For the MSU football team, preseason practices have created some interesting battles for the season opener’s starting positions. Some of the headliners include the jockeying for the second wide receiver spot and backup tailback.
When the Spartans take the field Saturday against Eastern Michigan, don’t expect to see last year’s defense.Middle linebacker Josh Thornhill has moved on to the NFL, and the smash-mouth style MSU fans learned to love went with him.The task of replacing last season’s leading tackler goes to junior Mike Labinjo, who finished third on the team with 64 tackles last season.
With two-a-day workouts behind them and the season opener less than a week away, the MSU football team is ready to get on the field against another team. “I’m really excited,” junior wide receiver Ziehl Kavanaght said after a Wednesday scrimmage.
With the college football season upon us, one thing is certain - it’s never too early to start the Heisman Trophy watch.That simple law of gridiron madness is especially pertinent when your campus has one of the lucky few candidates roaming around.
Another season is upon us, and that means it’s time for another season of pigskin prognosticators.
It’s unanimous. A little more than a week after the MSU football team was ranked No.
The fall semester doesn’t begin until Aug. 26, but first-year players for the MSU football team already have plenty of homework.“That’s a pretty big playbook.
The MSU football team is ranked No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll released Thursday.
Chicago - Although record-breaking wide receivers - instead of smash-mouth running backs - are receiving most of the preseason hype, the media seems to think the conference will return to the “Big Two, Little Eight” days of the Big Ten. The league’s preseason poll, released at the 31st annual Big Ten Conference Kickoff Luncheon last week, tabbed Michigan and Ohio State to finish first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten football standings.
Chicago - One thing is becoming more clear as MSU’s Aug. 31 kickoff approaches - the Spartans are a fixture on everyone’s radar screen. At this weekend’s annual Big Ten football Kickoff Luncheon, media members picked MSU to finish third in the conference and named junior wide receiver Charles Rogers the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
Tickets for three of the Spartans’ eight home football games went on sale this morning. The games against Eastern Michigan on Aug.
Former MSU football players will be signing autographs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Meridian Mall, 1982 W.
With a four-game sweep of Penn State, the MSU baseball team solidified the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. “We played well.
The list of MSU football players that will be attending NFL training camps has grown to nine.Former tight end/defensive end Ivory McCoy said he will sign a free-agent contract today with the Philadelphia Eagles.
A day after not being picked in the 2002 NFL Draft, middle linebacker Josh Thornhill was given another chance.The third-team All-American and team MVP was invited to workout at the Detroit Lions mini-camp Thursday through Sunday at its Allen Park practice facility.
First-round draft pick T.J. Duckett was the guy in the spotlight this weekend, but four other Spartan players quietly fulfilled childhood dreams of their own. Tight end Chris Baker, wide receiver Herb Haygood, defensive tackle Josh Shaw and punter Craig Jarrett all had their names called in the 2002 NFL Draft, which took place Saturday and Sunday in New York. All four were Spartan seniors last fall - but being drafted is the official start of their professional football careers.
The NFL Draft can be the most exciting two days in a young college football player’s life. This weekend, five Spartans came one step closer to playing professional football. Five players from a team that finished 7-5 last season is a pretty good accomplishment, and showed just how much talent that team had. Last year the Spartans weren’t represented until the seventh round, when three players were selected. Cornerback Renaldo Hill went to the Arizona Cardinals, center Siitupe Peko went to the New York Jets and T.J.
Spartan receiver Charles Rogers will become part of an elite class of athletes when he is pictured in the October 2002 issue of Playboy Magazine. Rogers will not be baring all, he will join 25 others as members of the 2002 Preseason Playboy All-American team. Gil Brandt, an analyst for NFL.com said Thursday that Rogers would be part of the 2002 Playboy All-American team. “He’s a great player and can he return kicks,” Brandt said. Brandt has helped Gary Cole, photography director and sports editor of Playboy Magazine, select the team in the past. Last season, Rogers caught 67 passes for 1,470 yards in 12 games.
Lansing - While family, friends and reporters waited for T.J. Duckett to make a statement at Trippers on Saturday, his aunt June Smith asked, “Anyone like Georgia peaches?” A short time earlier, Duckett was with friends and family at the Frandor Shopping Center sports bar when the Atlanta Falcons notified him that he was their selection in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The MSU football team’s long snapper from last season signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins on Sunday night - five minutes after the conclusion of the NFL Draft. Tony Grant, 23, signed a two year deal in addition to a small signing bonus after not being picked up during the seven-round draft. The electrical engineering senior said he didn’t know if he would get drafted at all. “I don’t know any details, all I know is I’m a Redskin,” Grant said.