To say the MSU football team had a rough time on the offensive side of the ball last year would be like saying the stork in those Warner Brothers cartoons had a little too much to drink when it delivered babies.

The Spartans ranked in the middle of the pack in both passing offense and rushing offense and they were 10th in the Big Ten in points scored in 2000, averaging an anemic 17.9 points per game.

However, all that offensive futility could change in 2001.

Tall and speedy wideouts, more experience at the quarterback position, the presence of Heisman Trophy candidate junior T.J. Duckett in the backfield and a solid tight end in senior Chris Baker could make three-and-out possessions a little less common this year.

Duckett said the improvement in the offense has already been noticeable during spring practice.

“Just running the seven-on-seven drills that we run in practice now, you can see a difference in how the defense approaches us,” he said. “It’s nice to see people out there throwing the ball up and making plays and quarterbacks making good calls. It’s just nice.”

Head coach Bobby Williams said the wide receivers - sophomore Charles Rogers, junior college transfer B.J. Lovett, returning sophomore Marcus Waters and returning senior Herb Haygood - will give his team a more balanced attack.

“I think probably the biggest difference in our offense this year is we’ve got some wideouts who can make some plays down the field,” Williams said. “We should have the ability to make some plays with the receivers we have.”

Rogers was one of the nation’s top recruits coming out of high school in 2000, but he had to sit out last year because he was academically ineligible.

“This year, we’ve got more depth at wide receivers where we can have that deep ball threat,” he said. “You’ve got guys like Marcus Waters, myself and B.J. Lovett (where) I feel we can concentrate and contribute.”

Rogers said with Duckett, Baker, and two solid quarterbacks, the Spartans’ offense this year could draw comparisons to a particular powerhouse offense in the NFL.

“I feel we can have that St. Louis (Rams) type offense where we have three wide receiver sets,” he said.

Duckett, who constantly was the focus of opposing defenses last year, said it will be a relief not to have to run against so many eight- and nine-man fronts this year.

“Now, hopefully we’ll soften them up a little bit, spread out the area and hopefully make more plays,” he said.

More points on the board by the offense will be sure to please a Spartan defense that ranked No. 1 in total defense in the conference last year.

Senior linebacker Josh Thornhill said he’s anxious to see what the Spartan offense has to offer this year.

“I’m excited to see what the offense is going to do and stuff like that and at the same time, they’re going to make us better,” he said. “I guess we get kind of lucky that way.”

Quarterback Update

Williams said both senior Ryan Van Dyke and sophomore Jeff Smoker have played well this spring and the possibility has increased that both will see action in 2001.

“If we had to play a game this weekend, we would go into that game with a two quarterback system,” he said. “Van Dyke has the experience and so does Smoker. Both of them are really throwing the ball very well - it’s an even race right now.”

Switch for McCoy?

Williams is also exploring the possibility of switching senior tight end Ivory McCoy to outside linebacker to be a pass rushing specialist.

“This is a little experimental,” he said. “We’re just looking at this for four practices.”