Even with only three seniors leading the top 22 players of the MSU football team’s defense, head coach Mark Dantonio isn’t worried about how the lack of experience and leadership will affect the team.
Condolences go out to MSU football coach Mark Dantonio and his family as they mourn the death of Justin Dantonio, Mark’s father, who died Sunday at the age of 86.
Since the first day of training camp, Nick Hill has stood out as a redshirt freshman running back and has become a popular topic among the players and coaching staff.
When head coach Mark Dantonio watched the MSU football team’s first jersey scrimmage of preseason camp on August 13, he thought the team’s overall conditioning and energy level needed to improve. When he saw the Spartans scrimmage for the second time Sunday, he saw those improvements on both sides of the field.
Offensive line coach Mark Staten said Monday that redshirt freshman Travis Jackson has played most of the repetitions as the No. 1 center. Not far behind, however, is junior Blake Treadwell, followed by fellow junior Ethan Ruhland and sophomore Nate Klatt.
The MSU football team will hold its ninth annual Meet The Spartans event from 5-7 p.m. today in downtown East Lansing.
Now into the second week of preseason camp, the MSU football team had transitioned from practicing in shorts to wearing pads and having two-a-day practices leading up to the first preseason jersey scrimmage on Saturday. After the first week of camp and having analyzed the scrimmage, head coach Mark Dantonio recognized MSU’s successes — seen in senior quarterback Kirk Cousins’ performance and the progression of the youthful offensive line — but said the team not only needs to be more consistent in its game-situation performance, but also in the effort it puts forth. A notable area of inconsistency was with the players’ conditioning, particularly with the defense, which started off the scrimmage playing very well but cooled off as time went on. “When your conditioning goes, emotionally you go, as well — that’s what I saw,” Dantonio said.
With the first week of preseason camp under its belt, the MSU football team played its first jersey scrimmage Saturday at the team’s practice facilities just east of the Duffy Daugherty Football Building.
Standing tall at 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 310 pounds, junior defensive tackle Jerel Worthy is a powerful weapon to help anchor the MSU football team’s defense.
The popular Pure Michigan campaign advertisements will come to Spartan Stadium on Sept. 2 for the football season opener, partnering MSU with the state’s tourism efforts.
MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio doesn’t want his team’s confidence to become a problem this season.
Although the team has the added support of junior running backs Edwin Baker and Larry Caper and sophomore running back Le’Veon Bell, MSU is going to miss the blocking reinforcements from former tight end Charlie Gantt. And heading into the season, the youthful offensive line remains one of the team’s biggest question marks.
With the passing of legendary MSU and NFL star Charles “Bubba” Smith, Spartan Nation has lost a deity, a Hollywood icon and a friend. Smith was found dead by a caretaker Wednesday in his Los Angeles home.
Former MSU and NFL star Charles “Bubba” Smith was found dead Wednesday in his Los Angeles home, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times and the LA County Coroner’s Office.
By the end of the 2011 Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Kirk Cousins established himself as a star.
Former Spartan and NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets Sunday worth $3.017 million.
On the day when many teams made noise at the Big Ten Media Day, MSU made some of its own along the recruiting trail. Scout.com reports that MSU landed two verbal commitments, one from four-star wide receiver Aaron Burbridge and the other from three-star defensive back Jermaine Edmondson. Burbridge, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver from Farmington Hills, Mich., becomes the third receiver to sign on for Mark Dantonio’s 2012 class, shucking offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Cincinnati and Notre Dame.
Receiver Mark Dell, linebacker Eric Gordon and offensive lineman D.J. Young all announced via Twitter Monday night that they had reached agreements with NFL teams. Dell, who caught 51 passes and six touchdowns last season, agreed to sign with the Denver Broncos, Young with the Arizona Cardinals and Gordon with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When MSU prepares to go to battle for its fourth-consecutive win against Michigan in October, the Spartans will do so in Nike Pro Combat style.
According to Scout.com, Vanderbilt defensive end James Kittredge is expected to transfer to MSU, where he is expected to play defensive tackle when he’s eligible in 2012.