Experience, depth and competition are the main ingredients of the MSU football team's situation at the wide receiver position this spring.
With that in mind, the Spartans' springtime situation should leave head coach John L. Smith with few worries come fall. There will be a number of wideouts available to make a play in Smith's ever-constant football-slinging offense, especially a group of experienced junior pass catchers in Matt Trannon, Agim Shabaj and Kyle Brown.
"We're looking nice," Brown said. "We got the experience. Everybody out there has been a starter except the young guys and the redshirts. You know we got the depth and we especially got the talent."
The junior trio returns 1,432 yards of offense and eight touchdowns among them, and their production should rise with more experience at the position.
"I think our receivers are doing a better job without a doubt, particularly in catching the football," Smith said. "We still have to become better technicians, better blockers and better route runners. But I think we're a lot further than we were a year ago in catching the football."
But the 2004 season will not solely hinge on Trannon, Shabaj or Brown. Of the three, Shabaj was the most productive last season, leading the team with 57 catches for 692 yards, while tying for a team-high five touchdowns with junior runner Jaren Hayes. That stated, Smith also will depend on one of Jeff Smoker's favorite targets last season, junior Aaron Alexander, who has been sidelined during spring ball with a foot injury. Alexander, although listed as a junior, has more experience than Trannon, Shabaj and Brown due to a redshirt freshman season when the 6-foot-5 athlete added depth at quarterback.
In the Spartans' recent history, big, fast receivers have been customary in East Lansing. Just look to MSU standout receivers Plaxico Burress and Charles Rogers. During the Burress and Rogers eras, both players were used for their big-play potential just as was anticipated of Trannon when he committed to the Green and White. But an off year due to academic troubles and a less-than-special season last year seemingly have made Trannon a far cry from the Spartans' big receivers of the past. But when the Spartans returned from the AlamoBowl last winter, Trannon traded in his pads for a go with the MSU men's basketball team, a move Smith said has improved his 6-foot-6 wideout's play already.
"He's coming; he's getting better," Smith said. "I think his attitude coming back after basketball is real good, and I think without a doubt he's catching the ball better than he had done all last year.
"I think, more than anything, it helped him mentally this last year because I'm sure he came out of football thinking, 'Boy, I didn't contribute like I would like.' Then he ends up going to basketball and probably contributed more than he thought he would over there."
All and all, the Spartans return five receivers this season, including sophomore Jerramy Scott, who added 19 catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns in his try as a running back-turned-receiver last season. With five returnees, Smith still has a solid receiving corps to choose from, but despite the returning production, nothing is safe and the Spartans still are holding open auditions for those willing to catch passes.
Listed No. 2 on the spring depth chart behind Trannon, redshirt freshman Terry Love is one such hopeful to see playing time next season. Love, although younger than his comrades, has been willing to stick his nose in the heat of the battle to earn some playing time. Love said he's been confident in his play thus far, and that his focus rests on impressing his casting directors.
"There is always competition," Love said. "I don't know if it's fierce or anything. Personally, I want to get out on the field. Right now I'm trying to impress my position coach and coach Smith as much as possible, so I'm just doing what I can to get playing time right now."
Other receivers looking for their chance include redshirt freshmen Jamar Jones and Irving Campbell. This summer, a new group of freshmen will step into training camp looking for their shots, too. The added depth gives the Spartans a chance to reload receiver talent at any time, and those stepping in will have been schooled by the experience before them, continuing success in Smith's offense and also providing remedy for a potential injury bug.
"The young guys are going to look at us for support," Brown said. "We just got to show them the ropes, like me, Matt (Trannon) and Agim's (Shabaj) first year. We had B.J. (Lovett), Chuck (Rogers) and Ziehl (Kavanaght), who were showing us the ropes. So when we did get thrown out there in the battles during the games, we knew what to do.
"We got to the same thing for our young guys - get them on our backs and show them the ropes."
