EAST LANSING - In the eighth 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 profiled the kicking position, with straight quotes from head coach Mark Dantonio and primary recruiter Mike Tressel on Michael Geiger , who is the only special teams addition to the Class of 2013.

Geiger is ranked the No. 1 kicker in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.com.

Also earned two-time Division II All-Ohio status as a goalkeeper in soccer.

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Head Coach Head Coach Mark Dantonio on Geiger:

"The one kicker that we signed is also a punter, but he'll kick for us. Michael Geiger is the No. 1 rated kicker in Rivals and played in the Semper Fi All-Star Game and did a tremendous job in camp out here (at MSU) during the summer, and really, before I even knew he was the No. 1 kicker in the country for Rivals, which I guess he proved himself in that capacity at a kicking camp. But just did an outstanding job here.

"He, was extremely consistent and made all the kicks. And I think that he'll be a guy that'll compete for the position right off the bat. Certainly he has to compete, but he's very level headed. An All-Ohio goalie (in soccer), as well, safety, corner (in football), those type of things. So an all around athlete for us there.''

''A kicker, an excellent kicker wins games for you. There's no question about that.''

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MSU linebackers/special teams coach Mike Tressel on Geiger:

Q. What set him apart and were you on him before he was tabbed the No. 1 kicker in the nation?

Tressel "It's a really funny story because you can't keep track of what everybody says about all of these different kickers, so I wouldn't have been able to tell you that when we offered him a scholarship that Rivals had him as the No. 1 kicker. We were on him before we knew that.

"What happened was we had a great group of guys at our kicking camp this past summer. We had a half dozen guys that were Division I scholarship kickers and he came out and was absolutely the most consistent. Coach D tried to mess with his mind, tried to put him situations to panic and he was a 100 percent accurate on field goals. So with Conroy leaving, and if you've watched our games this year, who we can feel the best about being 100 percent from 45 yards in.

"Our first criteria was not if you can hit a 65-yarder. First of all, his touchback percentage tells you he has a pretty strong leg. He was unbelievable under pressure and in terms of his accuracy and his technique, I would say he can come in here and handle this stage and put it through the uprights.''

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