Dantonio also said the mid-camp struggles are especially noticeable in the players new to the team. And after impressing the coaches through the beginning of camp, the freshman and other young players now have hit a “plateau.”

“They got to get their feet back under them and push through,” Dantonio said. “You’re getting to the point where almost your entire offense and your entire defense are installed, and your younger players are swimming.”

Injuries

Like many schools throughout the country, the Spartans have been bit by the injury bug. However, Dantonio said he is happy that there haven’t been too many injuries for his team.

Freshman offensive tackle Henry Conway is one of the players dinged up with a neck injury that Dantonio said will sideline him until the middle or end of September.

Unfortunately for MSU, sophomore offensive guard Zach Heuter and freshman safety Kurtis Drummond weren’t as lucky, sustaining injuries that likely will end their seasons. Both players sustained shoulder injuries requiring surgery to be repaired.

Dantiono said it’s bad break for Heuter, who had been playing well, but he still has time to make a comeback as a Spartan.

“He’ll be back,” Dantonio said of Heuter. “He’s had a great offseason, and he’s a great athlete for a big guy. He still has years to play for us.”

Battling kickers

Just as Dantonio said it would last spring and at the beginning of the preseason, the competition at kicker has continued throughout camp.

Both kickers — sophomore Dan Conroy and freshman Kevin Muma — have done well kicking off and kicking field goals, Dantonio said, but have struggled in pressure situations, such as the ones they were presented with in the team’s first scrimmage Monday.

“Our kickers have performed well,” Dantonio said. “But when they get called in, in the middle of a scrimmage they have to deliver, and they didn’t Monday”

Dantonio said freshman Mike Sadler also has been working with the kickers but came to MSU primarily as a punter and is behind Conroy and Muma in the kicking game.

Up in the air

Almost two weeks into camp, Dantonio said positions on the offensive line still are up for grabs, especially at right guard and right tackle. At tackle, senior J’Michael Deane and junior Jared McGaha are competing for the starting job, while junior Antonio Jeremiah’s return to practice after not passing the conditioning test at the beginning of camp has made things interesting at right guard, where sophomore Chris McDonald currently is the starter.

Full strength
Junior receiver Keith Nichol was able to fully participate in pratice Tuesday for the first time all preseason due to a slight injury. And now that Nichol is back, Dantonio said he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.

“He started out slow because he had a hamstring problem the week before,” Dantonio said. (Tuesday) was the first day he really came back live. He caught about seven passes in team situations so he looked really sharp.”

Appreciating the support

Drawing an estimated 3,000 fans, Tuesday’s “Meet the Spartans” event in downtown East Lansing gave MSU fans a chance to receive autographs, take pictures and talk to their favorite players.

For the Spartans, Dantonio said it showed his players how big of a deal MSU football is for people in the area. Dantonio said the team stayed until 8 p.m., even though the event was scheduled to end at 7 p.m.

“I talked to our players just how important it is for them to understand how important they are to our community and how many people look at them and watch everything they do,” Dantonio said. “It was great that we could put a smile on people’s faces.”

New setting

For the first time since 1944, the MSU football team will play a football game in downtown Detroit, when it takes on FAU on Sept. 11 at Ford Field.

Thursday, the Spartans will practice at Ford Field, which Dantonio said will be good for his team for a couple of reasons.

“I think it gives us a chance to go down there and catch the ball in the stadium, field punts, field kicks, kick in the stadium and do some of those things,” Dantonio said. “I think our players need just a little bit of a change of scenery, too, so that’s good.”