Redshirt freshman defensive end Lawrence Thomas carries the ball as Notre Dame’s safety Jamoris Slaughter goes after him on Sept. 15 at Spartan Stadium.
Meeting with the media Wednesday afternoon, offensive coordinator Dan Roushar revealed replacing injured junior tight end Dion Sims would be a little more difficult than initially expected.
The depth chart has three listed possible starters at tight end for Saturday’s game against Iowa — redshirt freshman Paul Lang, sophomore Andrew Gleichert or junior Derek Hoebing.
However, Gleichert — who was awarded a scholarship before the first game of the season — has been playing with a broken wrist and will play the rest of the season with a cast.
“We’ve got concern with his ability to be a point-of-attack blocker,” Roushar said. “(We) feel like he needs to do a better job, and he’s working on it — he’s just not there when we’ve got to go. And with the loss of Dion, we’ve got to look for something a little stronger at the point of attack.”
Ironically, Sims, the man Gleichert’s replacing, was forced to play with a club-like cast on his wrist for spring practices after he broke his own.
There has been some speculation the Spartans could move converted redshirt freshman fullback Lawrence Thomas to tight end, but Roushar revealed Thomas has been limited in practice since he suffered a mild concussion against Indiana — his second this fall.
“If you make that kind of move, you have to practice in there,” Roushar said. “We talked a lot about it, (and) he’s had some reps there in the last couple of weeks, so it may become a real possibility as we go (along).”
Thomas said after practice on Tuesday, he hadn’t been asked to step in at tight end yet but would be ready if that’s what’s asked of him.
“Right now, I’m doing anything possible to help the team get wins,” he said.
Move it like Bennie
Junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell got to play a bit of ‘told you so’ with the media on Tuesday after he predicted junior receiver Bennie Fowler would step up after losing his starting job.
Fowler bounced back in a big way against Indiana, catching four passes for 57 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
“I told you that was Bennie’s character — I told you he wasn’t going to take it lying down,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell’s defense of Fowler shouldn’t be surprising, as the two have worked on developing a chemistry since they both came to MSU four years ago.
Still, when Fowler was asked about his chemistry with Maxwell and heard his quarterback was there for him, he couldn’t help but smile.
“We have a great relationship,” he said. “Maxwell and I are great friends, we watch film together, we hang out off the field together, I’m always going to have his back and he’s always going to have mine.”
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