The Spartans had injuries all across the offensive line last season. In fact, four of the team’s five starting offensive linemen missed at least one game last season due to injury.

With that said, adding depth to the offensive line has become a huge factor in the 2014 recruiting cycle.

Fortunately for the Spartans, some big help could soon be on the way.

Four-star offensive tackle Jamarco Jones of Chicago De La Salle has narrowed his final school choices down to four: Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

At an initial look, one would think that is some serious, steep competition for the Spartans.

But if you take a look at these programs’ records over the past three seasons, Mark Dantonio’s team is right there near the top. Ohio State has notched 30 wins over the past three seasons, followed by 29 for MSU, 28 for Notre Dame and 26 for Michigan.

The product that Michigan State has put out on the field under Dantonio has been phenomenal over the past couple of seasons. Perhaps even more impressive is that they have done it by developing middle-of-the-tier prospects, while the other three programs haul in top-ranked recruiting classes year-in and year-out.

But with both Michigan and Ohio State now back on the rise, MSU is in a situation where they need to capitalize on landing top-notch recruits when they show serious interest in the Spartans’ program.

This is where Jones comes into play.

The 6-foot-5, 285 offensive tackle is the No. 15-ranked tackle prospect in the nation, according to rivals.com. The popular recruiting site also lists Jones as the No. 97 player overall in the recently-updated 2014 Rivals100 list.

With Dan France, Blake Treadwell and Fou Fonoti all entering their senior seasons, and Skyler Burkland his junior campaign, adding a talent like Jones would be huge for the future of this offensive line unit.

In fact, the Spartans haven’t added an offensive lineman listed in the Rivals100 since David Barrent back in 2009. Barrent, who played his high school ball in Des Moines Iowa, had to give up the game of football just two years ago due to chronic lower-back pain.

Jones’ primary recruiter on the Spartans’ staff was former offensive coordinator Dan Roushar, who recently left to become the running backs coach for the New Orleans Saints. That assignment has now been passed on to MSU offensive line coach, Mark Staten.

Jones had the following to say when asked about Michigan State when interviewed by Tim Sulivan of TheWolverine.com.

“I’ve gotten to know their coaches pretty well,” Jones said. I’ve visited multiple times, going to games, practices and stuff like that. So, I’m pretty comfortable there, with Coach Staten as well.”

Photo from studentsports.com

Michigan State’s 2014 recruiting class is off to an exceptional start this season.

The Spartans just added another key piece to the class earlier this morning when they signed Upper Arlington, Ohio, outside linebacker Chris Frey.

The 6-foot, 208 pound Frey is a three-star prospect, according to rivals.com, which also ranks him as the No. 38 outside linebacker in the 2014 class. He dosen’t have exceptional size for the linebacker position, but he makes up for that with his physical play out on the field.

Frey, who just visited MSU on Monday, committed to the Spartans over offers from the likes of Boston College, Purdue, Syracuse, and several others. He is the eighth member of the Spartans 2013 class, which had the 23rd-ranked class in the nation before Frey’s commitment, according to rivals.com.

Frey attended the Cincinnati Rivals Camp Series this past year and was named as one of the top linebacker prospects from the group of events.

He is the fourth Spartan commit over the past month, joining OL Brian Allen (Hinsdale, Ill.), DT Enoch Smith Jr (Chicago, Il) and TE Matt Sokol (Rochester, MI).

Frey is just the second 2014 MSU commit to hail from Ohio, joining three-star quarterback prospect, Chris Durkin (Youngstown, OH).

Photo from mlive.com

By: Sean Merriman

I was convinced he was going to be the next Jason Richardson. And oddly enough, as strange as this may sound to Spartan basketball fans, I still am convinced of that, it may just take a while longer for him to get there.

I remember watching Branden Dawson play in the McDonald’s All-American game on that Wednesday evening in late March. Driving, slashing, scoring, the 6-foot-6 kid from Gary, IN. could do it all.

Dawson scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in limited time during that game. He glided to the rim, scoring almost at ease on the offensive end, while wrestling rebounds away from the likes of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Chane Behanan and James Michael MacAdoo on the defensive end.

“Now I get it,” I said to myself at the time.

Dawson looked like the perfect Tom Izzo recruit.

He would go on to enroll at MSU that summer and started the 2011-12 season off with a bang, averaging 11 points and five rebounds over his first three games in a Spartan uniform.

Those numbers stayed pretty consistent for the most part throughout the regular season. He posted three double-doubles in his freshman campaign, his last being against Purdue, a school that was in an ongoing, heated recruiting battle with Michigan State for Dawson’s services.

Then on a late Sunday afternoon, in the Spartans’ regular season finale against Ohio State, everything changed for Dawson in an instance.

Midway through the first half, Dawson went up for a rebound, his knee buckled and he fell to the ground in pain. It was later announced as a torn ACL, an injury that can often keep players out for up to 9-12 months. An injury, that can often alter a career.

However, Dawson made an astonishing recovery and was back on the court within five months of the injury, a feat that not even his fellow teammates could believe to be true.

Not only was Dawson expected to be ready in time for the Spartans 2012 opener, but he was looked at to be a focal point of a young, but talented Michigan State team.

Just like the previous year, Dawson started out his sophomore campaign on a high note. He scored in double-digits in six of his first seven games back from that unforeseen ACL tear, including a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double in the season opener against Connecticut.

The Spartans had their star forward back, and everything was all good in East Lansing for the time being.

Dawson continued to excel throughout the non-conference schedule and even into the Big Ten season, showing no ill effects of that surgically repaired knee. He put up career-highs in both points (18) and rebounds (13) against Wisconsin in a late-January game, and then topped it with a 20-point outburst two weeks later against Purdue.

However, after that, everything began to take a turn once again for Dawson.

The explosiveness that he showed early on in the season began to deteriorate each and every game after that. The ability to drive to the basket and create his own shot just simply wasn’t there anymore as the season wound down, and the pain began to take its tole.

After scoring in double-digits in 16 of the Spartans’ first 25 games last season, he failed to do so once throughout the team’s final 11 games of the season. He recorded eight-or-more rebounds in nine of the Spartans’ first 22 games of the year, and didn’t accomplish the feat again after the month of January.

Just as the Spartans’ season ended in disappointment after a Sweet 16 loss to Duke, so did Dawson’s season.

That brings us to where we are today, as Dawson faces the most important offseason of his young, basketball career.

If Dawson is able to gain back that explosiveness, develop his mid-range jump shot, and get that knee back to full strength, then this team will have a real shot at a national championship.

Along with point guard Keith Appling, shooting guard Gary Harris and power froward Adreian Payne, all of whom made the decision to come back for the 2012-13 season, as oppose to declaring early for the NBA Draft,  this group could very-well be the most talented core to play in East Lansing in over a decade.

But remember, there is a difference between being a talented college basketball team, and being a great college basketball team.

How far Michigan State will go next season could very-well be up to how hard Dawson dedicates himself this offseason.

It’s up to him- his decision.

A decision that could give him a chance to define his legacy at MSU. A decision that could give his team a chance to define their legacy as well.

Photo from SBnation.com

 By: Sean Merriman

When any talented underclassman chooses to forgo the NBA Draft and return to school, fans begin to look ahead and build expectations for the upcoming season.

With that said, let’s put Michigan State’s expectations for the 2013-14 season into proper perspective, now that Adreian Payne has announced he will be returning for his senior year.

They are huge.

ABSOLUTELY HUGE.

Most major publications have Michigan State listed as the Big Ten favorite and a consensus top-five team in the nation heading into next year.

Payne’s return gives the Spartans four returning starters and a bench that should stretch as deep as any in the nation.

But most important, Payne’s return gives this team another senior leader, along with Keith Appling. And if Michigan State fans know anything about leaders, they have been vitally important to this program’s success under head coach Tom Izzo.

Getting Payne back means  Izzo will have a real shot at a second national championship. It also means that Izzo can keep the streak alive of sending every four-year player for a Final Four.

Payne and Appling came in as freshman back in 2010, one year removed from back-to-back Final Four appearances by the Spartans.  Both were ranked as consensus top-50 recruits in the nation, one a McDonald’s All-American, the other  the runner-up for Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio, losing the honor to a guy by the name of Jared Sullinger. Both were expected to lead the Spartans back to another Final Four shortly after their arrival.

Appling worked his way into the rotation during his freshman year, serving as a defensive specialist, playing along side Kalin Lucas. He earned the starting point guard gig during his sophomore campaign as has spent the past two years learning to develop and make a proper transformation into that role.

This past year was Appling’s best, averaging a team-best 13.4 points per game, to go along with 3.3 assists per contest. He hit a shooting slump late in the regular season, but rebounded with a nice Big Ten and NCAA Tournament showing.

Much the same can be said of Payne. He looked like a future first-round draft pick out there at times for MSU this season, snatching down rebounds and extending his offensive game even beyond the 3-point stripe. Payne averaged career highs in points (10.5), rebounds (7.6) and blocks (1.3). He was a staple on Sportscenter Top-10 plays with his acrobatic dunks down in the paint.

The two friends, along with freshman Gary Harris, all could have made the choice to leave early and enter the NBA, Harris and Payne as likely first round selections, Appling a mid-to-late second round pick.

But all three choose to stay.

All three wanted to keep that streak alive of sending every four-year player under Izzo to a Final Four.

In sports, there is a strong difference between an assumption and a realistic expectation.

College basketball analysts across the country can assume that Michigan State is going to make a Final Four run in 2014.

But it’s up to the players themselves to turn that assumption into a reality.

With Payne, Harris and Appling in the mix, along with Izzo on the sidelines, you have to like their chances.

By: Sean Merriman

In this day and age, it is a natural perception for college football fans to blame the starting quarterback when things aren’t going as planned on the offensive side of the ball.

Michigan State senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell knows a thing or two about that.

After learning and patiently waiting behind former All-Big Ten and current Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins for three years, Maxwell got his turn to start at quarterback for the Spartans last season. Coming off back-to-back double-digit win seasons, expectations were sky high for the Spartans in 2012, and Maxwell was right in the center of it all.

But as many first-year starting quarterbacks often do, Maxwell struggled when he was handed the keys to car. The 6-foot-3, 215 pound signal caller from Midland, MI passed for 2,606 yards last season, but he threw just 13 touchdown passes and was picked off nine times.

While those numbers certainly aren’t anything to write home about, where Maxwell struggled the most was when plays broke down. His lack of mobility and pocket presence became more than evident last season by the 21 times he was sacked by opponents.

Maxwell and the Spartans finished 7-6 in 2012, which concluded with a 17-16 bowl win over TCU, in which Maxwell was benched in the final minutes of the game. Backup quarterback Connor Cook relived Maxwell and led the Spartans on a game-winning drive, capped off by a Dan Conroy 47-yard field goal.

That led to immediate questions about a quarterback controversy heading into the 2013 season, and now, four days removed from the conclusion of spring football, the quarterback race is still very much alive and ongoing.

Spartan fans have been quick to point out Maxwell’s lack of production last season, and the consensus among those fans is that they are calling for a change. However, head coach Mark Dantonio has made it clear that while this still remains an open quarterback competition, Maxwell does have the upper hand at this moment.

But as fans continue to question Maxwell’s ability and make a push for Cook to take over the starting quarterback spot, here is a question to ponder: If Maxwell struggled that much last season, why can’t Cook do enough to convince coaches that he is the right guy for the job?

It seems like the majority of Spartan critics have been focused on Maxwell’s lack of production and consistency, but coaches are obviously aware of that as well. While all of the blame has fallen on Maxwell, how about taking a look at the other side of things?

Why is it that Connor Cook can’t do enough to overtake Maxwell for the starting quarterback gig?

When asked about his ability to step up in game-like situations, Cook had the following to say to spartannation.com.

“I don’t want to call myself a gamer, and I don’t want to say that I’m inconsistent in practice or that I’m not good in practice, or anything like that. But, I think the main thing is that I just tend to lose focus in practice.

“Anytime it is a game-like situation or under the lights, I feel a much different type of focus then I do in practice, and it’s not good… I shouldn’t feel like that.”

This is not as uncommon as it may sound, as several college and NFL quarterbacks have been known to perform better in game-like situations then they do in practice.

Look at Tim Tebow. It’s the same story there, although let’s not get going on that topic.

But if Connor Cook is going to win this quarterback competition and ultimately beat out Maxwell for the starting quarterback job, he is going to have to fix that. He is going to have to perform in practices and prove to the coaching staff that he is worthy of being the starting quarterback for this MSU football team.

While Maxwell’s team got the win in Saturday’s spring football scrimmage, Cook was the one who played better. His pocket presence and ability to move around when things break down is what makes him a promising option at the quarterback position.

The MSU coaching staff have made it clear that they want their quarterback to be more mobile and move around more in the pocket. In other words, Cook has the ability to give the staff what they want, it’s the other intangibles that he needs to work on now.

Remember this– Sports fans love the unknown, and outside of Cook’s limited action in last year’s Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Cook is pretty much just that– an unknown commodity. But if he wants to win this starting quarterback  job, it has to start on the practice field, and then transition to the playing field on Saturdays.

This quarterback race will likely continue throughout the summer and into the fall.

But if it’s Andrew Maxwell under center when the Spartans open up at home on Aug. 30 against Western Michigan, let’s refrain from asking what he did to deserve this job. It may be fairer to ask what Connor Cook wasn’t able to do?

Was this a smart move by Sherman to avoid potentially being ejected from the game, or was this a poor move to leave his teammates hanging while he turned his back and walked away?

You make the call.

Here is a youtube highlight tape of Schilling during his days at Chicago De La Salle.

You can tell from watching this video that this kid is still raw, but has a ton of athletic ability and great potential for the future.

Schilling is currently deciding between MSU, Minnesota, Villanova and UCLA.

It’s a rite of passage; the passing of the torch, or the Paul Bunyan Trophy for matter….

I remember watching Michigan and Michigan State play that Saturday afternoon in March of 2000. I was 14 years old at the time, a young kid still trying to grasp a true understanding of what this in-state rivalry was all about.

I remember watching Mateen Cleaves, slashing, passing, scoring and looking exactly like the type of player that was capable of leading his team to a National Championship.

Cleaves was outstanding that day, leading the Spartans to a commanding 51-point win over the rival-Wolverines.

I remember as the final minutes trickled down on the clock and as Tom Izzo brought in the bench players to close out the game, Cleaves jogged to center court, dropped to his knees, and kissed the giant Spartan “S” on the Breslin Center court. It was a moment that I would never forget, and I can say with confidence that I am not alone in making that statement.

“Oh, I get it,” I said to myself at the time.

This is what the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry was all about.

The rivalry was just as compelling leading up to Tuesday night’s game, and that same feeling came back to me as the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read 75-52 in favor of the Spartans.

It was a feeling of gratification. A feeling of self-satisfaction and pride, knowing that the school I spent five years of my life at, a school I have cheered for since I first picked up a basketball as a toddler, gave so much back to me on this one night– This time, in the form of a 23-point win over our in-state rival.

I think I speak on behalf of many MSU fans when I say, we don’t necessarily hate the University of Michigan. We hate those who obnoxiously cheer for the University and refer to MSU as their “little brother,” despite sporting a Western Michigan or Central Michigan diploma on their bedroom wall.

That right there is where that sense of pride comes into play. That feeling I felt on Tuesday night as a 27-year-old working adult, and that same feeling I felt back in March of 2000 as a 14-year-old grade school student, finally grasping a true understanding of what this rivalry really meant.

Of course, Michigan State fans know and understand that this rivalry is not as big as the U-M, Ohio State rivalry game—it never will be. But don’t fool yourself to believe that U-M fans don’t care about and embrace this in-state rivalry.

——

In my opinion, there are three main aspects that fuel a rivalry. They are 1. The schools proximity to one another, 2. The history between those two schools and how close the games have been between those two schools, and 3. Fan interaction.

Michigan State and the University of Michigan are separated by approximately 60 miles. A simple drive down I-96, followed by a straight shot down US-23, and you’re officially in Wolverine country.

As far as how close the games have been as of late, over the past five seasons, MSU holds a narrow 5-3 lead on Michigan in basketball, while the Wolverines hold a slim 6-4 margin over the Spartans in football over the past decade.