Cincinnati transfers make presence felt at MSU

Garrett Celek had large shoes to fill as a high school senior planning to attend Cincinnati for football.

Celek’s brother, Brent, had just graduated from Cincinnati as the best tight end in program history, setting all-time records in career receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end.

Coming out of Cincinnati’s La Salle High, the younger Celek had attended all of his brother’s home games at Nippert Stadium, where the Mark Dantonio-led Bearcats laid the groundwork for two bowl appearances in three years.

With name recognition and a brother in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Garrett Celek had decided to stay close to home and attend Cincinnati, switching from offensive tackle in high school to his brother’s position.

But when Dantonio and his coaching staff left Celek’s hometown for MSU, he and then-sophomore defensive end Trevor Anderson decided to join the newly hired Spartan staff up north.

“What I really found out was that I fell in love with the coaching staff, so I just followed them up here,” said Celek, a redshirt freshman at MSU.

“I never really got a chance to meet the new coaches at Cincinnati, but right away I knew these coaches were the best coaches I was ever going to meet and they’re really family-oriented. I just wanted to stay with them because I knew I would do great things with them.”

After sitting out the 2007 season, Celek and Anderson have started to make an impact on the field under the tutelage of the coaches whom both adored enough to transfer from Cincinnati.

In six games, Celek has seen playing time in run-blocking and pass-protection schemes, and has also notched four catches for 39 yards. After being hampered by a nagging leg injury, Anderson broke through last week with two and a half sacks against Iowa, giving him a team-leading five sacks for the season.

For Anderson, a Detroit native, the transfer was a return home after two stellar seasons at Cincinnati in which he compiled 10 sacks and 75 tackles.

After a half-season on the field and an additional year in the program, the amiable Anderson has come to appreciate MSU’s football tradition, which was relatively nonexistent at the lesser-known Cincinnati.

Following last week’s Homecoming game, Anderson said he was in awe of three former MSU players in attendance for the game — linebacker and two-time all-conference selection Josh Thornhill, All-American kicker Morten Andersen and Carl “Buck” Nystrom — an All-American offensive lineman in the 1950s.

“Just the whole atmosphere at Michigan State and how it was on Homecoming week, seeing Josh Thornhill and seeing ol’ Buck Nystrom up here and guys like that — that really makes you feel like you’re part of something special,” Anderson said.

Dantonio said the duo doesn’t get any special treatment from coaches but appreciates Anderson and Celek following his coaching staff.

“We just coach them up and try to develop relationships with all our players,” Dantonio said. “But that’s a nice compliment that they did that.”

Published on Thursday, October 9, 2008