Despite having a rich history at the wide receiver position with guys such as Gene Washington, Andre Rison, Plaxico Burress and Charles Rogers, the team didn’t fare well with the loss of B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol along with transitioning to then-junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell. The unit struggled with drops and inconsistency for much of the year, clinging to the standout performance of then-freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge.

With Burbridge returning, MSU wide receivers coach Terence Samuel said he expects the sophomore wideout to be an asset to the unit for the 2013 season, especially for senior wide receiver Bennie Fowler.

“(For) every Batman, you’ve got to have a Robin,” Samuel said on Wednesday, discussing Burbridge and Fowler. “When you’re playing on offense, it’s good to have two wide receivers, two solid wide receivers. When we had BJ and Keshawn and Keith Nichol, we had three solid ones.

“The more you get guys that demand the respect of the defense, the easier it is to get the run game going, the easier it is to take advantage of the favorable matchups.”

Moving into a new season, the unit is looking to take another step in the right direction, which will be possible given the amount of depth and competition going on in the midst of August’s practices, Samuel said.

Junior wide receiver Keith Mumphery led the team with 42 receptions in 2012, with Fowler second with 41 and a team-leading four touchdown receptions. Burbridge was sixth with 29 receptions but finished in a tie for second on the team with two touchdown catches.

This season, the team returns four of their top six targets from a year ago — with the exception being tight end Dion Sims (36 receptions) and running back Le’veon Bell (32 receptions), who left MSU to pursue NFL opportunities with the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively. The depth of this year’s wide receivers spans the roster with playmakers such as juniors Tony Lippett and DeAnthony Arnett, sophomore Macgarrett Kings Jr. and redshirt freshman Monty Madaris.

As a leader of the unit, Fowler said he’s trying to take lessons learned from his teammates of the past to impart upon the younger players on this year’s team.

“I see myself as a leader,” Fowler said. “I don’t know if the guys look up to me like that but I learn just like they’re learning. I learned from B.J., Keshawn, Mark Dell, Blair White.

“I learned from those guys (and) there’s a tremendous amount of respect for them. Maybe they’re learning from me like that.”

And the lessons aren’t lost on the younger corps of the team’s receivers, Kings said.

“I looked up to Bennie last year,” Kings said. “I still look up to him. He’s a good leader and his work ethic. He’s been here awhile and he knows the tricks and the trades of everything so I pretty much look to Bennie if I need any advice on coverage or if we’re watching film together.”

Guiding the group into a fresh campaign, Samuel said the team has learned a lot from the letdowns of a season ago. And, for Samuel, these types of lessons have shown up in the form of fresh attitude among his players in the first few weeks of fall practice.

“It’s swagger, yeah,” Samuel said. “We’re realists (so) we understand the situation. We put things on our chest as far as demands and wanting to see the team do well and if we have an opportunity to make a play, we want to make a play. These guys, they’re sensitive to it and they want to make a play.

“The way they’ve approached it has been very positive and I think they’ve responded in typical Spartan fashion so I’m happy with that.”