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Receiving corps showing signs of improvement, confidence heading into Minnesota matchup

November 23, 2012
	<p>Sophomore wide receiver Keith Mumphery, No. 25, runs with the ball before being stopped by Northwestern defensive back Ibraheim Campbell. Next to Mumphery is offensive guard Blake Treadwell, No. 64, and freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. The Spartans fell to the Wildcats, 23-20, Nov. 17, 2012, at Spartan Stadium during senior day. Justin Wan/The State News</p>

Sophomore wide receiver Keith Mumphery, No. 25, runs with the ball before being stopped by Northwestern defensive back Ibraheim Campbell. Next to Mumphery is offensive guard Blake Treadwell, No. 64, and freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. The Spartans fell to the Wildcats, 23-20, Nov. 17, 2012, at Spartan Stadium during senior day. Justin Wan/The State News

Photo by Justin Wan | The State News

Although the MSU football team (5-6 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) approaches Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5, 2-5) with its back against the wall, wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel is proud of the improvements made by his position group.

During the course of the season, the young receiving corps has improved markedly as junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell has been able to spread the ball around effectively to several different receivers, something Samuel attributes to his players’ willingness to learn and become better over the season.

“They work together, they talk amongst themselves, and sometimes I’ve gotta tell them to be quiet when I’m talking in the meeting because they’re still talking and they’re trying to get a feel of techniques and the coverage and things of that nature,” Samuel said of the receivers. “And I love that of this group. That they really try to figure out and understand our offensive scheme versus what we’re going against every week.”

Samuel added in MSU’s current offense, the wide receivers are being asked to compete and know things at the level of an NFL player, something that can be difficult for 18-year old players coming out of high school to grasp.

“You’re learning how to break your route off, you’re going to have sight adjustments — everything that an NFL wide receiver would have to do — we’re asking these guys to do right now, so when you come from a high school offense that isn’t that complicated, it takes a little bit of time,” he said. “So you have to give them some time to make their mistakes in games and not penalize them for it.”

According to Samuel, true freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge has made the most strides this season, especially in learning the offense and becoming a more versatile player, something junior wide out Bennie Fowler also acknowledged.

He said it’s Burbridge’s ability to quickly learn the offense which can be attributed for the first-year player’s frequent reps during games.

Fowler added it’s mostly the timing of the offense that the receivers had to get down over the season, something he feels has been accomplished, and it’s translating on the field.

“It’s better timing,” he said. “We always knew the offense but we got better in sync with Maxwell and, in these last few games, Maxwell hit me early on and he’s hitting (sophomore wide receiver Tony Lippett) and we’ve got three or four receivers with over 30 catches so everybody’s getting the ball, and everybody’s getting experience.”

Hit me with your best shot
Head coach Mark Dantonio indicated during his weekly press conference MSU might need to “change with the times” in preparation for the 2013 campaign — and that change may come at the expense of Maxwell.

Dantonio said he’s looking at maybe introducing Maxwell to the Spartan defense a little earlier than usual — having the quarterback get hit in spring practice rather than protecting him.

“That’s one aspect of our game that doesn’t happen until we play games in the fall,” he said. “I think that’s something where things begin to break down around you, and you have to create.”

Maxwell said he wouldn’t be averse to the idea of taking some more blows earlier in the season, and agreed with Dantonio’s assessment that it could prepare him better earlier on.

“One of the things that I had to get adjusted to this year was having that internal clock in my head,” he said. “Whereas in the springtime you had it where you’re about to get hit, they tag off on you. You don’t get a true sense of standing in there and making those quick decisions before you get hit.”

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