Junior place-kicker Dave Rayner is enjoying a career season. His point total for kicks is top in the Big Ten, and his foot has put the Spartans' special teams on the national stage.
Too soon to think about a replacement? Think again.
Gerry McGroarty, a senior place-kicker for Bishop Hoban High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is the next foot on the Spartans' recruitment radar, among others. Though he is yet to give a school an oral commitment, McGroarty's recent celebrity might be the result of one storied kick.
On Sept. 27, McGroarty booted a 64-yard field goal that local media outlets estimated to clear the cross bar by 7 to 10 feet. MSU and a bevy of other schools took notice.
"I think since he kicked the long field goal," said Gerry's father, Gerry McGroarty Sr., "just about all of them call every week."
McGroarty said his son is considering the Spartans along with Notre Dame, Buffalo, Connecticut, Rutgers and Northwestern. Also a three-time All-State swimmer, McGroarty Sr. said his son hasn't decided which sport to pursue, despite having "the strongest leg in the nation."
"Obviously, MSU is an excellent kicking school," McGroarty Sr. said. "I think he's going to look at what's best for the team and for the possibility of the level after that. I mean, he has kickoffs 80 yards in the air."
McGroarty averaged 42.5 yards on punts this season and 76.5 yards on each kickoff. His father said he expects his son to take an official visit to East Lansing after the season, and that an oral commitment to any school would come in early December at best.
Two high school seniors who have given their oral commitment to MSU are running back Leon Pennington from Hallandale, Fla., and safety Ron Stoops from Youngstown, Ohio.
Pennington, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound bruiser, could be the prototypical workhorse rusher the Spartans are accustomed to having. Stoops, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound athlete, most likely would be best suited in the secondary.
