“I still feel like I’m a leader of this team — I don’t think anything’s going to change that,” Dell said. “I’m a veteran and I have to coach the young guys up… It was great to be back out there.”

Dell brought in four catches for 133 yards and made several outstanding moves in his first game after missing the bowl game.

Dell started the game with a 58-yard reception that set up an 18-yard score by Cunningham to put the Green team ahead 7-0.

On Cunningham’s score, he received the pass short of the goal-line, but made a big lunge to get in.

Dell made a reception of 44 yards that set up a field goal in the third quarter, then followed it up with a 27-yard reception from junior quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter as he once again broke free from coverage.

Cunningham had one additional catch for 20 yards to finish with two catches for 38 yards.

Not to be outdone, Martin and Nichol finished with 152 yards and nine combined catches to lead the White team.

“I thought Mark and BJ and (junior wide receiver) Brad Sonntag and (sophomore tight end) Dion Sims showed how talented they are,” Cousins said. “We’re a team that wants to run the ball first and then play-action pass, but when we do choose to pass, we have some options.”

Early enrollees

Head coach Mark Dantonio said all spring he’s been impressed with the four freshmen who decided to enroll early, and they stood out Saturday.

All four saw a lot of playing time as running backs Nick Hill and Le’Veon Bell took all but two of the carries for the Green team and combined for 72 yards.

Hill had a strong 31-yard run in the first half that was negated when he lost a fumble at the end of the play, but he came back scored a three-yard touchdown later and finished with five carries for a team-leading 51 yards.

Bell had seven tough, inside runs for 20 yards, and quarterback Joe Boisture was an impressive 3-for-3 for 36 yards passing.

Linebacker Max Bullough also was in the middle of a couple defensive plays.

“I felt pretty comfortable out there today,” Bullough said. “I can’t even tell you how much more comfortable I feel every day.”

Jeremiah
Junior offensive guard Antonio Jeremiah doesn’t appear to be competing for carries this season, but he lined up at fullback and had a six-yard run Saturday.

That’s a long way to go for a 360-pounder, but Jeremiah made the most of his opportunity.

“Antonio is a great athlete and huge human being so hopefully that helps his confidence a lot,” said special teams coach Mike Tressel, who coached the Green team Saturday. “The bottom line is the spring game’s supposed to be fun, and that was fun.”