Here's a short video of a one-handed catch by one of the Spartans' top recruits for 2012, wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. Folks, this guy is the real deal. We are going to miss BJ Cunningham when he leaves after this year, but Burbridge is going to considerably ease the pain even as a freshman. Many high rated recruits end up becoming busts, but Burbridge has that "something" that makes me believe he could become MSU's best receiver of all time, by the time he's done. I think we can see that "something" in his one-handed catch. The kid's tough, he's a playmaker, and of course, he has great athleticism.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Danny O'Brien
Danny O'Brien, a defensive tackle out of Flint, MI, is supposed to commit tomorrow to Tennessee, Michigan, or Michigan State. Rumor has it that it's actually down to MSU and Tennessee, with Tennessee the favorite to win his services. If the Spartans pull off the miracle and get him, let me assure that this would be one of their most exciting commitments. As I noted in an earlier post, adding O'Brien would get the Spartans one step closer to creating their own version of the Detroit Lions' defensive line. But until and unless he commits to the Spartans, I won't say anything more about him -- no use getting too fired up about something that may not happen. Let's at least keep our fingers crossed.
Update: O'Brien has committed to Tennessee. Oh well...
Update: O'Brien has committed to Tennessee. Oh well...
Some Exciting Video on Se'Von Pittman
Scout provides some video of defensive end Se'Von Pittman (the Spartans' highest rated recruit for 2012) playing in a recent high school football game. As they note, he looked dominant. He appeared to be making play after play. This guy could be as good as William Gholston. It seems Dantonio is getting the program to the point where it is now "reloading" year after year.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Class of 2010 Playing Major Role
One thing that is becoming clear as the season progresses is that MSU's 2010 recruiting class is really good. Several members of that class have become starters or are at least making important contributions. That's impressive when you consider that these guys are only in their second year in the program. Here's a look at the major contributors from that class.
- William Gholston. He was the Spartans' highest rated recruit in 2010 and in the entire Big Ten (according to most recruiting services). This year he became a starter at defensive end for the Spartans and in his game against Ohio State he started to show that he will be a dominant player.
- Max Bullough. He was the Spartans' second highest rated recruit in 2010, and he has become the starter at MIKE linebacker. He is playing spectacularly and has become one of the leaders of the defense.
- Skyler Burkland. He won the starting job at right tackle before breaking his ankle against Notre Dame. He's out for the season, but looked good while he was in there.
- Isaiah Lewis. He has become the starter at strong safety and played well for the most part. He has made some big mistakes, but that's to be expected of young safeties.
- Mike Sadler. He has become the starting punter for the Spartans and did a masterful job against Ohio State.
- Nick Hill. He has shown such explosiveness as a running back that Mark Dantonio has been looking for ways to get him on the field. The Spartans are too deep at running back for Hill to get many carries, but he has become the starting kickoff returner, where he has indeed shown some explosiveness.
- Travis Jackson. He won the job as starting center in camp, but suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the first 3 games. He was back for the OSU game and he looked good to me.
- Marcus Rush. He has become a starter at defensive end and he performed well enough during the OSU game to be named Big Ten fresman of the week.
- Tony Lippett. He is not a starting corner, yet, but he has shown such explosiveness that the coaches are playing him on both sides of the ball, using him as a corner and receiver. He made some great plays against OSU, on both sides of the ball.
- Leveon Bell. He became a major contributor at running back as a freshmen, and he looks considerably better this year. He is supposed to be the second running back behind Edwin Baker, but in reality he is a co-starter.
- Darqueze Dennard. He has become a starting cornerback for MSU and he is making many excellent plays.
-Anthony Rashad White. He has become a co-starter at defensive tackle and he is flashing some great potential.
In short, the 2010 class is turning out to be a great one, perhaps the best in decades. It makes you excited about what the 2011 class may contribute by next year, considering that the 2011 class includes some highly regarded players such as: Fou Fonoti (who is already contributing), Lawrence Thomas (the highest rated player in the state of Michigan), Donovan Clark (four-stars), and Joel Heath (four stars). The future looks incredibly bright for the Spartans.
- William Gholston. He was the Spartans' highest rated recruit in 2010 and in the entire Big Ten (according to most recruiting services). This year he became a starter at defensive end for the Spartans and in his game against Ohio State he started to show that he will be a dominant player.
- Max Bullough. He was the Spartans' second highest rated recruit in 2010, and he has become the starter at MIKE linebacker. He is playing spectacularly and has become one of the leaders of the defense.
- Skyler Burkland. He won the starting job at right tackle before breaking his ankle against Notre Dame. He's out for the season, but looked good while he was in there.
- Isaiah Lewis. He has become the starter at strong safety and played well for the most part. He has made some big mistakes, but that's to be expected of young safeties.
- Mike Sadler. He has become the starting punter for the Spartans and did a masterful job against Ohio State.
- Nick Hill. He has shown such explosiveness as a running back that Mark Dantonio has been looking for ways to get him on the field. The Spartans are too deep at running back for Hill to get many carries, but he has become the starting kickoff returner, where he has indeed shown some explosiveness.
- Travis Jackson. He won the job as starting center in camp, but suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the first 3 games. He was back for the OSU game and he looked good to me.
- Marcus Rush. He has become a starter at defensive end and he performed well enough during the OSU game to be named Big Ten fresman of the week.
- Tony Lippett. He is not a starting corner, yet, but he has shown such explosiveness that the coaches are playing him on both sides of the ball, using him as a corner and receiver. He made some great plays against OSU, on both sides of the ball.
- Leveon Bell. He became a major contributor at running back as a freshmen, and he looks considerably better this year. He is supposed to be the second running back behind Edwin Baker, but in reality he is a co-starter.
- Darqueze Dennard. He has become a starting cornerback for MSU and he is making many excellent plays.
-Anthony Rashad White. He has become a co-starter at defensive tackle and he is flashing some great potential.
In short, the 2010 class is turning out to be a great one, perhaps the best in decades. It makes you excited about what the 2011 class may contribute by next year, considering that the 2011 class includes some highly regarded players such as: Fou Fonoti (who is already contributing), Lawrence Thomas (the highest rated player in the state of Michigan), Donovan Clark (four-stars), and Joel Heath (four stars). The future looks incredibly bright for the Spartans.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Impact: Ohio State Game
So this week I've decided to start a new post series that I will simply call impact. In this post I'll look over things that made a definite impact in the game including plays, players, positions, etc. So without further ado...
IMPACT PLAYER: William Gholston
William Gholston had what I thought might have been his best performance since joining to the Spartans. He was all over the field with tackles for losses and batting down a ball at the line of scrimmage. He almost came away with two sacks but one of them was nullified when the coaches decided to accept a holding penalty. Gholston looked good this Saturday and perhaps this game was a sign of things to come.
IMPACT PLAY: Dennard's interception
Darqueze Dennard had a huge one-handed interception that stopped OSU's best drive of the game. Both he and Devin Smith were battling for the ball in the air when Dennard managed to strip it out of Smith's hands. If the interception had not occurred the Buckeyes would likely have scored at least 3 points, and of course, the score turned out to be 10-7. Which means we could've been looking at a nail biter OT finish.
IMPACT SIDE OF THE BALL: Defense
The Spartans defense certainly looked like the #1 defense in the nation this week holding Ohio State to 178 total yards of offense, with 62 of those coming on the scoring drive. The Spartans tallied up an impressive nine sacks on the quarterbacks and 13 tackles for loss. The secondary was also very impressive, shutting down the Buckeye receivers and giving the OSU quarterbacks few options. On a day when the Spartan offense only got 10 points, the defense really came through.
IMPACT PLAYER: William Gholston
IMPACT PLAY: Dennard's interception
IMPACT SIDE OF THE BALL: Defense
The Spartans defense certainly looked like the #1 defense in the nation this week holding Ohio State to 178 total yards of offense, with 62 of those coming on the scoring drive. The Spartans tallied up an impressive nine sacks on the quarterbacks and 13 tackles for loss. The secondary was also very impressive, shutting down the Buckeye receivers and giving the OSU quarterbacks few options. On a day when the Spartan offense only got 10 points, the defense really came through.
Recruiting Notes
There has not been much in the way of recruiting news the last couple of months, but there has been a small flurry of articles on MSU's chances with some elite prospects. The Spartans have 14 commits already, so they only have about 4 spots left to fill. Nonetheless, they have their eyes on some highly touted prospects. Here is a brief look at some of them:
- Adolphus Washington, Ohio, defensive end. Washington is rated as one of the best prospects in the state of Ohio. Apparently, he has considered the idea of joining current MSU commit, Se'Von Pittman, who is also a highly touted defensive end from the state of Ohio. Can you imagine those two terrorizing B1G quarterbacks the next four years? My obsessive mind can hardly stand it.
- Danny O'Brien, Michigan, defensive tackle. O'Brien is a great-looking defensive tackle from the state of Michigan. Rumor has it that he might be close to committing to U of Tennessee. He does have MSU as one of his top choices, so maybe a miracle will happen. Can you imagine O'Brien teaming up with Pittman and Washington? The Spartans would have their own version of the Detroit Lions' defensive line. My mind is going to explode!
- Monty Madaris, Ohio, wide receiver. Madaris is a four-star wide receiver who has offers from several top programs. The Spartans have a good shot at getting him, but it looks like it might be a while before he makes a decision. Can you imagine Madaris pairing up with current MSU commit, Aaron Burbridge, who is as close to a sure superstar wide receiver as I've ever seen? That's it, my mind is officially blown....
- Bam Bradley, Ohio, safety. Bradley is not as touted as the three players mentioned above, but he does have offers from several top schools, including Ohio State. The Spartans also do need to recruit a safety and Bradley does appear to have MSU in his final six.
- Ryan Watson, Maryland, guard. Watson is a four-star recruit who has a final four of Purdue, Michigan State, Penn State and Pitt. The Spartans already have two guards committed, but it never hurts to stock up on talented linemen.
I have not seen much discussion of offensive tackles, though the Spartans clearly need some. I will dig deeper on this particular position to find out what the Spartans are thinking and who they may have a shot at. But at any rate, the Spartans are looking like they will end up with another excellent recruiting class.
- Adolphus Washington, Ohio, defensive end. Washington is rated as one of the best prospects in the state of Ohio. Apparently, he has considered the idea of joining current MSU commit, Se'Von Pittman, who is also a highly touted defensive end from the state of Ohio. Can you imagine those two terrorizing B1G quarterbacks the next four years? My obsessive mind can hardly stand it.
- Danny O'Brien, Michigan, defensive tackle. O'Brien is a great-looking defensive tackle from the state of Michigan. Rumor has it that he might be close to committing to U of Tennessee. He does have MSU as one of his top choices, so maybe a miracle will happen. Can you imagine O'Brien teaming up with Pittman and Washington? The Spartans would have their own version of the Detroit Lions' defensive line. My mind is going to explode!
- Monty Madaris, Ohio, wide receiver. Madaris is a four-star wide receiver who has offers from several top programs. The Spartans have a good shot at getting him, but it looks like it might be a while before he makes a decision. Can you imagine Madaris pairing up with current MSU commit, Aaron Burbridge, who is as close to a sure superstar wide receiver as I've ever seen? That's it, my mind is officially blown....
- Bam Bradley, Ohio, safety. Bradley is not as touted as the three players mentioned above, but he does have offers from several top schools, including Ohio State. The Spartans also do need to recruit a safety and Bradley does appear to have MSU in his final six.
- Ryan Watson, Maryland, guard. Watson is a four-star recruit who has a final four of Purdue, Michigan State, Penn State and Pitt. The Spartans already have two guards committed, but it never hurts to stock up on talented linemen.
I have not seen much discussion of offensive tackles, though the Spartans clearly need some. I will dig deeper on this particular position to find out what the Spartans are thinking and who they may have a shot at. But at any rate, the Spartans are looking like they will end up with another excellent recruiting class.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Quick Thoughts on the OSU Game
First of all, this is a big victory for the Spartans. It wasn't pretty on the offensive side of the ball, but the Spartans went to a tough place to play and pulled off a victory. This is not the same OSU program of just a year ago, but we've seen the Spartans get spanked in lesser settings (do I need to bring up the Iowa game from last year?). I see this win as signaling progress and it gives me more confidence about the rest of the year and the future of the program.
Onto the specifics
The defense looked awesome, but my excitement is tempered by OSU's ineptitude. OSU is really bad on offense, especially at quarterback. On the other hand, OSU has a good offensive line and the Spartans' defensive line looked dominant against them. Jerel Worthy and William Gholston were beasts! If we combine this performance with those of the first four games (especially their solid performance against Notre Dame), we can say that the Spartans now have a nearly elite defense (they are not quite LSU or Alabama) that will keep them in every game they play the rest of the season.
The offense is pretty good, but they make critical mistakes (particularly Cousins). MSU put up a lot of yards on OSU's stout defense. I thought that was impressive. The o-line played well, the running backs were great, and the wide receivers were pretty good. The one weakness, I hate to say it, was Kirk Cousins. I went into this season thinking Cousins could play well enough to become a first-round draft pick in the NFL draft, but today he really played like a freshman. He was inaccurate at inopportune times. He made critical mistakes at inopportune times. On three scoring opportunities, he fumbled and threw two interceptions. Cousins essentially cost the Spartans at least 9 points and allowed OSU to stay close enough to raise my anxiety levels in the last minute of the game. As I said in my preview of this game, this was going to be a Tressel-ball kind of game. Points were going to be hard to come by, so the Spartans needed to come away with points every time they had a real scoring opportunity. Luckily, MSU's defense was better than I expected and OSU's offense was worse than I expected.
The Spartans should compete for the B1G title. The bottom line is that MSU's defense should be able to considerably slow down every team they face the rest of the season. I do wonder how they will do against running quarterbacks that can also pass at least a bit (e.g., Denard Robinson and Russell Wilson). But I think they'll still do well in those games. The success of the offense will depend on Cousins. He seems to be struggling with his confidence right now. If he can at least get to the point where he is not a liability, where he is not committing multiple costly mistakes per game, MSU should be able to win most of their games. If he can't recover, we could be looking at losses in several Tressel-ball kind of games against teams with better offenses than OSU's (e.g., Wisconsin, Nebraska, and possibly Michigan--ugh!).
Onto the specifics
The defense looked awesome, but my excitement is tempered by OSU's ineptitude. OSU is really bad on offense, especially at quarterback. On the other hand, OSU has a good offensive line and the Spartans' defensive line looked dominant against them. Jerel Worthy and William Gholston were beasts! If we combine this performance with those of the first four games (especially their solid performance against Notre Dame), we can say that the Spartans now have a nearly elite defense (they are not quite LSU or Alabama) that will keep them in every game they play the rest of the season.
The offense is pretty good, but they make critical mistakes (particularly Cousins). MSU put up a lot of yards on OSU's stout defense. I thought that was impressive. The o-line played well, the running backs were great, and the wide receivers were pretty good. The one weakness, I hate to say it, was Kirk Cousins. I went into this season thinking Cousins could play well enough to become a first-round draft pick in the NFL draft, but today he really played like a freshman. He was inaccurate at inopportune times. He made critical mistakes at inopportune times. On three scoring opportunities, he fumbled and threw two interceptions. Cousins essentially cost the Spartans at least 9 points and allowed OSU to stay close enough to raise my anxiety levels in the last minute of the game. As I said in my preview of this game, this was going to be a Tressel-ball kind of game. Points were going to be hard to come by, so the Spartans needed to come away with points every time they had a real scoring opportunity. Luckily, MSU's defense was better than I expected and OSU's offense was worse than I expected.
The Spartans should compete for the B1G title. The bottom line is that MSU's defense should be able to considerably slow down every team they face the rest of the season. I do wonder how they will do against running quarterbacks that can also pass at least a bit (e.g., Denard Robinson and Russell Wilson). But I think they'll still do well in those games. The success of the offense will depend on Cousins. He seems to be struggling with his confidence right now. If he can at least get to the point where he is not a liability, where he is not committing multiple costly mistakes per game, MSU should be able to win most of their games. If he can't recover, we could be looking at losses in several Tressel-ball kind of games against teams with better offenses than OSU's (e.g., Wisconsin, Nebraska, and possibly Michigan--ugh!).
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