Leonidas (Leo) has been looking at how strong the various units will be next year, so I thought I'd look ahead to 2013. Trust me, there's good reason to do this. You see, if certain players live up to our expectations and if certain things break our way, then 2013 could be the best shot MSU has of winning a national championship under Mark Dantonio.
First off, lets look at the passing game. As Leo recently pointed out, Andrew Maxwell has the potential to be better than Cousins, by his senior year. That's saying something, considering the standards set by Cousins. The few times I've seen him play, Maxwell reminds me a lot of Andrew Luck. He is athletic, accurate, and shows a strong arm. In my mind, the only thing that could keep him from becoming a star is his decision making. We did not see enough of him to know how he will handle good defenses. We'll have to wait and see on that, but in the last decade, most of our quarterbacks (Stanton, Hoyer, Cousins) eventually turn out to be pretty good by their senior year. If Maxwell develops the same way, MSU's passing game should be at it's peak in 2013.
Now what could really make the passing game more explosive than ever is the emergence of guys like Tony Lippett and Aaron Burbidge (and maybe guys like Monty Madaris and Kenny Lawler, if they commit). Those receivers should be pretty good by 2013. Throw in the fact that Dion Sims will be a senior at tight end, and MSU's passing game looks like it should be unstoppable.
The 2013 passing game should be helped by the fact that the running game will also be peaking. As Leo has pointed out, the offensive line is extremely deep next year and it seems that it could be even deeper for 2013. Three of this year's starters will be back for 2013 (Travis Jackson, Skyler Burkland, and Dan France). The Spartans will also give a year of experience to the guard who replaces Joel Foreman. They will only have to break in one new guard, the guy who replaces Chris McDonald. By then, they should have lots of guys with at least some playing experience. As for running backs, if Le'Veon Bell stays for his senoir year, he should become one of the Big Ten's most dominant running backs -- maybe as good as Wisconsin's Montee Ball? I thought Bell looked sensational against Wisconsin in the big ten championship game. Especially if the offensive line countinues to improve I have strong reason to believe that the run game could be one of the best we've seen at MSU. Don't forget that MSU has great depth at running back, just in case Bell were to get injured.
With respect to defense, the Spartans have good depth along the defensive line. It's likely that William Gholston will be playing on Sundays by 2013. But who knows, maybe he'll think twice, if he also recognizes that the Spartans will be in a position to make a run at the national championship. Even if Gholston does not come back, the Spartans should still be pretty strong up front. The 2011 recruiting class brought two excellent defensive end prospects: 5-star recruit Lawerence Thomas and 4-star recruit Joel Heath. Marcus Rush will be in his senior year and should be playing very well. 4 star recruit Jamal Lyles is coming in as a OLB but with his size he could switch to defensive end. The Spartans also recruited three defensive tackles in 2011, and they have a good history of developing defensive tackles. So I expect this position to be as good as ever in 2013.
The linebacker position in my eyes has been a key component in the spartan defense. Ever since the Greg Jones era, Max Bullough and Denicos Allen have done a great job with keeping the tradition of strong linebackers going. Allen and Bullough will be senoirs in 2013 and can be expected to have explosive years. If Jamal Lyles stays at linebacker I am sure his great althleticism will definetly have a great impact. The linebacking core should be one of the strongest and deepest we've ever had.
Finally, the secondary should be pretty strong. Two of this year's starters will be seniors in 2013: cornerback Darqueze Dennard and safety Isaiah Lewis. The Spartans have also recruited five 3-star cornerbacks in the 2012 and 2011 recruiting classes, and they have a good history of developing good cornerbacks. So I anticipate that we'll have a solid secondary in 2013.
There you go folks. As long as MSU isn't rocked with a huge scandal or something, I think the 2013 squad could become one of the the greatest in Spartan history. If Mark Dantonio is going to win a national championship at MSU, his best chance will come in 2013.
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