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Sports | Football

FOOTBALL

Maxwell suffers sprained knee, return unknown for spring practices

Jesse O'Brien
April 17, 2012

Before Tuesday’s spring football practice, head coach Mark Dantonio addressed the media and revealed that during Saturday’s scrimmage, junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell sprained his knee and may or may not return for the remaining spring practices. Dantonio said the sprain will not require surgery, but that redshirt freshman Connor Cook will take most of the reps with the first team offense and likely play for both sides in the scheduled April 28 spring game.

FOOTBALL

Walk-on Wideout

Jesse O'Brien
April 16, 2012

You don’t know John Jakubik. You might not notice the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Jakubik if you sat next to him on the bus, saw him at a party or even worked with him on a group project. But he’s getting noticed somewhere else. As a walk-on sophomore wide receiver, Jakubik quickly has made a name for himself within the MSU football coaching staff.

FOOTBALL

Dantonio pleased with players adjusting to position changes

Jesse O'Brien
April 13, 2012

Seven practices in, the MSU football team prepared for its first scrimmage of the spring football season, and there has been some movement at several different positions. Head coach Mark Dantonio spoke briefly about his decision to move junior Denzel Drone from defensive end to tight end and indicated the switch could be permanent.

FOOTBALL

Sims, receivers eager to step up, improve

Pat Evans
April 5, 2012

With the departure of leading wide receivers B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol, along with tight ends Brian Linthicum and Garrett Celek, the receiving corps for the MSU football team is wide open. And with junior tight end Dion Sims as the only player with more than 10 receptions, the chances for the rest of the receivers are even greater.

FOOTBALL

Departing football seniors pass responsibility to new leaders

Jesse O'Brien
April 4, 2012

The last time Anthony Rashad White took the field in a competitive atmosphere, he secured MSU’s first bowl win since 2001 with a blocked kick on the final play of a 33-30 victory over Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl. Three months later, the senior nose tackle is back on the field for MSU’s spring practices and working to fill the void left by the person who was lined up on White’s left during the play — defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, who elected to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL draft just a few days after the bowl game.

FOOTBALL

Treadwell adjusting well to new position, noticeably improving

Michelle Martinelli
April 1, 2012

Blake Treadwell knows both sides of the line better than most — probably because he’s played three positions in four years for the MSU football team. Starting his Spartan career at defensive tackle, the now-junior made the switch from a defensive lineman to an offensive lineman during spring football last year and started at center in MSU’s first three games in 2011.

FOOTBALL

Football student tickets go on sale April 7

Jesse O'Brien
April 1, 2012

MSU student season tickets for the 2012 football season will go on sale April 7 from the Spartan Ticket Office. The tickets are priced at $175 and include admission to each of MSU’s seven home games this fall and an official 2012 student section T-shirt priced at $10.

FOOTBALL

Maxwell determined to find identity; defense bench sees reps

Jesse O'Brien
March 28, 2012

There are a number of fresh faces among MSU football’s first-team offense, but none is more jarring than the one lining up behind sophomore center Travis Jackson. For the first time in about three years, Kirk Cousins won’t be leading the Spartans on offense — his graduation allowing for junior Andrew Maxwell to step in at quarterback. Just don’t call him “Kirk’s replacement.”

FOOTBALL

MSU prepares Worthy to advance to NFL

Dillon Davis
March 14, 2012

It surprised few when Jerel Worthy decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the 2012 NFL Draft. Sitting next to MSU head coach Mark Dantonio at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center in January, the first team All-American junior defensive tackle came to the decision to leave following MSU’s 33-30 triple overtime victory against Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl.

FOOTBALL

Cousins, Spartans impress Wednesday at MSU Pro Day

Jesse O'Brien
March 14, 2012

If there’s one thing about Kirk Cousins that stands out above all the rest, it’s the way he leads his team. So then it should come as no surprise that during MSU’s Pro Day at Duffy Daugherty Football Building on Wednesday, the former Spartan quarterback found a way to showcase his leadership before representatives from 32 NFL teams.

FOOTBALL

Single-ticket sales might be eliminated for football

Jesse O'Brien
March 12, 2012

As the success of the MSU football team grows, so does the number of fans who wish to be at every game. The Spartan Ticket Office has received a high volume of orders for season ticket packages for the upcoming home football season, to the point where Associate Athletics Director Paul Schager said MSU is expecting a record number of sales.

Rebecca Ryan ·
FOOTBALL

Spartans revere the life of Zeke II

Stephen Brooks and Rebecca Ryan
February 12, 2012

Football Saturdays at MSU are characterized by many iconic traditions, including Sparty, sounds from the “Michigan State Fight Song” filling the air and for much of the last decade, Zeke the Wonder Dog catching Frisbees at halftime. Zeke the Wonder Dog II, who performed at MSU football games from 2001 to 2007, died at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday from old age, said Zeke’s trainer Jim Foley. Jim and his wife, Terri Foley, rescued and trained the black labrador and pointer mix at their Holland, Mich., home. Zeke II was more than 16 years old when he died.

FOOTBALL

Column: MSU picks up solid defensive recruiting class

Michelle Martinelli
February 1, 2012

Considering his vast résumé filled with several defensive coordinator and defensive secondary coaching positions, it should come as no surprise that head coach Mark Dantonio developed one of the nation’s top defenses in 2011. As a three-year letterman defensive back in the late-1970s for South Carolina, it also should come as no surprise that the defensive-minded coach has a knack for finding talented defensive backs and developing them into a skilled secondary.