Sophomore defensive end Reggie Graham, left, completes a drill with freshman offensive tackle J’Michael Deane during practice March 25 at Duffy Daugherty Football Building.
Just because it’s spring doesn’t mean the MSU football team isn’t head to toe in pads, duking it out for starting positions in the fall.
“We’ve gone live every practice and we will continue to do that,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “They’re getting tested and they’ve seen a lot of different pressures and a lot of different things and a lot of different coverage concepts. It’s as game-like as we can make it — coaches off the field and everything else. They get that type of experience daily.”
At Tuesday’s practice, junior fullback Andrew Hawken said the most progress and the most intensity during the spring both occur during team scrimmages — offense versus defense.
The loser is shunned into the white practice jerseys for the weeks’ worth of practices. And Hawken, despite the tears and helmet marks, was wrapped in peerless white around his shoulder pads.
“We started out in the green and we had a mini-scrimmage on (Saturday) and I think we lost 16-15, but we’ll try and win it back in the next scrimmage,” he said. “You always want to wear the green and we’ll be shooting to get the greens back.”
And with a year of the Dantonio system under much of the team’s belt, the Green and White can only continue to improve.
“We know every play they give us,” senior safety Otis Wiley said. “Last year we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know where to run — it was chaos. Now we know, we have one year under our belt. We’re wise in that area.”
Running with Ringer
Senior running back Javon Ringer isn’t letting his preseason shoulder injury hold him back from being a leader.
Ringer, who ran for 1,447 yards last season, is taking his downtime seriously, assisting those around him so they’re ready to fly down the field with him when he returns — such as redshirt freshmen tailbacks Andre Anderson, Ashton Leggett and junior tailback A.J. Jimmerson.
“When I have one guy I’m coaching, (Ringer has) got the other guy over there explaining the same thing to him,” running backs coach Dan Enos said. “It’s been really neat to see him do that. He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around. It’s very, very hard on him. It’s been great as a coach to sit back and watch him function, because he’s really taken pride and taken young guys under his wing.”
And the backup running back spot is nowhere near being decided — with a whole slab of talent grinding it out for the coaches, following each rule precisely.
“We’re very particular about the backs running 40 yards down the field after every play to help with their conditioning and teach them how to finish,” Enos said. “When the other guys are jogging back, the next guy is running the play. They’re getting an equal amount of reps.
“I think he’s really trying to take on more of a leadership role this year. I think this is one of the ways he’s asserting himself is by trying to mold those young tailbacks.”
Flag me
Pass interference calls aren’t as life-or-death as some cornerbacks and safeties may be accustomed to.
At least not for the Spartans.
“We’re always talking about being physical,” secondary coach Harlon Barnett said. “They’re physical, they understand what we want out of them. We’d rather have a pass interference than a touchdown, let’s put it that way.”
It’s nothing new. The MSU football team is known to rack up its fair share of yellow cloth in the past few seasons — tallying 629 yards last season, 87 more than their opponents.
But by no means is Dantonio promoting flags on defense, as his staff has committed this organization to limit penalty yards.
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“If you ever feel like you’re in the case that this is going to be six points if I don’t do something, then we say ‘Hey, do what you gotta do to allow us to line up and play again (on the next play),’” Barnett said.
