Trick plays make way into MSU's playbook

During Mark Dantonio’s three seasons at the helm of MSU football, successful trick plays in crucial situations have almost become a hallmark of the program.

Against Iowa last week, Dantonio pulled a new trick out of his hat as the Spartans executed a perfect hook-and-lateral for 38 yards.

Two plays later, MSU scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes to play. Had the Spartans held on to win, it likely would’ve gone down as one of the most memorable plays in program history.

Instead, it will go down as another in a long line of successful trick plays for MSU under Dantonio.

“Timing is very crucial when you run a trick play,” Dantonio said. “You’ve got to have the right set, the setup pass has to be right and, obviously, the time has to be right as much as anything. Then you have to have a little good fortune, in terms of what they have called defensively on as opposed to what you are doing, and then you have to have good execution, and it has to be done confidently.”

Saturday hardly was the first time Dantonio and his staff have pulled a cat out of the bag.

Sophomore receiver Keshawn Martin is a regular on reverses for MSU and also is 3-for-4 career passing for 89 yards and a touchdown, a 30-yard toss to senior receiver Blair White earlier this season.

In 2007, the Spartans were in a do-or-die situation for the final two games of the season. At 5-5, MSU needed wins against Purdue and Penn State to convincingly seal a bowl berth. Against Purdue, Dantonio used both a fake field goal and a fake punt.

Against Penn State, Jehuu Caulcrick ran 17 yards for a first down on a fake punt. Several plays later, Caulcrick scored the go-ahead touchdown as the Spartans came back from a 24-7 deficit to secure their spot in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins said the team believes in trick plays because of the success the Spartans have had with them.

“Sometimes trick plays, it depends on how much you can believe in their success but when you’ve had success in the past with them it makes you want to keep running them and gives you confidence that the next one’s going to work,” he said.

Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said the team picks a “few out of the cupboard” each week to install in the game plan.

“They are things that you work on throughout the year and, come certain games, you say, ‘Hey, maybe plugging this one in might be a little more effective for this particular game,’ and then sometimes it’s just a gut thing when you call them,” Treadwell said.

“Sometimes we’ve had some oiled up that we didn’t call.”

But what was amazing about Saturday’s hook-and-lateral is that it never worked in practice, sophomore tight end Brian Linthicum said. Linthicum was on the receiving end of Cousins’ pass and made the lateral to White. Linthicum said MSU’s ability to run successful trick plays keeps opposing defenses on their toes.

“When they watch the film, they see 90 percent of the time we’re going to try and take it down their throats,” he said.

But when the call comes in for a trick play, Cousins said nothing changes too much for the team, but it brings an opportunity to shift a game’s momentum.

“Players understand that this can be a pivotal play,” he said.

“Or we have a great opportunity to have a game-changing moment right here, but at the same time, we practice it so much that it really has become a part of our routine so we don’t really get surprised by it.”