Here’s a few big takeaways from Saturday’s preseason camp opening scrimmage.

Offense, passing attack catching fire

It was the offense that stood out for most of the spring, winning the majority of the team’s jersey scrimmages and the unit started off on the right foot again this fall.

The offense was led by a strong passing attack from all three quarterbacks, with the receivers making big plays as well. All three quarterbacks combined for six passing touchdowns, with returning starting quarterback junior Connor Cook going 16-of-24 for 214 yards and one touchdown. The offense saw a number of big plays from a variety of receivers, with multiple guys going for more than 100 yards of receiving on Saturday.

While Dantonio wasn’t ready to say the offense has exceeded the defense, he did say he was impressed with the unit on Saturday, especially the passing attack.

“The quarterbacks played extremely well, really all three of them,” Dantonio said. “The offensive line protected the quarterback really well. … Our quarterbacks threw the ball very, very well and our receivers made some tough catches on them and you saw the result of that.”

O-Line vs. D-Line

One of the biggest question marks for the 2014 Spartans is the line — both the offensive and defensive.

Both units are replacing multiple starters, making it an area Dantonio was focused on watching during the opening scrimmage. When comparing the two, he said the defense is farther along than the offense thus far.

“The defense is a little bit ahead of the offense maybe in terms of run defense but there were different things happening from pass standpoint,” Dantonio said. “We are very solid on the offensive line. Mechanics of what we do, concepts, techniques are very solid. I think we have depth at the offensive line position.”

Sophomore Kodi Kieler, junior Miguel Machado and freshman Brian Allen were all mentioned by Dantonio as guys on the offensive line who are playing well with the two’s and could see time in the starting rotation.

On the other side of the ball, freshman lineman Malik McDowell, Enoch Smith Jr. and David Beedle are contending for starting spots with the upperclassman. Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi is confident that the D-Line will come together nicely, but said the coaches need to start narrowing down who will play to get them more reps in practice.

“Inside we just got to as coaches narrow it down as quickly as we can,” Narduzzi said. “... You try not to make a mistake as a coach saying ‘he’s out, he can’t do it’ because he didn’t have enough reps or he’s too young (and) he’s still learning. So we got to be careful as coaches, but we are trying to narrow it down to get more reps in there, but we’re going to be solid inside.”

Arnett turning heads

After a solid spring, junior wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett is again earning attention from his peers and coaches so far this fall, with a stellar performance on Saturday.

Arnett led all receivers with eight receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and according to Cook had a 40-plus yard reception brought back due to a penalty.

“He had big plays on Saturday, played very consistently, caught the ball consistently, made tough catches and he’s got great speed,” Dantonio said. “He played as well as he’s played so again here the thing has to be who’s going to be consistent in the wide receiver area. Got some guys back, but he’s in the picture, there’s no question, especially after the scrimmage, he’s definitely in the picture and he’s one of those six.”

Arnett mostly saw action with the second team, but said he got some reps with Cook and the rest of the starters as well.

One of the factors that could be a leading reason for Arnett’s early success is his heavier weight. He said his playing weight is up nearly 20 pounds from the beginning of last year to 190 pounds, giving him the advantage to be more aggressive and able to get off the press more freely.

“Just allows me to be a lot more aggressive then I was in the past,” Arnett said. “Usually in the past I just used my quickness to get wherever I want to on the field now when I see press situations, you know as our defense we run press all the time, I can pretty much do whatever I want at the line if I want to be physical with a DB.”

Arnett didn’t comment on whether he was getting any reps with the starters during Monday’s practice, but did say “if Coach D says I’m in a good spot, then I’m in a good spot,” on the competition at wide receiver.