MSU junior quarterback Drew Stanton has spent a lot of time this spring watching, not playing.

But it is all part of the plan, and he knows it. And not only does he know it, he is using it to his advantage.

"It's a different aspect of sitting back there and learning," he said after Saturday's scrimmage. "I still get a handful of reps at the beginning and it forces me to be sharp - it forces me to be perfect, which puts a lot of expectation on me.

"I like that kind of pressure because I know I'm only going to get a certain number of snaps."

MSU head coach John L. Smith said the emphasis needs to be on the younger quarterbacks, and the repetitions and experience for them is what the team is keying on.

"Drew's kind of going to be Drew," Smith said. "Drew takes a couple series and if he's going to put us in the end zone on those two series, then we're going to get him out of there.

But that doesn't mean that Stanton hasn't noticed how much he's been playing.

"I had one series and one play," he said of his involvement in Saturday's scrimmage. "That's kind of been how it's going the whole spring ball. It's just something the coaches decided."

Stanton - who was named the team's 2004 Most Valuable Player - also used his spare time at the scrimmage to give some pointers to the newer, younger quarterbacks.

"I just kind of threw some comments in there, try to help them out," said Stanton, who accounted for 2,288 total yards and 14 touchdowns last year. "You know, the little things that you want to do to be successful out there. You have to know how much is enough."

Stanton was 5-of-8 passing for 126 yards and one touchdown, an 11-yard strike to sophomore tight end Ryan Woods.

"It's gotten to that point where it's kind of slowed down for me," he said. "It allows me to relax more and play to my capabilities better."

Stanton also connected with senior wide receiver Matt Trannon for a 30-yard completion during the scrimmage.

"I was excited to get out there," Stanton said. "With this offense, we know what we're capable of and that's going out there and doing it."

Almost half of his passing yards were accounted for on a shovel pass to senior wide receiver Kyle Brown, who took the ball and scampered 55 yards downfield.

But Stanton will take whatever yardage he can get, no matter the effort he put in.

"That was 100 percent a pass play," Stanton said.