Dell and junior wide receiver Devin Thomas will be filling the void left by the departure of MSU’s top three receivers from last season.

Needless to say, expectations are high for the new starters this season, and Dell has already wowed some of his teammates on the practice field.

“His speed and the way he moves out there and gets open – it’s something cool to watch,” senior linebacker Kaleb Thornhill said.

Junior Deon Curry was listed as the preseason starter, but Dantonio said Dell had an “outstanding summer camp.”

Dell also will be returning punts for the Spartans this year, he said.

Despite ranking as one of the top receivers in his recruiting class, Dell said he didn’t necessarily expect to start this soon.

“It was just a blessing. I’m just really excited,” he said. “I’m just trying to take it in stride and just going to play every down as hard as I can.”

Dell started the offseason by taking reps with the second string, but as summer progressed, he began running plays with the first team.

The speed of college football has proved to be the most challenging hurdle in Dell’s transition from high school, he said.

“In high school, some of the corners … you could have them beat,” said Dell, who is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. “But here, everybody is just as good as you are and just as fast, and it’s kind of hard to separate as well.”

Veteran receivers, such as Curry and Thomas, played a major role in helping Dell learn the offense, he said.

Junior quarterback Brian Hoyer, Dell and Thomas have played together little other than on the practice field, but Hoyer said he is not concerned with their chemistry.

“We are where we need to be right now,” he said.

While Dell is not making any bold predictions for himself, Thornhill thinks he will have a “huge impact,” but it may not come right away.

“The first few weeks, I think he’s going to get in there quite a bit and show what he’s got,” he said.

“But we’ll see how he progresses in game-like situations.”