MSU head coach John L. Smith said the MSU team is going to be in the same situation it was last year.
"At least for another year until our depth gets better, we're going to have to stay healthy," Smith said Monday in Chicago at the Big Ten Media Day.
The problem for the Spartans last season was staying healthy, especially at the quarterback position, as both former Spartan Damon Dowdell and junior starter this season, Drew Stanton, missed time with injuries.
This season, Stanton is the only quarterback left with game experience, as redshirt freshman Brian Hoyer and freshman Domenic Natale have yet to take a snap in a college football game.
When asked about other coaches, players and media saying that MSU needs Stanton to stay healthy to win, Smith agreed.
"I've said the same thing, as long as (Stanton) is healthy, we have a chance," Smith said.
Smith said in an ideal world, he would have a quarterback for two years without playing them, so that the player could learn the system and adjust to being a college quarterback.
He said it puts a lot of pressure on the coaches to first decide who will be the backup and then a lot of pressure on Hoyer or Natale, whomever is chosen.
In the case of both Hoyer and Natale, neither has those two years yet, making it even more important for Stanton to stay healthy. However, Natale showed Smith something in spring football.
"I really like what I saw out of Natale," Smith said. "For a freshman kid that should have been at home graduating (from high school) here competing - he's a pretty cool, calm kid."
As for Stanton, he agreed with Smith that it's important for him to stay healthy. But he also added the injuries he's suffered were not because of anything crazy, like trying to run over a linebacker.
Stanton's not going to change the way he plays, he's just going to try and be a little smarter in certain situations.
"If I have an opportunity to run out of bounds after I get a first down, I'm going to do it," Stanton said Tuesday in Chicago.
Smith said he doesn't want to tell Stanton to stop running just because he suffered an injury on an option play last season against Michigan. He believes Stanton is in the best shape since he's been at MSU and has bulked up a little bit, saying he looks like a linebacker.
For Smith, regardless of what Stanton looks like, his competitive spirit is his best quality, and that's irreplaceable in the huddle.
"He has that aura about him, that when he steps in that huddle and faces those guys, they have confidence in him," Smith said. "They know he's going to take them down the field."
Big boys
The MSU starting defensive line, as listed in the MSU media guide, is senior defensive tackles Brandon McKinney and Domata Peko, senior defensive end Mike Bazemore and junior defensive end Clifton Ryan.
Total up the weight of the four players, 320, 320, 302 and 270 and MSU has one of the biggest defensive lines, if not the biggest in the Big Ten. The 303 pound average is 11 pounds heavier than last year's group.
Game 12
Following this season, MSU and every other team in Division-1 football will be required to schedule a 12th game.
For the 2006 season game, MSU scheduled a 12th game with Idaho. For the 2007 season, although Spartans already have Hawaii on the schedule as a 12th game, they added UAB (Alabama-Birmingham) to go along with nonconference games against Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.
Smith said, ultimately, when trying to find an extra team, it's best to play the game at home and have the opponent be a Midwestern team or one from the East coast.
