It felt like a fall afternoon. Temperatures teetered between the mid-40s and 50 degrees, aggressive winds reached gusts of 28 mph and Michigan State football fans filled campus once again.

MSU's Spring Showcase was the first taste of the Pat Fitzgerald era as he prepares for his first season as head coach in East Lansing. As he stood at the podium overlooking the media, he made it clear that the countdown to what matters most has already begun.

"We start [summer] camp in 110 days. We'll be back in Spartan Stadium to take on the opener in 141 days, and we go down the road to take on Michigan in 203 days," Fitzgerald said.

Defense Impressed

Everything from spring games should be taken with a grain of salt — at the end of the day, it's just another practice for the players and staff, one they happen to get to do in front of fans. But the defense stood out.

The Spartan offense scored just one touchdown the entire showcase: a 67-yard run from redshirt junior running back Kenneth Williams, a transfer from Nebraska. Outside of that, drives stalled after crossing midfield or were simply three-and-outs.

The front seven stepped up repeatedly in short-yardage situations, denying the offense on plays where just one or two yards stood between them and a first down.

The secondary left their mark as well, picking off passes on back-to-back plays. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic's deep shot down the sideline was hauled in by redshirt senior cornerback NiJhay Burt, then sixth-year quarterback Cam Fancher lofted one across the field that redshirt senior Aveon Grose snagged.

Redshirt sophomore cornerback Tyran Chappell, a transfer from Houston Christian, introduced himself to Spartan fans as well, despite not walking away with an interception. Throughout the showcase, he was constantly making plays on the ball and made receivers' jobs difficult whenever they were matched up against him.