Although MSU was not challenged by a weak Indiana team, it did accomplish one of its goals for this week.
With Agim Shabaj nursing a shoulder injury and Ziehl Kavanaght out with an injured kneecap, the Spartans gave many of their secondary options, including Matt Trannon, Jason Randall, Aaron Alexander and Kyle Brown, a chance to make big plays in the Spartans' 31-3 win over Indiana (1-5 overall, 0-2 Big Ten).
The major surprise was the involvement of Trannon, a sophomore, in the team's offense. Trannon came to MSU (5-1, 2-0) as a nationally ranked football and basketball recruit but did not qualify academically last season.
Early this season he struggled, dropping passes and cutting routes short. But Saturday, Trannon seemed to enter his comfort zone, catching six passes for 82 yards. The most spectacular of those was an off-target Jeff Smoker pass that Trannon managed to tip into the air and catch on the rebound for a first down.
"It released me a little to do what I want," Trannon said. "I was too uptight. I was trying to make stuff happen that wasn't there."
The unanimous feeling amongst Trannon's teammates and coach was that this was the first of many big games for the 6-foot-6, 228-pounder from Flint.
"We as coaches and the fans have looked at this and expected so much so soon," head coach John L. Smith said. "You've got to understand that the kid is a freshman. He's been away from football for a year. It's going to take him awhile."
But Smoker hopes that Trannon will be ready to play well now. He'll need the added option when the team enters the toughest portion of its schedule, which includes four away games in its final six contests, with trips to Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin coming up.
"First of all, you've got to remember that he's been here awhile, but he hasn't played that much," Smoker said. "He hasn't got much time on the field, so I think you'll see him continue to steadily improve each week. He needs to get his confidence going and I think today will help. Give him a couple of catches and get him to know that he can play at this level."
The receiving corps is full of talented athletes, but until Saturday, they had not all played well together. While many expect Trannon to walk on to the basketball team this season, Alexander already tried the option once, seeing limited time during the 2001-02 season. Either way, they may be the two best athletes on the Spartans' team, but this is the first season as a MSU receiver for both.
Alexander, who switched to wide receiver from quarterback during the offseason, caught five passes for 38 yards, while Kyle Brown, considered the fastest receiver on the team, made four catches for 56 yards.
"They were giving us all the routes that we had hot routes on," Shabaj said. "He just looked for the open receiver and he just kept making the big throws. It was nice to see everyone catch the ball and it was great to see Aaron catch those balls because he's a great receiver."
For the second consecutive week, a tight end was the first Spartans player to score a touchdown. Last week, it was Eric Knott, who claimed to be the best tight end in the Big Ten after the game. But this week, it was the unassuming junior Jason Randall, who not only started the game for MSU but also caught Smoker's first touchdown pass from 12 yards out.
The Muskegon native had four catches for 47 yards.
"That kid works his tail off; he does everything we want on special teams," Smith said. "He ended up starting today and probably will continue. He's playing good and we play who's playing the best. You have to prove yourself daily."
Knott finished the game with three catches for 26 yards.
The Spartans' main receiving option this season has been Shabaj, the 5-10 slot receiver who's known for catching short passes and turning them into long gains. But with the Farmington native playing injured, he caught only two passes for 28 yards.
"We've got enough receivers that it's tough to stop us," Brown said. "I made some great catches, Matt made some good catches and Aaron made some. When Agim got banged up, it made room for Jerramy Scott and he made some good catches."
