Trends, Schemes & Analysis: True freshmen and kickoff coverage
Jim Comparoni | Publisher
EAST LANSING - Michigan State has already played 10 players from its 24-man recruiting class and Mark Dantonio said during his weekly press conference on Monday that an 11th, defensive back Dominique Long, is likely to play soon, too.
During Saturday’s 28-14 victory over Western Michigan, the Spartans activated true freshman Connor Heyward. He was inserted into the kickoff coverage unit in the second half, after the Spartans had trouble with Broncos return specialist Dairus Phillips in the first half.
“(We) took the red-shirt off Connor Heyward, who I think will be an outstanding player for us,” Dantonio said. “You'll see him showing up in other special teams in other areas, as we”
**
My take on the Heyward news:
One:“Outstanding” is a strong word. Dantonio uses it kind of loosely. But they wouldn't play Heyward if they didn't think he could help. And they need help.
I’ll be interested to see what other areas Heyward plays. He began camp as a running back, but he also saw work on defense in the second half of camp. Michigan State is set with good running back depth right now, so I wonder if we might see him at linebacker. I didn’t happen to notice during pregame on Saturday whether he repped on the defensive side of the ball. I will look into that.
Two: As for using Heyward on special teams, Michigan State has put different emphasis on kick coverage this year. It didn’t show against Western Michigan’s Phillips, who had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 52-yarder in the first half.
**
MSU is 2-0 and playing excellent defense. So let's focus on areas of concern - namely the kickoff team.
**
Breaking It Down:
Michigan State has used more starters and defensive regulars on kickoff coverage this year than in the past several years, returning to a mode of operation Dantonio used regularly earlier in his career.
Starting tight end Matt Sokol made a resounding hit on kickoff coverage in the opener against Bowling Green. Gerald Holmes was also noticeable in kick coverage.
Other starters on kickoff coverage include safeties Khari Willis and Matt Morrissey. Regulars include linebacker Shane Jones, linebacker Anjuan Simmons and cornerback Josiah Scott.
Reserves who played on kickoff coverage included TJ Harrell, Byron Bullough and Sean Harrington. Grayson Miller was on kickoff coverage early in the game, Saturday.
However, some of the starters and regulars weren’t great on kickoff coverage against Western Michigan.
On the 52-yarder, Holmes and Harrington lost their collisions with Western Michigan’s two best tight ends. That caused them to lose a step or two of leverage on the ball.
Meanwhile, Morrissey stepped out of his lane a bit.
The combination of those three breaks in coverage integrity gave Phillips some daylight.
As for the kickoff, Phillips made his first cut at 15 yards, which isn’t bad for the kick team. The low kick wasn’t terrible in that regard.
The coverage broke down due to losing collisions to playing-group tight ends from the other team. As the saying goes, they have guys on scholarship too.
Here’s The Thing: Michigan State is using some starters on kickoff coverage. The Spartans want to play some of their best on that unit. They aren't trotting guys like Heyward out there just to get them in the stat sheet and fulfill recruiting promises. Michigan State needs execution.
Heyward was NOT on the field for the 52-yarder in the second quarter. The decision to remove his redshirt and get him on the field was an attempt to improve team performance in the kicking game and deal with the Phillips crisis.
Dantonio said last Thursday that the Spartans spent extra time on coverage units in preparation for Western Michigan's Phillips. That might not have shown up on Saturday in terms of MSU’s problems in that area. But during the week, Heyward demonstrated that he deserved consideration. And when it became probable that he could handle the business better than some who were on the field, the decision was made to activate him.
**
As a side note, it would be ideal if MSU just had someone who could knock it in the end zone every time and put less pressure on the kick coverage team.
Kickoff specialist Brett Scanlon has posted only two touchbacks on 11 kickoffs.
Scanlon transferred to Michigan State from Western Michigan with the reputation of being a boomer on kickoffs. But we haven’t seen evidence of that.
"He's been pretty good," Dantonio said of Scanlon. "He kicked one a little flat this past week, which we can't have, but I think he's solid. He's a team guy. He's got toughness and I think he's a big competitor."
That competitiveness was shown, unfortunately for the Spartans, during a couple of crisis moments on Saturday. Scanlon gave Phillips a pretty good, hearty chase during Phillips' 52-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. Scanlon didn't end up getting the tackle on that play but rerouted Phillips a bit in allowing Willis a chance to have an angle on him at the sideline.
Of course, MSU would rather have had a deeper kick from Scanlon on that play.
**
As for the kickoff that was returned for a touchdown, first of all Michigan State lined up on MSU’s left side of the field, but Scanlon sent a directional kick to the right corner of the field.
That wasn’t an error. Michigan State lined up and kicked it the other way for the opening kickoff, which went three yards deep for a touchback.
I’m not an expert on kick coverage strategies, but perhaps Michigan State was trying to keep WMU guessing on where to put Phillips, and where the blocking angles would originate.
As a result, MSU’s kick coverage players had an extra yard or two to run in order to get to Phillips on this play. That didn’t help.
**
From there, WMU’s blocking scheme and execution were superb. Phillips has five career kickoff returns for touchdowns, and part of the reason is due to his terrific talent. But upon further review, the WMU kickoff return concepts are excellent in theory and terrific in execution.
For the TD return, WMU essentially put a trap play on Harrington. He came forward unopposed for a few yards, but then was horizontal trap blocked, kicking him out to the right.
Harrington was the fourth man from the sideline in coverage.
David Dowell, who wasn’t on the field for the long return in the first half, was the third man from the sideline.
WMU second-string linebacker Blake Spears sought out Dowell, won the collision, stayed on Dowell, put him on skates, and sled-blocked him all the way out to the sideline.
With the No. 3 man (Dowell) erased to the left sideline, and the No. 4 man (Harrington) trap blocked to the right, that left a crease in the coverage lanes. That’s why Scanlon ended up in the unenviable and unplanned task of trying to fill a vacated lane, and that’s why Scanlon became demolised by WMU blocker DeShawn Foster.
Meanwhile, Willis and Heyward were sealed outward, too.
That’s a 5-0 victory for WMU blockers vs Michigan State coverage men, plus a nifty, well-timed scheme and a tarzan of a return man. That’s a TKO.
Could the safety TJ Harrell have arrived a step earlier at a better angle? I’m not sure.
Basically, WMU players had more fight and fire in their blocks than Michigan State players had in trying to defeat the blocks.
**
So what’s next? More work needs to be done, obviously, and the right personnel needs to be pinpointed.
Notre Dame is on tap in two weeks, and Notre Dame defeated Michigan State in 2011 with a kickoff return for a touchdown by George Atkinson serving as a turning point in the game, giving ND a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter.
Last year, Northwestern delivered one of the negative turning points of the season when the Wildcats returned a kickoff for a TD against the Spartans, just when it looked like Michigan State was staging a spirited comeback.
If the situation doesn’t get resolved, the kickoff situation could cost the Spartans a victory at some point this season.
As for Scanlon, Dantonio said: “So you know, going to have opportunities, like I said. You know, here comes the 10-game season now. So he'll have opportunities as we go but he's done a nice job.”
As for the translation of that comment, we aren’t sure what “going to have opportunities” means.
Does that mean there are going to be opportunities for others, including true freshman Cole Hahn, to beat out Scanlon and win the job?
Opportunities for Scanlon to improve and prove himself?
Opportunities to see whether Scanlon is the best man for the job?
We aren’t sure. And I’m not going to speculate that Hahn is better than Scanlon. I don’t subscribe to the unknown-is-undefeated theory. If Hahn were better, he would be playing.
The ironic thing is that Michigan State gave Hahn a scholarship long after signing day for the purpose of competing for the kickoff job. This was after Scanlon was mediocre in the spring game.
Hahn was seen making a clutch field goal to end practice during August camp. But, until further notice, Scanlon is the man on kickoff duties, and Michigan State will continue to work on its coverage units.
And that’s where the Dominique Long news comes into play. If too many DB-types are failing to win collisions on kickoff coverage, or losing lane integrity … next man up.
Long is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound true freshman safety from Westerville, Ohio.
“I just think he does too many things on special teams,” Dantonio said. “He's a good tackler. I think we can get him involved.”
And with it, one wonders if the decision to play starters on kickoff coverage in this day and age of uptempo offenses and the potential for 90 defensive snaps a game is as sound an idea as it was 10 years ago. Michigan State is taking that into consideration too, with this move.
I suspect we’re going to see Long on kickoff coverage and one of the defensive regulars on the bench for a breather.
“It's a long season and you get guys nicked up and they can't practice and then you end up practicing this guy or that guy, and I think he's a good football player and I think he'll play,” Dantonio said. “I thought he might have played this past week but we held him out. But I do anticipate him playing.”
Jim Comparoni | Publisher
EAST LANSING - Michigan State has already played 10 players from its 24-man recruiting class and Mark Dantonio said during his weekly press conference on Monday that an 11th, defensive back Dominique Long, is likely to play soon, too.
During Saturday’s 28-14 victory over Western Michigan, the Spartans activated true freshman Connor Heyward. He was inserted into the kickoff coverage unit in the second half, after the Spartans had trouble with Broncos return specialist Dairus Phillips in the first half.
“(We) took the red-shirt off Connor Heyward, who I think will be an outstanding player for us,” Dantonio said. “You'll see him showing up in other special teams in other areas, as we”
**
My take on the Heyward news:
One:“Outstanding” is a strong word. Dantonio uses it kind of loosely. But they wouldn't play Heyward if they didn't think he could help. And they need help.
I’ll be interested to see what other areas Heyward plays. He began camp as a running back, but he also saw work on defense in the second half of camp. Michigan State is set with good running back depth right now, so I wonder if we might see him at linebacker. I didn’t happen to notice during pregame on Saturday whether he repped on the defensive side of the ball. I will look into that.
Two: As for using Heyward on special teams, Michigan State has put different emphasis on kick coverage this year. It didn’t show against Western Michigan’s Phillips, who had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 52-yarder in the first half.
**
MSU is 2-0 and playing excellent defense. So let's focus on areas of concern - namely the kickoff team.
**
Breaking It Down:
Michigan State has used more starters and defensive regulars on kickoff coverage this year than in the past several years, returning to a mode of operation Dantonio used regularly earlier in his career.
Starting tight end Matt Sokol made a resounding hit on kickoff coverage in the opener against Bowling Green. Gerald Holmes was also noticeable in kick coverage.
Other starters on kickoff coverage include safeties Khari Willis and Matt Morrissey. Regulars include linebacker Shane Jones, linebacker Anjuan Simmons and cornerback Josiah Scott.
Reserves who played on kickoff coverage included TJ Harrell, Byron Bullough and Sean Harrington. Grayson Miller was on kickoff coverage early in the game, Saturday.
However, some of the starters and regulars weren’t great on kickoff coverage against Western Michigan.
On the 52-yarder, Holmes and Harrington lost their collisions with Western Michigan’s two best tight ends. That caused them to lose a step or two of leverage on the ball.
Meanwhile, Morrissey stepped out of his lane a bit.
The combination of those three breaks in coverage integrity gave Phillips some daylight.
As for the kickoff, Phillips made his first cut at 15 yards, which isn’t bad for the kick team. The low kick wasn’t terrible in that regard.
The coverage broke down due to losing collisions to playing-group tight ends from the other team. As the saying goes, they have guys on scholarship too.
Here’s The Thing: Michigan State is using some starters on kickoff coverage. The Spartans want to play some of their best on that unit. They aren't trotting guys like Heyward out there just to get them in the stat sheet and fulfill recruiting promises. Michigan State needs execution.
Heyward was NOT on the field for the 52-yarder in the second quarter. The decision to remove his redshirt and get him on the field was an attempt to improve team performance in the kicking game and deal with the Phillips crisis.
Dantonio said last Thursday that the Spartans spent extra time on coverage units in preparation for Western Michigan's Phillips. That might not have shown up on Saturday in terms of MSU’s problems in that area. But during the week, Heyward demonstrated that he deserved consideration. And when it became probable that he could handle the business better than some who were on the field, the decision was made to activate him.
**
As a side note, it would be ideal if MSU just had someone who could knock it in the end zone every time and put less pressure on the kick coverage team.
Kickoff specialist Brett Scanlon has posted only two touchbacks on 11 kickoffs.
Scanlon transferred to Michigan State from Western Michigan with the reputation of being a boomer on kickoffs. But we haven’t seen evidence of that.
"He's been pretty good," Dantonio said of Scanlon. "He kicked one a little flat this past week, which we can't have, but I think he's solid. He's a team guy. He's got toughness and I think he's a big competitor."
That competitiveness was shown, unfortunately for the Spartans, during a couple of crisis moments on Saturday. Scanlon gave Phillips a pretty good, hearty chase during Phillips' 52-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. Scanlon didn't end up getting the tackle on that play but rerouted Phillips a bit in allowing Willis a chance to have an angle on him at the sideline.
Of course, MSU would rather have had a deeper kick from Scanlon on that play.
**
As for the kickoff that was returned for a touchdown, first of all Michigan State lined up on MSU’s left side of the field, but Scanlon sent a directional kick to the right corner of the field.
That wasn’t an error. Michigan State lined up and kicked it the other way for the opening kickoff, which went three yards deep for a touchback.
I’m not an expert on kick coverage strategies, but perhaps Michigan State was trying to keep WMU guessing on where to put Phillips, and where the blocking angles would originate.
As a result, MSU’s kick coverage players had an extra yard or two to run in order to get to Phillips on this play. That didn’t help.
**
From there, WMU’s blocking scheme and execution were superb. Phillips has five career kickoff returns for touchdowns, and part of the reason is due to his terrific talent. But upon further review, the WMU kickoff return concepts are excellent in theory and terrific in execution.
For the TD return, WMU essentially put a trap play on Harrington. He came forward unopposed for a few yards, but then was horizontal trap blocked, kicking him out to the right.
Harrington was the fourth man from the sideline in coverage.
David Dowell, who wasn’t on the field for the long return in the first half, was the third man from the sideline.
WMU second-string linebacker Blake Spears sought out Dowell, won the collision, stayed on Dowell, put him on skates, and sled-blocked him all the way out to the sideline.
With the No. 3 man (Dowell) erased to the left sideline, and the No. 4 man (Harrington) trap blocked to the right, that left a crease in the coverage lanes. That’s why Scanlon ended up in the unenviable and unplanned task of trying to fill a vacated lane, and that’s why Scanlon became demolised by WMU blocker DeShawn Foster.
Meanwhile, Willis and Heyward were sealed outward, too.
That’s a 5-0 victory for WMU blockers vs Michigan State coverage men, plus a nifty, well-timed scheme and a tarzan of a return man. That’s a TKO.
Could the safety TJ Harrell have arrived a step earlier at a better angle? I’m not sure.
Basically, WMU players had more fight and fire in their blocks than Michigan State players had in trying to defeat the blocks.
**
So what’s next? More work needs to be done, obviously, and the right personnel needs to be pinpointed.
Notre Dame is on tap in two weeks, and Notre Dame defeated Michigan State in 2011 with a kickoff return for a touchdown by George Atkinson serving as a turning point in the game, giving ND a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter.
Last year, Northwestern delivered one of the negative turning points of the season when the Wildcats returned a kickoff for a TD against the Spartans, just when it looked like Michigan State was staging a spirited comeback.
If the situation doesn’t get resolved, the kickoff situation could cost the Spartans a victory at some point this season.
As for Scanlon, Dantonio said: “So you know, going to have opportunities, like I said. You know, here comes the 10-game season now. So he'll have opportunities as we go but he's done a nice job.”
As for the translation of that comment, we aren’t sure what “going to have opportunities” means.
Does that mean there are going to be opportunities for others, including true freshman Cole Hahn, to beat out Scanlon and win the job?
Opportunities for Scanlon to improve and prove himself?
Opportunities to see whether Scanlon is the best man for the job?
We aren’t sure. And I’m not going to speculate that Hahn is better than Scanlon. I don’t subscribe to the unknown-is-undefeated theory. If Hahn were better, he would be playing.
The ironic thing is that Michigan State gave Hahn a scholarship long after signing day for the purpose of competing for the kickoff job. This was after Scanlon was mediocre in the spring game.
Hahn was seen making a clutch field goal to end practice during August camp. But, until further notice, Scanlon is the man on kickoff duties, and Michigan State will continue to work on its coverage units.
And that’s where the Dominique Long news comes into play. If too many DB-types are failing to win collisions on kickoff coverage, or losing lane integrity … next man up.
Long is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound true freshman safety from Westerville, Ohio.
“I just think he does too many things on special teams,” Dantonio said. “He's a good tackler. I think we can get him involved.”
And with it, one wonders if the decision to play starters on kickoff coverage in this day and age of uptempo offenses and the potential for 90 defensive snaps a game is as sound an idea as it was 10 years ago. Michigan State is taking that into consideration too, with this move.
I suspect we’re going to see Long on kickoff coverage and one of the defensive regulars on the bench for a breather.
“It's a long season and you get guys nicked up and they can't practice and then you end up practicing this guy or that guy, and I think he's a good football player and I think he'll play,” Dantonio said. “I thought he might have played this past week but we held him out. But I do anticipate him playing.”
