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Football recruit will receive chemotherapy
Arthur Ray Jr., a 2007 MSU football signee from Chicago, has been diagnosed with cancer and is awaiting chemotherapy.
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Davis looks for big senior season
At 6-foot-6 and 254 pounds, senior Kellen Davis has the prototypical frame of an NFL tight end. But he has yet to put together a breakout season in his three years at MSU, totaling 28 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns in 29 career games. That all may change under the new coaching staff, which makes an effort to involve the tight end in the offense and use the run to open up the pass. "I definitely feel like I'm going to be utilized more," said Davis, who caught a touchdown pass for the Green team in Saturday's scrimmage.
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Green team pounds white
The White team came into Saturday's Green-White intrasquad game beaming with confidence. The players boasted, "Our team is stacked!
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Farewell to spring
Spring practice commenced one month ago today for the MSU football team, beginning the first true phase of Spartans football under new head coach Mark Dantonio.
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Offense takes back green jerseys in 2nd spring scrimmage
Consider the score even. In the first spring football scrimmage of 2007, MSU's defense beat the offense, 71-70, on March 31. The offense struck back on Saturday, and junior running back Javon Ringer was a big reason why. After failing to break off any long runs in the first scrimmage, Ringer exploded for a 65-yard jaunt to the end zone and finished with 130 yards on 15 carries.
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New scheme relies on running
Ask someone who follows the MSU football team for the differences between head coach Mark Dantonio and his predecessor, John L.
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Defense wants to play on instinct
When Mark Dantonio was introduced as MSU's newest head coach, he stressed that players play their best when they play the fastest, and they play the fastest when they know exactly what to do. Knowing "exactly what to do" wasn't a common theme in the previous coaching regime.
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Adams, defense adapt to scheme
For most players on the MSU football team, a new coaching regime brought new schemes and faces to learn.
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MSU tinkers with O-line to protect QB
Twenty-eight sacks. Think about that for a second. Twenty-eight sacks. In 11 games. The MSU football team had a long list of problems in 2006, but no group was more disappointing than the offensive line.
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With knee in brace, Ringer ready for junior campaign
After sustaining a sprained right knee in MSU's fifth game of the season last year, Javon Ringer was supposed to miss the remainder of the year. Instead, he came back after missing four games and played the final three games of the season with a brace on the knee. Now that it's time for spring football, Ringer has healed, but the brace remains at the behest of the MSU staff. "We made a deal," Ringer said last Tuesday after spring practice.
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Coaches want defensive line to be more mobile as season approaches
There's a belief in college football that while some conferences feature a fast and attacking style of play, the Big Ten is known as a slower, more physical conference.
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Wide receivers look to make impact
It seems like everything is new again for the MSU football team. New coaches. A (sort of) new quarterback.
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Football facelift
When Mark Dantonio was introduced as MSU's head football coach Nov. 27, he used the word "toughness" five times in a matter of minutes when describing his philosophy.
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Hoyer ready to accept starting QB position
Brian Hoyer got his feet wet at the end of MSU's 2006 season, filling in for injured starting quarterback Drew Stanton, who has used up eligibility. He's not just a substitute anymore.
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MSU wants to press secondary more
Opposing wide receivers might want to keep some breath mints handy. MSU's defensive backs plan on getting very up-close and personal next season. The secondary, one of the most maligned units on the MSU football team during the last few seasons, is revamping its philosophy and relying more heavily on press coverage, in which defensive backs make contact with receivers at the line of scrimmage in order to disrupt their routes. "It messes up timing more than anything," secondary coach Harlon Barnett said Friday after spring practice.
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Dantonio, staff encourage goal setting
Senior SirDarean Adams has a goal. And it's not a pretty one. "Just come out and just flat-out kill somebody," he said Tuesday after MSU's first spring practice. Don't be alarmed — it's not what you think.
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Hoyer: 'Intensity' the difference in workouts
When Mark Dantonio was hired as MSU's new football head coach in November, he was quick to stress toughness and effort as qualities he demanded in his program. And even though the official start of spring practice is still several days away, Dantonio has spent all winter instilling mental and physical toughness in his players via early-morning workouts.
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MSU releases 2007 football schedule
The 12-game 2007 MSU football schedule, which includes seven home games, was unveiled Tuesday. MSU opens the season with three consecutive home games.
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Drew Stanton impresses during weekend at 2007 NFL Draft Combine
Profootballtalk.com's "The Rumor Mill" reported Sunday afternoon that several NFL teams are now considering former MSU quarterback Drew Stanton to have moved ahead of Notre Dame's Brady Quinn based on performances at the league's annual combine in Indianapolis. The Web site cites good team interviews and overall intangibles for Stanton's jump as well as Quinn's questionable ability to play on the big stage. In four years at MSU, Stanton built a career that includes back-to-back team MVP honors and the best completion percentage in Spartans history (.642).
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Newest MSU recruit has great potential
Nick Foles has MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio anticipating big things. The newest recruit for the 2007 Spartans football team, Foles signed a National Letter of Intent on Feb.