'Very Ready to Go'
Ricardo Cooney | SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - After one of the worst seasons in Michigan State football history, after a tumultuous offseason that saw the loss of more than 10 underclassmen and after promising to rebuild the character and camaraderie of what was viewed as a fractured locker room, the Spartans take to the football field with renewed hopes and vigor to start 2017.
As it stands, it would be easy to call MSU’s noontime season-opening matchup with Bowling Green at Spartan Stadium the beginning of “The Redemption Tour.’’
But redemption comes in many forms and for the Spartans, and with all due respect to the Falcons - who themselves are trying to regain some momentum after a 4-8 finish in 2016 where they gave up 77 points twice in losses - the name on the other team’s jersey won’t matter much on Saturday.
“We're very, very ready to go, I guess you'd say. It's been a long time coming,’’ MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. “We've sat and waited for about nine months for this opportunity. So we'll be ready. This will give us a starting point, one way are the other.
“Again, I don't really care who we play in the first game. Our football team is right for it. The mentality of our football team is right, and that's what I'm concerned about. Mostly what I'm concerned about is our football team.’’
Bowling Green may have the same idea.
After suffering through a seven-game losing streak, BGSU did finish last season on a high note with three straight wins but by then, much like MSU, it was just a matter of finishing out a season that had gone horribly wrong.
So this opener is more about regaining what was lost - for both teams
For MSU’s seniors like running back Gerald Holmes, who along with sophomore linebacker Joe Bachie will serve as game captains on Saturday, much of the Spartans’ success this season will not only be tied to MSU’s execution on the field but how the program has recovered from what was perceived as a group that could just never get on the same page last season.
“The biggest difference coming into camp this season was the enthusiasm and trying to build that family bond,” Holmes said. “We tried to encourage guys to be closer and be more family oriented but also understand that if you’ve got to rip a guy or cut into a guy about something, you can do it. Last year, I felt like a lot of guys didn’t understand their place and weren’t comfortable about approaching a guy about certain things. Now, I feel like we’ve kind of opened the door and opened the floor, that no matter who you are or what level, you can be confronted about what needs to be done because in the end, we’re trying to win games here.’’
If that’s the case, the Spartans have taken that huge step in shrugging off the misfortunes of last season and are ready to move forward to orchestrate a successful season.
“I think the (bad) taste of last season is out. Now, it’s time to show what we’ve been working for,’’ Holmes added. “It’s the time to have a fresh mind, it’s onto the 2017 season.’’
OFFENSIVE SKILL: NEW FACES
In order to do that on the field though, the Spartans will be depending on a large number of fresh faces to change the narrative of the season.
With a significant number of players who have seen little or no time as starters, much of this team’s success will depend on how quickly all of those inexperienced plug-ins can make their names heard on both sides of the ball.
One of those fresh faces will come at quarterback as MSU introduces 6-foot-3, 212-pound redshirt sophomore Brian Lewerke to the offensive huddle full-time.
Lewerke, who played in four games last season - two as a starter before suffering a broken tibia against Michigan that ended his season - finished 31-of-57 for 381 yards and two touchdowns and one interception in spot duty in 2016.
The spot duty is over. Lewerke is the guy.
Despite the fact that MSU’s signal caller will be required to mature on the job, he will have experience lined up behind him and beside him in the run game.
Junior LJ Scott, who has earned spots on the Maxwell Player of the Year and Doak Walker Running Back of the Year watch lists, leads a trio of runners after gaining 994 yards on 184 carries last year. He scored six touchdowns in 2016.
Scott’s efforts in returning MSU’s run game to prominence will be aided by Holmes and redshirt junior Madre London, two running backs capable of being starters in most major Division I backfields.
With that being said, expect the Spartans to lean heavily on the run game considering the three projected starting wide receivers - junior Felton Davis III and sophomores Trishton Jackson and Darrell Stewart Jr. - do not have much experience.
Numbers-wise, Davis leads the way after catching 12 passes for 150 yards and touchdown last season.
Despite MSU’s inexperience at the wideout spot, Jackson, who opened eyes with a breakout performance in the annual Green and White game, said the Spartans will not be focusing on what others may see as deficiencies.
“We’ve got, not a slogan but a board that’s in every room and it’s, ‘Focus on the Moment,’’’ Jackson said. “Which means we’re trying to put everything in the past and just focus on little things. So, like this week, it’s just Bowling Green. This is about meeting the obstacles in our way and the goals that we set because we want to get to Indianapolis (the Big Ten Championship). All the other stuff we did in the past is in the past now and we’re just moving on to this week.
“We all came into camp with the mindset of just being ready to grind and that’s been our motto, ‘grind and grind hard,’ and that something’s going to come out of it.’’
MSU will also be breaking in a new starting tight end as well with junior Matt Sokol taking over the reigns for a very dependable and sometimes game-changing target in the graduated Josiah Price.
IN THE TRENCHES:
The offensive line - which will be anchored by senior center and captain Brian Allen, a Rimington and Outland Trophy watch list candidate - will also feature a new right tackle in redshirt freshman Luke Campbell and three others in left tackle Cole Chewins, right guard David Beedle and left guard Tyler Higby, who have all played prior to this season but who will be looked upon to provide much more of a tone-setting persona up front in the Spartans’ offense.
“We definitely have a responsibility because the teams goes as we go,’’ said Higby, a 6-5, 293-pound sophomore, who played in 10 games last season with six of those being starts. “So, if we set the tone early, go hard, go fast and know what we’re doing, I think it bodes well for the rest of the team.’’
BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE:
MSU’s revamped offense will be facing a Bowling Green defense that is looking to improve on last year’s numbers that had the Falcons 10th in the MAC, as they surrendered 464.2 yards a game to their opponents.
The Falcons’ second- and third- leading tacklers from last season were expected to lead the defense this year. But junior safety Jamari Bozeman is out with an upper leg in jury.
Bozeman collected 71 stops last season and added three picks and six pass breakups, earning third team All-MAC honors.
Junior linebacker Brandon Harris will need to pick up some slack.
Harris had 59 tackles last year, which included three for loss, and had two interceptions and one sack.
The Falcons will also be relying on the presence of senior defensive tackle Gus Schwieterman who led the team last season in tackles for loss with 12, which included five sacks.
BG also has a potent weapon in redshirt senior All-American punter Joseph Davidson, who will once again open the on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List
BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE
Offensively, the Falcons will be relying on sophomore QB James Morgan, senior running backs Josh Ceveland and Donovan Wilson and junior wideout Scott Miller.
Morgan, who started who started five games and played in all 12 games last season, threw for 2,082 yards, completing 183 of his 326 pass attempts for 16 TDs. He averaged 173.5 yards a game but also tossed 15 INTs
In the run game, Cleveland collected 649 yards on 101 carries with two TDs, while Wilson added 503 yards on 110 carries with five TDs. BGSU graduated a 1,000-yard rusher.
Miller was first team All-MAC performer at WR, hauling in 74 catches for 968 yards, while scoring 10 TDs.
“Mike Jinks is the head football coach there, comes from Texas Tech, so they're going to have an up-tempo type offense, throw the ball down the field,’’ Dantonio said. “Scott Miller, No. 21 is a go-to guy. They've got some other outstanding wide receivers, as well.’’
Stopping that attack, which rolled up 406.9 yards a game last season, becomes the responsibility of a Spartan defense that led by senior captain and linebacker Chris Frey, the Spartans’ leading tackler last season.
Frey totaled 96 stops last season, including four for loss and also had a forced fumble.
His efforts, as MSU looks to move to 3-0 all-time against BGSU, will be aided by junior ‘star’ linebacker Andrew Dowell, who returns as MSU’s fourth-leading tackler after tallying 67 stops, which included three for loss.
Dowell also had one sack, one interception, three pass breakups and six QB hits.
Additionally, junior safety Khari Willis, who totaled 30 tackles and two pass breakups last season and redshirt sophomore nose tackle Raequan Williams, who had 28 tackles, including five for loss, will also be expected to take their games to a higher level for a Spartan defense looking to improve on the 364.8 yards and 27.8 points a game the team surrendered last season.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
MSU: With a fairly new starting quarterback and three inexperienced wide receivers stepping into the spotlight, the Spartans’ passing game will be under scrutiny. Since Dantonio’s arrival 10 seasons ago, MSU has seemingly always been able to develop a go-to option in the passing game but many questions still need to be answered in terms of how ready this group is for primetime play. Also, to a man, the players have promised a new attitude and approach for the 2017 season. After a series of failed executions late in games last year, it will be interesting to see what kind of character this unit has developed in preparation of eradicating all vestiges of last season’s three win debacle.
BGSU: The Falcons, despite losing eight of their first nine games, closed strong in 2016 with three straight wins. So coming into fall camp, the battle cry had to be about how do they build on the momentum created last November with wins over Akron, Kent State and Buffalo. Opening their season against a respected Big Ten opponent will serve as a great measuring stick in terms of what the Falcons are going to be able to do to turn things around in 2017. While it’s only the first game, Bowling Green has a chance to establish what kind of the team they want to be and what kind of team they need to be in order to erase the memories of a 2016 team that surrendered 77 points twice in losses to Ohio State and Memphis
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Ricardo Cooney | SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - After one of the worst seasons in Michigan State football history, after a tumultuous offseason that saw the loss of more than 10 underclassmen and after promising to rebuild the character and camaraderie of what was viewed as a fractured locker room, the Spartans take to the football field with renewed hopes and vigor to start 2017.
As it stands, it would be easy to call MSU’s noontime season-opening matchup with Bowling Green at Spartan Stadium the beginning of “The Redemption Tour.’’
But redemption comes in many forms and for the Spartans, and with all due respect to the Falcons - who themselves are trying to regain some momentum after a 4-8 finish in 2016 where they gave up 77 points twice in losses - the name on the other team’s jersey won’t matter much on Saturday.
“We're very, very ready to go, I guess you'd say. It's been a long time coming,’’ MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. “We've sat and waited for about nine months for this opportunity. So we'll be ready. This will give us a starting point, one way are the other.
“Again, I don't really care who we play in the first game. Our football team is right for it. The mentality of our football team is right, and that's what I'm concerned about. Mostly what I'm concerned about is our football team.’’
Bowling Green may have the same idea.
After suffering through a seven-game losing streak, BGSU did finish last season on a high note with three straight wins but by then, much like MSU, it was just a matter of finishing out a season that had gone horribly wrong.
So this opener is more about regaining what was lost - for both teams
For MSU’s seniors like running back Gerald Holmes, who along with sophomore linebacker Joe Bachie will serve as game captains on Saturday, much of the Spartans’ success this season will not only be tied to MSU’s execution on the field but how the program has recovered from what was perceived as a group that could just never get on the same page last season.
“The biggest difference coming into camp this season was the enthusiasm and trying to build that family bond,” Holmes said. “We tried to encourage guys to be closer and be more family oriented but also understand that if you’ve got to rip a guy or cut into a guy about something, you can do it. Last year, I felt like a lot of guys didn’t understand their place and weren’t comfortable about approaching a guy about certain things. Now, I feel like we’ve kind of opened the door and opened the floor, that no matter who you are or what level, you can be confronted about what needs to be done because in the end, we’re trying to win games here.’’
If that’s the case, the Spartans have taken that huge step in shrugging off the misfortunes of last season and are ready to move forward to orchestrate a successful season.
“I think the (bad) taste of last season is out. Now, it’s time to show what we’ve been working for,’’ Holmes added. “It’s the time to have a fresh mind, it’s onto the 2017 season.’’
OFFENSIVE SKILL: NEW FACES
In order to do that on the field though, the Spartans will be depending on a large number of fresh faces to change the narrative of the season.
With a significant number of players who have seen little or no time as starters, much of this team’s success will depend on how quickly all of those inexperienced plug-ins can make their names heard on both sides of the ball.
One of those fresh faces will come at quarterback as MSU introduces 6-foot-3, 212-pound redshirt sophomore Brian Lewerke to the offensive huddle full-time.
Lewerke, who played in four games last season - two as a starter before suffering a broken tibia against Michigan that ended his season - finished 31-of-57 for 381 yards and two touchdowns and one interception in spot duty in 2016.
The spot duty is over. Lewerke is the guy.
Despite the fact that MSU’s signal caller will be required to mature on the job, he will have experience lined up behind him and beside him in the run game.
Junior LJ Scott, who has earned spots on the Maxwell Player of the Year and Doak Walker Running Back of the Year watch lists, leads a trio of runners after gaining 994 yards on 184 carries last year. He scored six touchdowns in 2016.
Scott’s efforts in returning MSU’s run game to prominence will be aided by Holmes and redshirt junior Madre London, two running backs capable of being starters in most major Division I backfields.
With that being said, expect the Spartans to lean heavily on the run game considering the three projected starting wide receivers - junior Felton Davis III and sophomores Trishton Jackson and Darrell Stewart Jr. - do not have much experience.
Numbers-wise, Davis leads the way after catching 12 passes for 150 yards and touchdown last season.
Despite MSU’s inexperience at the wideout spot, Jackson, who opened eyes with a breakout performance in the annual Green and White game, said the Spartans will not be focusing on what others may see as deficiencies.
“We’ve got, not a slogan but a board that’s in every room and it’s, ‘Focus on the Moment,’’’ Jackson said. “Which means we’re trying to put everything in the past and just focus on little things. So, like this week, it’s just Bowling Green. This is about meeting the obstacles in our way and the goals that we set because we want to get to Indianapolis (the Big Ten Championship). All the other stuff we did in the past is in the past now and we’re just moving on to this week.
“We all came into camp with the mindset of just being ready to grind and that’s been our motto, ‘grind and grind hard,’ and that something’s going to come out of it.’’
MSU will also be breaking in a new starting tight end as well with junior Matt Sokol taking over the reigns for a very dependable and sometimes game-changing target in the graduated Josiah Price.
IN THE TRENCHES:
The offensive line - which will be anchored by senior center and captain Brian Allen, a Rimington and Outland Trophy watch list candidate - will also feature a new right tackle in redshirt freshman Luke Campbell and three others in left tackle Cole Chewins, right guard David Beedle and left guard Tyler Higby, who have all played prior to this season but who will be looked upon to provide much more of a tone-setting persona up front in the Spartans’ offense.
“We definitely have a responsibility because the teams goes as we go,’’ said Higby, a 6-5, 293-pound sophomore, who played in 10 games last season with six of those being starts. “So, if we set the tone early, go hard, go fast and know what we’re doing, I think it bodes well for the rest of the team.’’
BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE:
MSU’s revamped offense will be facing a Bowling Green defense that is looking to improve on last year’s numbers that had the Falcons 10th in the MAC, as they surrendered 464.2 yards a game to their opponents.
The Falcons’ second- and third- leading tacklers from last season were expected to lead the defense this year. But junior safety Jamari Bozeman is out with an upper leg in jury.
Bozeman collected 71 stops last season and added three picks and six pass breakups, earning third team All-MAC honors.
Junior linebacker Brandon Harris will need to pick up some slack.
Harris had 59 tackles last year, which included three for loss, and had two interceptions and one sack.
The Falcons will also be relying on the presence of senior defensive tackle Gus Schwieterman who led the team last season in tackles for loss with 12, which included five sacks.
BG also has a potent weapon in redshirt senior All-American punter Joseph Davidson, who will once again open the on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List
BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE
Offensively, the Falcons will be relying on sophomore QB James Morgan, senior running backs Josh Ceveland and Donovan Wilson and junior wideout Scott Miller.
Morgan, who started who started five games and played in all 12 games last season, threw for 2,082 yards, completing 183 of his 326 pass attempts for 16 TDs. He averaged 173.5 yards a game but also tossed 15 INTs
In the run game, Cleveland collected 649 yards on 101 carries with two TDs, while Wilson added 503 yards on 110 carries with five TDs. BGSU graduated a 1,000-yard rusher.
Miller was first team All-MAC performer at WR, hauling in 74 catches for 968 yards, while scoring 10 TDs.
“Mike Jinks is the head football coach there, comes from Texas Tech, so they're going to have an up-tempo type offense, throw the ball down the field,’’ Dantonio said. “Scott Miller, No. 21 is a go-to guy. They've got some other outstanding wide receivers, as well.’’
Stopping that attack, which rolled up 406.9 yards a game last season, becomes the responsibility of a Spartan defense that led by senior captain and linebacker Chris Frey, the Spartans’ leading tackler last season.
Frey totaled 96 stops last season, including four for loss and also had a forced fumble.
His efforts, as MSU looks to move to 3-0 all-time against BGSU, will be aided by junior ‘star’ linebacker Andrew Dowell, who returns as MSU’s fourth-leading tackler after tallying 67 stops, which included three for loss.
Dowell also had one sack, one interception, three pass breakups and six QB hits.
Additionally, junior safety Khari Willis, who totaled 30 tackles and two pass breakups last season and redshirt sophomore nose tackle Raequan Williams, who had 28 tackles, including five for loss, will also be expected to take their games to a higher level for a Spartan defense looking to improve on the 364.8 yards and 27.8 points a game the team surrendered last season.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
MSU: With a fairly new starting quarterback and three inexperienced wide receivers stepping into the spotlight, the Spartans’ passing game will be under scrutiny. Since Dantonio’s arrival 10 seasons ago, MSU has seemingly always been able to develop a go-to option in the passing game but many questions still need to be answered in terms of how ready this group is for primetime play. Also, to a man, the players have promised a new attitude and approach for the 2017 season. After a series of failed executions late in games last year, it will be interesting to see what kind of character this unit has developed in preparation of eradicating all vestiges of last season’s three win debacle.
BGSU: The Falcons, despite losing eight of their first nine games, closed strong in 2016 with three straight wins. So coming into fall camp, the battle cry had to be about how do they build on the momentum created last November with wins over Akron, Kent State and Buffalo. Opening their season against a respected Big Ten opponent will serve as a great measuring stick in terms of what the Falcons are going to be able to do to turn things around in 2017. While it’s only the first game, Bowling Green has a chance to establish what kind of the team they want to be and what kind of team they need to be in order to erase the memories of a 2016 team that surrendered 77 points twice in losses to Ohio State and Memphis
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