Although there were a few butterflies in his stomach, it was nothing compared to what he felt coming into Spartan Stadium as a true freshman.

“I kind of saw myself come out in the spring game,” Dell said of when he first thought he played up to his potential at MSU.

“I was a little nervous, but I felt weird because I wasn’t as nervous as I was coming in as a freshman and I went out there and felt really comfortable and I knew last year helped me out a lot.”

Last season, Dell started eight times while appearing in each of MSU’s 13 games. He had 20 receptions for 220 yards and two touchdowns while playing third-fiddle to wide receiver Devin Thomas and tight end Kellen Davis — both of whom now play in the NFL.

With Thomas and Davis out of the picture, Dell and redshirt freshman B.J. Cunningham have become the go-to receivers in MSU’s offense.

Both of their talents were exposed in the season opener against California.

Cunningham was impressive early, but Dell was in the spotlight the rest of the game, catching nine passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.

Although Dell’s numbers jumped off the stat sheet, both Hoyer and head coach Mark Dantonio said they were happy with all of MSU’s receivers.

“Mark (Dell) had a great game, obviously, but if you look at B.J., he had some clutch catches out there,” Hoyer said.