Junior Mark Dell had one of the best receiving games in school history in last year’s opener against California (nine catches for 202 yards), but was nagged by injuries the rest of the season and never regained form.

But with the entire corps returning this season that includes walk-on-turned-captain Blair White and some highly touted additions, sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins will have plenty of targets to throw to.

“We have a lot of weapons,” Cousins said. “We’ve just got to find a way to get those guys the football and then let them do their thing.”

Blair will be expected to lead the group, along with Dell — provided he stays healthy. As of Tuesday, Dantonio was unsure Dell would play due to an injury to his shoulder.

White, a former walk-on, broke out in the second half last season and became former quarterback Brian Hoyer’s favorite target.

His performances against Michigan and Wisconsin (143 and 164 yards receiving, respectively) helped propel the Spartans to key victories. Against the Badgers, he had key catches on the final drive to set up senior kicker Brett Swenson’s game-winning field goal.

White said the receivers have learned to focus on catching the ball before thinking about what to do afterward, which he said led to many dropped passes.

“We’ve definitely gotten better in that area. I was talking to the guys yesterday that I think it’s all concentration,” White said. “When you go out there and you drop a ball, maybe you’re thinking what to do after the catch. They just need to focus on the ball and the catch and that’s first and foremost. If we can get our guys concentrating on that, we’ll be fine.”

When the Spartans made it into the red zone last year, tight ends were frequent targets for Hoyer. This season, junior Charlie Gantt will return as the quarterbacks’ first look. Gantt recently was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List, which honors the top tight end in the nation at the end of the season.

“I’m humbled by it,” Gantt said, “but it makes me want to work harder.”

With an injury to sophomore Garrett Celek, two new players will back up Gantt.

Sophomore Brian Linthicum, a transfer from Clemson, is listed at No. 2 on the depth chart.

Freshman Dion Sims, who also will play basketball when the football season is over, is listed at No. 3.

“They both are doing a phenomenal job, making a lot of plays, catching everything and impressing the coaches and us quarterbacks,” Cousins said.

Sims’ strength at this point in his young career is his athleticism, which will make it difficult for opposing defenses to cover him.

“His athletic ability is limitless,” Gantt said. “He’s got a lot of potential. He plays basketball and he’s got all the talent in the world. He’s going to be special.”

With all the offensive weapons, the Spartans could line up in multiple-tight end sets and still pass the ball more.

“That has been a strength of ours at times,” offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said.

“If anything, that should add to the versatility we have as an offense, therefore we can put ourselves in positions to take advantage of some things with the personnel that we have and that’s always the goal.”