“It feels great,” he said. “We go with those two no-pad days, and those were terrible, so it feels great to get the pads back on.”

Although it’s early in the spring season — with the spring game not until April 28 — the coaching staff said it’s been impressed with the first week of practice, seeing potential for development in several areas.

But because it is so early, head coach Mark Dantonio stressed that no one has guaranteed himself a starting position and expects the Spartans to constantly fight through the spring and into the summer for their position’s highest spot on MSU’s depth chart.

“We can’t be complacent,” Dantonio said. “We can’t stand on what we’ve done before.”

One place where the coaching staff has been impressed with the position competition is at quarterback. Although it seems like a given that junior Andrew Maxwell would step up and replace Kirk Cousins, redshirt freshman Connor Cook is giving him a run for his money.

Offensive coordinator Dan Roushar said compared to Cousins, Maxwell has a little more athleticism in that he’s “able to extend plays and move around,” and Maxwell has wasted no time in showing off his strengths this spring.

“(Friday), he took off, and he scrambled for a few yards, and that was encouraging to see,” Roushar said. “He can do that, and I think he’s got that dynamic, but he’s got that mindset as well.”

But just as Maxwell was impressing, Cook made a few plays of his own. Encouraging the competition with Maxwell, Roushar said with Cook’s 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, he’s fast and agile with an accurate arm.

Roushar also noted that although Cook is strong and has shown he can take charge of the offense, his decision making needs improvement, but that will come with more experience.

“That guy’s going to push; he’s going to compete for that job (before the season starts) — I can see that,” Roushar said. “We’re counting on him to develop and continue to go and keep pushing, and that’s a good thing.”

Equal opportunity
Going hand in hand with encouraging battles for a starting position, Dantonio said for positions with depth and talent — particularly at running back — every player has the chance to prove he’s worthy of the start.

Junior Le’Veon Bell is returning as MSU’s top running back — after averaging 67.7 yards per game and 5.2 yards per attempt in 2011 — senior Larry Caper and sophomores Nick Hill and Jeremy Langford are not behind him.

“The point I want to make is every year, we’ve had a different tailback sort of take that lead role — whether it’s been Larry Caper in ’09, Edwin (Baker) in ’10 and Le’Veon in ’11,” Dantonio said.

“And I want to make sure all of our tailbacks know that they have an equal opportunity here, and if they’re going to get the ball, then they’ve got to come out here and prove themselves.”

Among the three running backs Dantonio cited, a pattern has been established in MSU’s last couple years with the second-string running back emerging at the starter midway through the season.

Baker replaced Caper, and last season, Bell replaced Baker. Roushar said he doesn’t know if MSU’s history will repeat itself, but he’ll continue to give the ball to whoever’s hot.

Despite gaining most of his 2011 experience on kick returns, Hill continues to impress the coaching staff. At 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, Hill utilizes his size to his advantage, and Roushar said he’s anxious to see the running backs’ competition develop.

“Nick’s a tough guy for those guys to see on defense,” Roushar said. “He’s down underneath people, and all of a sudden, he pops out on you.

“We’ve got four (running backs). We’ve got to find out who’s going to be established (No.) 1, then who becomes two and who becomes three and who becomes four.”