It’s the first time in Dantonio’s defensive-minded tenure the offense won the first scrimmage. And it’s hardly a fluke.
The MSU offense is further along than the defense at the beginning of spring football for a change.
This is largely a circumstance of preservation, as the Spartan offense that caught fire last November graduated just one key perimeter player — wide receiver Bennie Fowler.
The rest of last year’s wide receiving corps — senior Tony Lippett, junior Macgarrett Kings, junior Aaron Burbridge and senior Keith Mumphrey — will return for the 2014 season, in addition to lead senior running back Jeremy Langford.
Junior quarterback Connor Cook, who emerged as a starter in week three against Youngstown State last season, said developing an identity off the bat was a factor in the relationships he built with Lippett, Kings and Mumphrey, something that might have lacked in the past.
Each receiver played the role of Cook’s go-to target over the course of the year, which ended in a Rose Bowl victory.
“Guys kinda just stepped up here and there,” Cook said. “If you have an identity as a tough team, like we’ve always established here at Michigan State, you should be (a good offense).”
The chemistry that Cook built with his receivers was a result of constant communication, Lippett said.
“We just always talked to him, that’s one thing that we didn’t really always do with some previous quarterbacks,” Lippett said. “We talk to him outside of just the football field. We talk to him in the locker room, just to see what they think, just to see what their mindset is and where they want us to be and things of that nature.”
Junior wideout DeAnthony Arnett is a name that consistently is brought up when listing players who have stood out in spring practice.
Arnett, a Saginaw, Mich., native who transferred from Tennessee following his freshman year to be closer to his ill father, fell down the depth chart last spring and is looking to prove himself after a highly-touted high school career as a four-star recruit at Saginaw High.
“He’s been more aggressive this spring, aggressive with attacking the ball,” Lippett said of Arnett, who took a redshirt year in 2013. “He has a heavy chip on his shoulder, so he wants to come out and prove to himself that he can play in this game.”
His quarterback sees a driven receiver who wants to get on the playing field.
“You just see a hungry guy (in Arnett), a guy you want to throw the ball to,” Cook said. “He’s playing mistake-free football, he’s going out there and having fun.”
