dantonio said. "We hit big plays to Aaron Burbridge and had a couple to RJ Shelton as well. So we threw the ball pretty effectively."
Would Dantonio have preferred to see Cook check out of run plays and go to the pass in some of those situations when Air Force stacked the box?
"Certain situations are sort of defined for our players as a run/pass type of thing. Others are not," Dantonio said. "I would say for the most part, most of those plays were not."
Dowell Played Fast
MSU sat senior linebacker Darien Harris for most of Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. He is expected to recover soon.
Meanwhile, his back-up, true freshman David Dowell turned in a strong performance. He was more decisive and forceful than in his debut against Oregon. Dowell basically served as MSU's every-down 'star' linebacker, as Harris took a seat.
"He (Dowell) played 49 snaps," Dantonio said. "He played extensively.
"He's only going to get better. He had five tackles, and he had a fumble recovery. He played fast. He's going to make some mistakes but he plays fast and he is going to learn and get much better as he moves forward.
"We'll get Drake Martinez back at some point, maybe in the next two weeks. That'll help as well."
Martinez, a junior college transfer who is regarded as possibly the fastest player on the team, has been unavailable due to an unknown ailment.
Martinez spent the first portion of August camp at 'star' linebacker. He moved to 'money' backer to provide depth and competition at the position after Davis' injury.
Special Teams Progress?
The Spartans didn't allow a long return in the kicking game on Saturday against Air Force. Perhaps that's progress, considering that MSU allowed two long kickoff returns against Western Michigan, including one for a touchdown, and a punt return for a TD against Oregon.
"We got solid punting from Jake (Hartbarger); no returns," Dantonio said. "No big kickoff returns. The wind was a factor on kickoffs, so we squibbed a couple."
As for the coverage units, Dantonio made it clear that several coaches share those duties.
"Collectively, our entire coaching staff coaches the special teams, so I'm involved from the outset as well as basically all of our coaches," Dantonio said. "And then we split up our special teams relative to somebody having punt, somebody having kickoff, etc. And then they have a small staff that works directly with them in those areas and plans it.
"But I'm involved in every one of those. And those are the only meetings that I sit it on extensively, day-in and day-out in this program. I may go in a defensive meeting or a quarterback meeting or a different position meeting every now and then, but I'm always going to be in every special teams meeting."
First-year Spartan assistant Mark Snyder is listed as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.
"That means he sort of sets it all in motion and he is either active as one of the driving members of a specific special team, or he is on that staff (of a certain special team)," Dantonio said. "For example, Mike Tressel has punt, and he (Snyder) is on that small staff relative to the punt.
"That's how we've done it and that's how we'll always do it. We've been good special teams-wise. We'll continue to understand that special teams wins championships.
"Our specialists, they need to make their plays, and they will. All I ask is that our guys compete. I thought other than the field goal, I thought our special teams played pretty well."
The field goal Dantonio referred to was a 35-yarder which Spartan place kicker Michael Geiger missed badly with a low kick which was blocked.
Dantonio barked some feedback to Geiger during the game on Saturday.
"Obviously, I told him to get it up," Dantonio said.
Dantonio was also bothered that Geiger didn't check in with Dantonio prior to the field goal attempt.
"I said, more importantly, I just want the guys to compete," Dantonio said. "I don't care if you miss the kick, I don't care if we don't punt right, I don't care. I care that we compete. That's all I'm concerned about. You come and you compete. Stand down by me when we're getting ready to go into the kick. Don't stand down at the end and come on the stage. Get down by me and let's go kick the ball through the uprights. That's all I said."
Enoch Smith 'Played Firm'
Redshirt freshman Enoch Smith broke into the rotation at defensive tackle for the first time in his career, Saturday. The rotund defensive tackle from Chicago missed much of August camp and the first two games while recovering from off-season hernia surgery.
"He played nine plays and I thought he was firm," Dantonio said of Smith. "A little heavy on his techniques - in other words lining up a little too head-up on a guy."
They prefer d-linemen to line up shaded more toward an o-lineman's shoulder, threatening a specific gap.
"I think he's a good football player," Dantonio said. "He is waiting his time. The hernia surgery in the summer put him back. He missed all of camp. He's been in football now two or three weeks and I think you will see more of him as we move forward.
"He has to do the job week-to-week. I do think that he played all right."
Monday Morning QB: Copeland out for year
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - On a day in which Michigan State rose to its highest ranking since 1966, the Spartans began moving forward with some of the more extensive injury troubles of the Mark Dantonio era.
Dantonio confirmed on Sunday during his weekly teleconference that freshman cornerback Vayante Copeland has been lost for the season, due a fractured vertebrae. He suffered the injury late in the Oregon game on Sept. 12.
Copeland played strong in the season opener at Western Michigan.
The No. 2-ranked Spartans now have lost two starting defensive players to season-ending injuries. Senior 'money' linebacker Ed Davis was lost for the year to a knee injury during training camp.
With these injuries having taken place prior to two games being played, the Spartans have already lost more defensive starts to injury than in MSU's 2013 Rose Bowl and 2014 Cotton Bowl seasons combined.
The Spartans didn't lose a defensive starter to injury for any games last year - although situational starterMylan Hicks was lost for four games with a broken arm.
Michigan State lost only three defensive starts to injury in 2013, when defensive tackle Tyler Hoover was sidelined for three weeks.
"It's very unfortunate," Dantonio said of Copeland's injury. "He's a good player, he's a great person. But he's handling it very, very well. You cannot mess with that kind of thing.
"He'll heal fine. He'll be back for spring but right now it's too iffy of a situation."
MSU has now lost two of its top six defensive backs. In addition to Copeland's injury, the Spartans are without junior safety Mark Meyers, who was suspended indefinitely after a drinking and driving arrest earlier this month.
Privately, Dantonio may be lamenting the losses. Publicly, he claims the Spartans will be able to move on successfully.
"I do think we have depth," he said. "We have good football players on this team and that will not be an excuse not to win. In football, injuries are going to occur and you're going to have to handle them."
"I feel like we can handle that situation. I feel we have good players. We played a lot of defensive backs in the Oregon game."
But some of them struggled - especially Copeland's replacements.
Senior Arjen Colquhoun was picked on, late in the Oregon game. He allowed a touchdown pass on a fade to the corner of the end zone in which he briefly lost his footing and looked over the wrong shoulder. Later, he stumbled during a go route down the left sideline in the final two minutes, leaving an Oregon receiver wide open for what could have been the go-ahead touchdown for the Ducks. But Oregon's quarterback over-threw the receiver.
Colquhoun started against Air Force on Saturday. Although he was involved in two coverage busts that went for long gains, it's unclear whether he was the primary culprit. Dantonio seemed to be more upset with safety Montae Nicholson than Colquhoun when an Air Force receiver was allowed to run uncovered down the sideline for a 44-yard pass play in the fourth quarter.
Arjen Colquhoun is regarded as a sound tackler, but needs to prove himself in coverage.
Earlier in the game, Colquhoun and Nicholson were both guilty of allowing receivers to run wide open during a 32-yard TD pass. The Air Force QB happened to choose the receiver Nicholson was supposed to cover, but he just as easily could have gone with the receiver Colquhoun was supposed to cover, as the Falcons had two wide open receivers to choose from on that side of the field while Colquhoun and Nicholson were sucked upfield by the thread of the option.
On Sunday, Dantonio expressed faith in Colquhoun (6-1, 202, Windsor, Sr.), whose start against Air Force was the first of his career.
"Vayante is out, so Arjen Colquhoun is a guy who had a great spring, a very good summer camp in competition (with Copeland)," Dantonio said.
Colquhoun exited spring practice as a first-string cornerback, along with Jermaine Edmondson. But juniorDemetrious Cox began August camp as a No. 1 cornerback after moving from safety.
Colquhoun and Edmondson were then beaten out by Copeland for the starting job opposite Cox. An upper body injury hampered Colquhoun's ability to compete with Copeland in August.
"He was out with a shoulder for about a week and a half or two weeks," Dantonio said. "He has bounced back and is playing now.
"He is a guy with a lot of experience. He has great skill. Big. Physical."
Edmondson struggled as a tackler in the Oregon game. During the 80-yard Oregon drive which cut the lead to 31-28 in the final minutes, Edmondson missed two tackles on completions to the man he was covering that went for 51 yards. Thirty-one of those 51 yards on the 80-yard drive came after Edmondson's missed tackles.
Edmondson saw brief playing time against Air Force, Dantonio said, because the head coach wanted to keep the primary defenders on the field against the Falcons' tricky option offense. Reserve DBs didn't see as much time against Air Force as they did against Oregon.
"He (Edmondson) did not play as much (against Air Force), based on the option," Dantonio said. "I really didn't want to switch people up, based on the variations we were seeing. So once guys understood what was going on, not that we stopped it all the time, but I just thought change in the middle of the game or toward the end of the game might not be much of a positive."
Air Force rolled up 279 yards rushing. But sophomore cornerback Darian Hicks played a handful of downs and made a forceful tackle in taking the pitch man for a loss of 2 during a successful MSU goal-line stand against Air Force.
Hicks started the first 10 games of last season, but lost his starting job after a series of beatings on deep balls. He attempted to compete for the starting job last spring, but headed into August camp as a second-stringer. He was then lost for a few weeks to mononucleosis.
Hicks has made a gradual return to the practice field and playing group as he has worked to replenish his conditioning level. Saturday's tackle in the goal-line situation was a step in the right direction for him.
"Darian needed to get back in the flow there and I thought that was a big play in that goal line stand," Dantonio said. "So that was a positive. He's working himself back into the rotation. He has a lot of starting experience. We've got him back now, and think he's healthy."
MSU is expected to go into Saturday's game against Central Michigan with Cox and Colquhoun as starting cornerbacks, with Edmondson and Hicks as back-ups.
Dantonio says true freshmen are likely to get activated, namely Josh Butler.
Butler (5-11, 170, Mesquite, Texas) was a Rivals 4-star recruit for 2015, ranked the No. 31 player in Texas and the No. 241 player overall. He was the No. 5-ranked cornerback to sign with a Big Ten school.
"Josh Butler is one of those corners that we would talk about," Dantonio said. "He has played extremely well in practice. Whether we take the redshirt off of him or not; not sure.
"David Dowell is another (true) freshman that has shown a lot of things."
The Spartans activated two true freshmen in the Air Force game. Safety Grayson Miller saw time on special teams. Wide receiver Felton Davis also played, and was targeted or one pass, which fell incomplete on a short out route. Davis also played on the punt return squad.
Dantonio indicated that Miller won't be the last freshman to get activated - especially due to the loss of Copeland and questions surrounding Meyers.
Dantonio likes what he sees in Miller (6-3, 200, Georgetown Ky.)
"He's a big, physical guy that runs extremely well and is explosive," Dantonio said. "He's a good tackler. He was on every special team (Saturday). That's how we evaluated it. We just felt like we needed to play him.
"He's also probably the fifth safety or the fourth safety, possibly, as he continues to work forward. He's a quick learner and he's got football IQ.
"We are going to play the guys that are going to help us win. We don't want to take redshirts from guys unless they are going to play significantly on special teams, or significantly on offense or defense."
Miller and Butler might not be the only true freshman DBs to see time this year.
"We did recruit six defensive backs last year," Dantonio said. "We need to play some of those guys because we don't want six redshirted freshmen, either. So if they are capable of playing and there is a need - which we thought there was a need, because that's why we took them - then we will play them.
"You can't get three ready at one time. Grayson Miller was the first one up. So we will probably try to work one every week or see where it goes. But we are not going to play a guy just to play him a couple of plays.
"We are working with some freshmen in various places, whether it's on special teams or a little bit on offense or defense. It's pretty much a week-to-week process. It takes time. We are just making those decisions week-to-week.
"Possibly Khari Willis. (He) has been working with us. He is in that situation like Josh - do we take the redshirt or not? But if you can help us win, and win now, we will."
Redshirt freshman safeties Jalen Watts-Jackson and Matt Morrissey have gotten on the field in the past two weeks. Watts-Jackson has seen brief playing as part of the safety rotation, as a second-stringer.
"Jalen Watts-Jackson is playing on all the special teams and played in the Oregon game," Dantonio said. "Matt Morrissey is playing on all of our special teams.
"I think that we've got guys. Obviously, we still miss Vayante. He was a great tackler and a great player. He'll be back. We'll look forward to his return in the spring."
"We've got guys that can run and tackle and play the ball in the deep part of the field, and they have size and speed for their position. There is a depth there."
And it will need to be quality depth, if the Spartans are going to hang onto their No. 2-ranking for a long period of time.
What About The Ranking?
When Michigan State earned a No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press poll on Sunday night, it marked MSU's highest ranking by AP since the final vote of the 1966 season.
Dantonio stopped short of viewing it as an accomplishment when asked about it on Sunday night.
"I don't think there's any finished product here yet," Dantonio said. "We will evaluate this program at the end of the season, much like we have the last two seasons.
"These rankings, a lot of it is based on how you ended up last season. A lot of things happened yesterday that shakes up the rankings and those things will continue to happen, I'm sure. We need to keep our mind on our business and focus on the moment, and the next one up is Central (Michigan).
"We certainly have opportunities moving forward but it's a long road in front of us."
Riley's Hit
Dantonio said he would look into the possibility of appealing Riley Bullough's suspension for the first half of the Central Michigan game. Bullough was disqualified due to a targeting personal foul on Saturday. Because the foul took place in the second quarter, Bullough is required to sit out the first half of the next game, per NCAA rules.
"I'm not sure if there is a review process in place or not," Dantonio said. "I heard there was, but I'll check with the Big Ten office and see if there is."
"I don't think it was an intentional thing," Dantonio said of Bullough's hit. "You're playing football. He's trying to get the guy down. They made the call, they reviewed it.
"We play by the rules. Whatever the rules are, that's what we'll do."
"There are some things you can change. There are some things you cannot. So we'll see what we can do."
MSU Didn't Retaliate
Air Force players were penalized several times for personal fouls on Saturday, including three illegal chop block calls, a hand-to-the-face during a pass rush, and roughing the quarterback. The Spartans seemed to stop short of seeking retaliation.
"We wanted to play the game in regard to respect and integrity and we didn't get involved in those," Dantonio said. "I think those things helped us because they had some big penalties. They were legitimate penalties. They were called the correct way. I thought the officials probably did a pretty good job throughout the game."
Replacing Riley
If Riley misses the first half of Saturday's game, the Spartans will choose either second-string MLB Shane Jones or swing linebacker Jon Reschke as the replacement starter.
This is not the hit that resulted in Bullough's ejection, but was one of his 16 stops on the day.
Reschke has been a second-string Mike linebacker in the past. He moved to 'money' linebacker to help MSU replace Davis. He beat out Chris Frey for the starting job. Frey plays extensively as a back-up.
Jones saw the most playing time of his career in the Oregon game, and followed up with even more duty against Air Force.
When Bullough went to the bench briefly with a lower body ailment, Jones checked in and promptly helped force a fumble with a hard hit on an Air Force ball carrier, resulting in RJ Williamson's 64-yard scoop-and-score.
Jones saw duty on special teams, and also replaced Bullough after his ejection.
"Shane went in there and was productive," Dantonio said. "Reschke has played in there before. And Byron Bullough has played in there as well and worked a lot throughout fall camp. He's got knowledge of the position, too. There's three guys that, right off the bat, can step in there and play."
Run Game Problems?
The Spartans rushed 42 times for an anemic 77 yards against Air Force.
The Falcons loaded the defensive front with a safety as an extra defender in the box, and sometimes two safeties. Additionally, Air Force often came forward with blitzes - and did so with quickness and disciplined gap integrity.
MSU missed its share of blocks up front, but sometimes the run stoppages were due to numbers deficiencies, or problems elsewhere than on the offensive line.
"It goes beyond the running game," Dantonio said. "It goes to the back, it goes to play selection, or structure of it, and it goes to the tight ends and the fullbacks. Everybody on the field is involved in making a running play work.
"They (Air Force) did have everybody up there pretty close. Give Air Force credit. I thought they played square. I thought they tackled well. I thought they had a good plan.
"But with that in mind, we have to at least crease them some and bust out, which we weren't able to do. Usually that has happened with a 50-yard run or a 40-yard run, and you feel a lot better if those things happen two or three or four times.
"I don't think the consistency was there in terms of what we wanted. So you have to look and say is that mental errors by our players? Some. Is it physical errors by our players? Some. Is that structural - meaning they had the right play called or we don't have the right play called, or structurally what we were asking them to do based on what we were going to see. There was some of that too.
"We need to be results oriented and just move forward.
"We have always been a balanced offense. We need to continue to be that. We need to be able to run the football. Regardless of the situation, regardless of the score, we need to feel like when we want to run the football that we are capable of at least running it some, and effectively.
"We have to have different ways to attack it. Every play is not going to work every week, nor is every player going to play his best game every week. We're going to make some mistakes.
"All I ask is that we evaluate and try to correct the things that we did this week."
Co-offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said after Saturday's game that the Spartans sought to grind out the run partly as a means of resting the Spartan defense, which was getting taxed by Air Force's tricky option attack, which often went with an uptempo pace.
"In the second half, basically we ran the clock," Dantonio said. "They had a long drive. It was 35-7. They had a long drive to make it 35-14.
"Probably the biggest disappointment was when we didn't get it on third-and-two, and then fourth-and-one."
On the third-and-two stoppage, MSU tried to run power to the left with right guard Benny McGowanpulling. However, right tackle Donavon Clark didn't squeeze inside tightly enough to seal the area vacated by McGowan, as an Air Force defensive tackle shot through that daylight and chased down MSU's running back before he could turn the corner on a run to the left.
On forth-and-one, a Connor Cook QB sneak was stopped short of first-down yardage. MSU might argue the spot on the play, or the strength of Cook's surge, but there didn't seem to be much fault in the blocking up front on that play.
"We responded on defense and got an interception (after that), so that did not hurt us," Dantonio said.
But he would have preferred to continue to drive on offense and put a sixth TD on the board and break 40 points.
"We hit big plays pretty much throughout the first half, and in the third period as well," Dantonio said. "We hit big plays to Aaron Burbridge and had a couple to RJ Shelton as well. So we threw the ball pretty effectively."
Would Dantonio have preferred to see Cook check out of run plays and go to the pass in some of those situations when Air Force stacked the box?
"Certain situations are sort of defined for our players as a run/pass type of thing. Others are not," Dantonio said. "I would say for the most part, most of those plays were not."
Dowell Played Fast
MSU sat senior linebacker Darien Harris for most of Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. He is expected to recover soon.
Meanwhile, his back-up, true freshman David Dowell turned in a strong performance. He was more decisive and forceful than in his debut against Oregon. Dowell basically served as MSU's every-down 'star' linebacker, as Harris took a seat.
"He (Dowell) played 49 snaps," Dantonio said. "He played extensively.
"He's only going to get better. He had five tackles, and he had a fumble recovery. He played fast. He's going to make some mistakes but he plays fast and he is going to learn and get much better as he moves forward.
"We'll get Drake Martinez back at some point, maybe in the next two weeks. That'll help as well."
Martinez, a junior college transfer who is regarded as possibly the fastest player on the team, has been unavailable due to an unknown ailment.
Martinez spent the first portion of August camp at 'star' linebacker. He moved to 'money' backer to provide depth and competition at the position after Davis' injury.
Special Teams Progress?
The Spartans didn't allow a long return in the kicking game on Saturday against Air Force. Perhaps that's progress, considering that MSU allowed two long kickoff returns against Western Michigan, including one for a touchdown, and a punt return for a TD against Oregon.
"We got solid punting from Jake (Hartbarger); no returns," Dantonio said. "No big kickoff returns. The wind was a factor on kickoffs, so we squibbed a couple."
As for the coverage units, Dantonio made it clear that several coaches share those duties.
"Collectively, our entire coaching staff coaches the special teams, so I'm involved from the outset as well as basically all of our coaches," Dantonio said. "And then we split up our special teams relative to somebody having punt, somebody having kickoff, etc. And then they have a small staff that works directly with them in those areas and plans it.
"But I'm involved in every one of those. And those are the only meetings that I sit it on extensively, day-in and day-out in this program. I may go in a defensive meeting or a quarterback meeting or a different position meeting every now and then, but I'm always going to be in every special teams meeting."
First-year Spartan assistant Mark Snyder is listed as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.
"That means he sort of sets it all in motion and he is either active as one of the driving members of a specific special team, or he is on that staff (of a certain special team)," Dantonio said. "For example, Mike Tressel has punt, and he (Snyder) is on that small staff relative to the punt.
"That's how we've done it and that's how we'll always do it. We've been good special teams-wise. We'll continue to understand that special teams wins championships.
"Our specialists, they need to make their plays, and they will. All I ask is that our guys compete. I thought other than the field goal, I thought our special teams played pretty well."
The field goal Dantonio referred to was a 35-yarder which Spartan place kicker Michael Geiger missed badly with a low kick which was blocked.
Dantonio barked some feedback to Geiger during the game on Saturday.
"Obviously, I told him to get it up," Dantonio said.
Dantonio was also bothered that Geiger didn't check in with Dantonio prior to the field goal attempt.
"I said, more importantly, I just want the guys to compete," Dantonio said. "I don't care if you miss the kick, I don't care if we don't punt right, I don't care. I care that we compete. That's all I'm concerned about. You come and you compete. Stand down by me when we're getting ready to go into the kick. Don't stand down at the end and come on the stage. Get down by me and let's go kick the ball through the uprights. That's all I said."
Enoch Smith 'Played Firm'
Redshirt freshman Enoch Smith broke into the rotation at defensive tackle for the first time in his career, Saturday. The rotund defensive tackle from Chicago missed much of August camp and the first two games while recovering from off-season hernia surgery.
"He played nine plays and I thought he was firm," Dantonio said of Smith. "A little heavy on his techniques - in other words lining up a little too head-up on a guy."
They prefer d-linemen to line up shaded more toward an o-lineman's shoulder, threatening a specific gap.
"I think he's a good football player," Dantonio said. "He is waiting his time. The hernia surgery in the summer put him back. He missed all of camp. He's been in football now two or three weeks and I think you will see more of him as we move forward.
"He has to do the job week-to-week. I do think that he played all right."
