February 7, 2013

NSD Quotebook: MSU coaches on Linebackers

Ricardo Cooney
SpartanMag.com

EAST LANSING - In the third of an "In Their Own Words" series of articles profiling Michigan State's 2013 recruiting class on a position-by-position basis, SpartanMag.com provides the straight quotes from Michigan State coaches about the players they signed on National Signing Day.

Today, we profile the linebacker position, with straight quotes from head coach Mark Dantonio and linebackers and special teams coach Mike Tressel on MSU's two linebacker signees in the 2013 recruiting class.

Birmingham Brother Rice's Jon Reschke (6-2, 230) and Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller's Shane Jones (6-1, 225) are the only two linebackers brought in by Dantonio and MSU's coaching staff.

Reschke, a member of back-to-back Division 2 state championship teams, was a PrepStar All-American and an honorable mention PARADE All-American, and was ranked among the nation's top outside linebackers by Rivals.com (No. 12) and the state's top seniors, No. 4 by Rivals.com. Jones, a PrepStar All-American was ranked among the country's top prospects, No. 183 by ESPN.com. He was listed among Ohio's top seniors, No. 17 by Rivals.com and was listed among the nation's top inside linebackers by Rivals at No. 12.

Dantonio expects Reschke to rep at MIKE linebacker, while he sees Jones at the SAM but added that he has the ability to see some time at the STAR spot..

"The linebackers, Shane Jones and Jon Reschke, both all state players, probably the top players in their states respectively, four star players, very active, run extremely well, heady players, great football IQ on both of them, established programs at Brother Rice and Cincinnati Moeller,'' Dantonio said. "Both these guys I think will be tremendous players for us and play at an early time in their careers, so we're very, very excited about those two athletes.

"I think these two guys, Reschke and Shane Jones, they're very, very active players. It's going to be interesting to watch those guys. they both run very, very well and are active, collision type players.''



Jon Reschke

Noteworthy:

  • Recorded double-figure tackles in 19 career games as a three-year starter.

  • Led his team in tackles as a senior with 133 (86 solos).

  • Reached double-figure tackles in nine of 14 games as a senior.

  • Led team as a junior with a career-best 140 tackles (69 solos), with seven resulting in loss.

  • Also played baseball and hockey.



    LBs coach Mike Tressel on Reschke:

    Q. What was most impressive about Reschke as you continued to move through the evaluation process?

    Tressel: "Reschke's a guy that continued to get bigger, faster and stronger every time you look at him. You turn around and you turn back and he's bugger, faster, stronger than he was the day before. And I'm very excited about the fact that Jon was a significantly better player as a senior than he was as a junior.

    "A lot of guys at this level, junior year might be there best year because they got those offers, they got those commitments out there, so maybe they level off but he kept climbing and getting better. So when you see them get that much better between junior and senior year, you say, 'okay, we're going to take that same jump again. So sky's the limit.''



    Shane Jones

    Noteworthy:

  • Recorded six tackles and a safety in the 2012 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Houston.

  • Recorded a career-best 130 tackles (51 solos) as a senior with 13.5 resulting in loss.

  • Reached double-figure tackles in five games as a senior.

  • Registered 104 stops (62 solos) as a junior with 9.5 resulting in loss.



    LBs coach Mike Tressel on Jones:

    Q. What set Jones apart from other inside linebackers you looked at?

    Tressel: "You watch Shane's junior film; he's a very fluid athlete He can flip his hips, he can change directions but can also really accelerate and bring a punch. That's what really fired us up about him. Not only did he bring a punch, like you want out of your linebacker, but he had the ability to open his hips and change directions like a defensive back.

    "We actually saw him playing safety this year as a senior a lot because their defensive coordinator recognized that ability. And that's just neat, to be able to combine power with that type of fluid movement. And right off the bat, that's exciting for us.''

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