Bates burst onto the scene in 2007 as a true freshman, earning honorable mention Freshman All-America honors from Sporting News. He’s continued to be a valuable part of the special teams unit this season, knocking two punts inside the Eastern Michigan 5-yard line last week.

Dantonio: “I don’t know if you guys notice how he punts that ball when he wants to pooch it, but that ball is going to hang up there and bounce back. He’s been great all spring and all fall camp and he’s only a sophomore, so it’s exciting.”

Kirk Cousins

redshirt freshman quarterback
6-foot-3, 197 pounds

Cousins saw his first game action last week against Eastern Michigan, but unless senior quarterback Brian Hoyer goes down with an injury, Cousins likely won’t see much more than mop-up duty the rest of the season. Still, Cousins has to prepare like he’s the starting quarterback every week because while he’s in the shadows now, it only takes one hit to thrust him into the spotlight.

Cousins (on seeing his first action): “It was a monkey off my back. It was a weight off my shoulders. It just felt really good, and it was a relief.”

Andrew Hawken

junior fullback
6-foot-2, 238 pounds

The fullback position wasn’t utilized in former MSU head coach John L. Smith’s spread offense. In Dantonio’s run-first scheme, the position is a vital part of the system. While Hawken is slotted No. 1 on the depth chart, Dantonio said Hawken, fifth-year senior Jeff McPherson and junior Josh Rouse are all important to his team.

Dantonio: “All those guys don’t get the pub that they should, but they are very important to what we do on offense and are very good, tough players for us on special teams as well.”

Alex Shackleton

sophomore long snapper
6-foot-2, 242 pounds

The third-year walk-on from Breckenridge, Colo., has earned his keep, playing in all 13 games during the 2007 season as the long snapper. He’s continued to hold down that position through the first two games this season. With most of the opposing team usually right across from him, Shackleton has to get the ball back to Bates for punts and Cousins, who holds for place kicker Brett Swenson, quickly and cleanly.

Dantonio: “Our snapper has been very good for the past year, he’s been excellent.”

Brett Swenson

junior kicker
5-foot-8, 169 pounds

Swenson has been MSU’s field goal kicker since 2006, his freshman year. His first season, he was named a first-team Freshman All-American by various magazines. He’s continued to build on the promise he showed as a freshman, as he already ranks in MSU’s top 10 for extra points and field goals.

Swenson: “Since I’ve been out here, I’ve gotten a good amount of press for being a kicker. It seems like here kicking is really important to the school overall and that’s kind of why I wanted to come here in the first place — was because of the tradition of the great kickers.”