East Lansing, Mich. - Eight key questions concerning the Michigan State offense to to keep in mind while getting ready for Saturday’s spring scrimmage:
1. Which quarterback will get the first crack with the first unit on Saturday?
Temple transfer Anthony Russo has played to good reviews thus far in the spring. So has sophomore Payton Thorne.
Which player is going to get the first crack with the first string on Saturday? SpartanMag.com is expecting it to be Russo, but Thorne is playing with his chin up and chest out, improving steadily.
This is one area in which it’s more revealing to have a traditional practice scrimmage rather than the coaches dividing the teams for a competitive game. If they divided the teams, or if they held a draft, we wouldn’t know which player the coaches regard as the first-stringer. However, with Saturday’s format being a straight scrimmage with the first string operating as a complete unit, the depth chart will be transparent.
Russo had 26 starts at Temple and threw for 6,292 yards with 44 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.
Michigan State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson has been working with Russo to be more efficient with his reads. MSU’s back seven on defense isn’t going to look on Saturday the way it will look in the fall, in terms of quality of personnel. Michigan State will get a boost to the player pool in the defensive back seven with a smattering of transfers help fortify the situation.
The Spartan defensive coverages on Saturday won’t feature the speed, talent or disguises that Russo will see in the regular season. So if he is picked off a couple of times during the scrimmage, that obviously won’t be a good thing. He needs to have a clean day.
Russo’s eyes lit up when he was presented with a Michigan State jersey for a publicity shoot a couple of months ago. He’s revved up to play quarterback at a program like Michigan State.
“His leadership abilities are starting to show up more and more,” Tucker said. “I’m glad we got him.
“I can tell that he is learning the offense. He is getting a better understanding each time that he goes out there.
“He is a mature player. It’s not too big for him. He has really good pocket presence. He is willing to step up in the pocket, stand in there and deliver the ball.
“He has a strong arm and can make all the throws. He understands the run game and what we’re looking for there and he gets us in and out of plays and as he gets more and more comfortable with the offense he starts to play faster.”
Tucker was guarded in his comments about Thorne last year, whether Thorne was a back-up or a starter. But after the first scrimmage earlier this month, Tucker loosened the lid.
“Payton has a pretty good grasp of our offense and he plays with confidence,” Tucker said. “He knows what we expect from him, to run the offense, get us in and out of the right plays, make the proper checks, the proper reads in the pass game, take what the defense gives you and take care of the football and lead and compete.”
Tucker has gained an appreciation for Thorne’s direct, intentional craftsmanship.
“He takes a lot of pride in his performance and he comes to work every day and he is really serious about it,” Tucker said. “He doesn’t take anything for granted. That’s what I like about him. He’s a go-getter, he’s a worker and he is always working to get better.
“He puts pressure on himself to get better and to push. He’s a coach’s kid. He knows what it’s all about and he’s willing to compete.”
Tucker often talks about his belief that the quarterback has to be top competitor on the team. Thorne has shown to Tucker, increasingly this spring, that he has that trait. That's big in Tucker’s book.
As for the competition between Russo and Thorne, we’re still in the early primaries.
“It hasn’t shaken itself out yet,” Tucker said. “At some point it will, but it’s really too early for that to happen.
“I’m happy with the progress that they have made. They’re just competing and working to get better.”
The spring scrimmage will be graded, and it will have an impact on who goes into summer conditioning with a little bit of a nod from the coaches.
2. Will No. 2 be Day or Fay?
Redshirt junior Theo Day did not see game action in 2020. He stayed with the program in order to compete this spring. His name hasn't been mentioned as a viable threat to Russo or Thorne for the starting job. It will be interesting to see if he gets third-string reps on Saturday, or if those reps will go to mid-year enrollee Hampton Fay or true freshman Noah Kim. SpartanMag.com is not expecting it to be Kim.
Day occasionally rips off impressive throws, sometimes executing the type of ropes that no one else on the roster can make. However, his flashes haven’t been enough in recent years to elevate him above former Spartan Rocky Lombardi, or Thorne.
If Day doesn’t have much of a performance on Saturday, he and the coaches will have to wonder whether things are likely to change for him at Michigan State.
Kim hasn’t been in the program as long as Day, but he could face similar questions at some point - which is common for the majority of scholarship quarterbacks nationwide. Most recruited quarterbacks don’t become long-term starters. The math just doesn’t allow it.
With Fay having been on campus for a little more than three months, it would be a mild upset if he is the third quarterback to see reps during scrimmage time on Saturday. If he is, that would be a broad compliment for his talent and his future.
Fay has excellent straight-line speed, especially for a big quarterback. His deceptive athleticism will be a great tool for him some day if he refines the rest of his talent. He’s a raw, unbridled mustang of a quarterback right now, but it will be interesting to see what he looks like in his 15th practice as a Spartan.
3. Is Kenneth Walker the next big thing at running back?
Walker (5-10, 205) ranked No. 10 in rushing in the ACC last year at 72.4 yards per game. He was a solid, dependable, sturdy back for a program that asked ball carriers to be unusually patient in waiting to press the line of scrimmage.
Wake Forest had a quirky and sometimes-effective approach to read option offense. But Walker wanted something that looked and felt a little more pro style to help his career path. He landed at Michigan State, a program bent on improving last season’s woeful run game.
So what will it look like when No. 9 totes the rock on Saturday? How many live carries will he get? SpartanMag.com is guessing there will be enough scrimmage time for only six or seven carries from Walker. We would like to be wrong. Either way, we’ll get to see if he plays with a little more initial burst than he was able to show at Wake Forest.
“I’m a big fan of Kenneth,” said Michigan State linebacker Noah Harvey. “In our winter conditioning, he was winning ever single drill. He has a crazy motor and he’s a hard-working kid, and I appreciate that. It stands out and we are very grateful to have him.”
4. Is it a battle for No. 2 at running back?
Last year, Connor Heyward was a surprise choice over Elijah Collins as the starting running back at the outset of the season. By season’s end, true freshman Jordon Simmons had become the feature back.
Heading into 2021, we probably have a pretty good idea of what Heyward is all about. He’s a respectable leader, and he has some third-down versatility in the pass game, but the Spartans are likely looking for more home run capability from its running backs than Heyward has shown he can provide.
Simmons led Michigan State in rushing last year with 219 yards (43.8 yards per game). Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but daylight was rare for Michigan State ball carriers last year.
A key question as spring closes is whether we can expect the type of second-year improvement from Simmons that is common for sophomores. He needs to keep improving, because those around him are.
Collins rushed for more than 900 yards as a redshirt-freshman in 2019. He strangely labored as a reserve last year. He revealed earlier this week that he was slowed by COVID-19 last season. Now his struggles in 2020, and limited playing time, make sense. It also raises the question as to whether we might see the old version of Collins back in working order in 2021, or better?
Michigan State running backs coach Will Peagler didn’t witness Collins first-hand in 2019. Now, Peagler says Collins is a different player than the one he inherited last season.
Peagler says Collins and redshirt-freshman Donovan Eaglin are the two most improved running backs on the team. Eaglin has thunder thighs and can make tight cuts. Don’t be surprised if he churns out the most memorable runs of the day on Saturday.
MSU’s defensive back seven is likely to encounter struggles on Saturday. And when the second-string defense is on the field against the No. 1 offense, a few breakout runs by tailbacks are probable.
5. Is the offensive line finally ready to drive forward?
For a second straight year, Michigan State is returning several players with starting experience on the offensive line - but none of them have started for a quality offensive line. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether it’s a good thing or bad thing to have so many returning players from a unit which struggled. Experience and a little depth can never be a bad thing, right? Michigan State is expeted to have both on the offensive line this season.
SpartanMag.com projects improvement on the offensive line, enough to set the foundation for a respectable offense in 2021. But we’re writing that in pencil, not ink.
Offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic was frustrated by last year’s lack of punch on the offensive front.
“I feel like with the guys that are coming back, and some pieces that we have coming in, we should be at a much higher level than we were last year,” he said. “We’ve got time to get these guys better. It’s got to happen now.”
An extra year of physical maturity, and a strong string of months within Jason Novak’s strength program, will give Kapilovic a better hand to play with than last year.
When asked how the offensive line performed after the second scrimmage, Tucker was bullish.
“Better,” he said. “Better.”
No one is saying they’re great.
“We’re competing,” he said. “We’re shifting some guys around, trying some guys in some different spots. I was looking at some before and after pictures from the weight room and we have guys that are gaining lean muscle mass and they just look better. We need to finish strong in the spring and then this summer, in the Spartan training program, we really have to get after it.”
What type of positive indications should we look for on Saturday?
When the first-string offensive line is going against the second-string defensive front, MSU’s o-line needs to win. MSU probably has more depth on the defensive line than any area of the team. MSU’s second-string defensive front will provide a sturdy test for MSU’s first-string offensive line. And if Michigan State’s o-line plays well in that matchup, you might conclude that d-line depth isn’t as good as it’s touted, but you might also conclude that the o-line is gaining traction. I would conclude the latter.
6. Is Jarrett Horst making an impact?
Horst, the mid-season transfer from Arkansas State, was a hot enough of a prospect in January that the mighty Oklahoma Sooners tried to steal him from the Spartans.
However, based on most indications, video clips and general chatter from MSU’s football pentagon, Horst wasn’t a first-stringer through the first two-thirds of spring practice. Will he be elevated to first-string offensive tackle on Saturday? That’s the hope, if you’re a concerned Spartan. You want him to be good enough to win that job and enable Kevin Jarvis to move back to his natural position of offensive guard. That would mean Matt Carrick is bounced from the first unit, which isn’t ideal for him. But that’s the type of competition that is needed with the offensive line, competition that Kapilovic said didn't exist last year.
Matt Allen is back after missing the last six games of 2020. He is competing with Nick Samac for his old starting center job. That’s an interesting battle.
A.J. Arcuri has established himself as a solid pass protector at left tackle. He’s not going to stymie any All-American pass rushers, but he’s more than functional on most Saturdays in that category. Now can he become a quality run blocker? If so, then the offense just got better.
7. What’s left over at tight end?
Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson says tight end is the most valuable position in his offense. We realize that can’t be an entirely true statement, because the quarterback is kind of the quarterback of the whole thing. But Johnson’s point is well-taken. He wants to make use of the tight end, perhaps more so than is customary in today's college football. But he doesn’t have a great talent pool to work with - based on the body of work of the players he inherited.
Matt Dotson attempted to come back for an extra senior year, but an injury setback during winter drills caused him to retire.
Trenton Gillison and Tyler Hunt are returning contributors. Kameron Allen is a mid-year enrollee who provides some hope for the future, but it’s hard to imagine him being an instant-impact player in 2021 - unless he does something to spark some enthusiasm on Saturday.
Gillison had a nice touchdown reception in the first scrimmage of the spring. At 6-4, 240, maybe the redshirt-junior is ready to start rounding into becoming a plus player. We’ll look for clues of this on Saturday. He had five receptions last season.
Hunt was a functional tight end last year. He’s solid. The staff has done a good job of bringing him along and getting respectable play out of him, considering he came to Michigan State as a walk-on punter.
They’re happy to have Hunt, but no one is going to mistake him for Billy Joe Dupree. Hunt’s eight catches for 78 yards were a bonus last year, but at 6-3, 220, can he be the type of tight end that Johnson wants as a cornerstone to his offense? Probably not. But, as stated, they’re happy to have Hunt, because they don’t have a lot else.
Redshirt-freshman Tommy Guajardo was hoping for an opportunity to make the dress list last year. He didn’t get it, but he has kept working. At 6-3, 240, he has shown good downfield quickness as a prep. He has reshaped his body during winter conditioning. Again, we’ll look for sparks from him on Saturday.
Parks Gissinger (6-4, 235, R-Jr.) played a little bit at the end of the 2019 season in the Pinstripe Bowl due to widespread injuries. He didn’t dress for a game last year, but he has shown up on scrimmage film this year, sometimes with the first unit. That's a bit of a surprise.
Evan Morris, a walk-on kicker, moved to tight end last year at 6-5, 235 and has been on the cusp of the playing group.
Ian Stewart moved from wide receiver to tight end midway through last year. At 6-3, 220, he is listed at wide receiver on the official spring roster. He’s a big-boned athlete with the potential to make noise at some point. How soon and at what position? We might have a better idea after Saturday.
Stewart, Guajardo, Gillison, Gissinger, Allen? That’s a grab bag of questions.
This position seems to have been begging for help from the transfer portal for more than a year, but there have been no indications that Michigan State has been a serious contender for impact help at tight end - unless you count recent news accounts that the Spartans are involved with Purdue transfer candidate Maliq Carr.
Sources tell SpartanMag.com that Michigan State is interested in Carr as a wide receiver. Purdue sources tell SpartanMag.com that Carr likely would not be interested in playing tight end. However, sources in Michigan who are close to Carr indicate he would be willing to play anything.
All this talk about someone who is still an uncommitted question mark in the portal. But that’s appropriate fodder for the current tight end climate at Michigan State - it’s up for grabs.
8. Is wide receiver an area of strength?
Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor have been quality wide receivers at times in their careers. Now, they’re proven veterans who might pack serious potential to take their games to the next level in 2021.
Before and after photos of the two were released via Twitter earlier this week, comparing their physiques today to the way they looked in June when they reported after a spring and summer of quarantine. They’re wider, much more muscular, but not much heavier. They have added lean muscle mass and dropped body fat. We can assume they haven’t lost a step of speed, and maybe even gained some quickness.
Nailor has 49 career catches. Talent, maturity and opportunity seem to be lining up for him in a way that could yield 50-plus catches in 2021 if he stays healthy - something he had trouble doing in the past.
Reed led Michigan State in receptions last year with 33. He had 56 catches as a true freshman at Western Michigan in 2018.
Nailor and Reed have each turned in electric moments at Michigan State. But with the Spartans expecting to be improved at quarterback this year, and hoping to be improved in the run game, Nailor and Reed could emerge as an even more exciting duo in 2021 than some might expect.
On Saturday, fans would like to see some early sparks from Nailor and Reed at Spartan Stadium. And then it might be wise to park them on the sidelines.
Ricky White had a monstrous game in the victory over Michigan last year as a true freshman but has barely been heard from since. He had one catch following the Michigan game, and missed the final three games of the season with an injury. He’s listed on the official Michigan State spring roster, but hasn’t appeared in any practice videos or photos. SpartanMag.com is not expecting to see him in uniform for Saturday’s scrimmage.
Meanwhile, the door is open for a resurgence from Tre Mosley. He had 21 catches as a true freshman in 2019. In a shortened season, he had just seven catches last year, with a long of 12.
Looking for new momentum from Mosley? It could start on Saturday. The same goes for freshmen Terry Lockett and Montorie Foster, who made brief appearances last fall and exude talent.
Graduate senior C.J. Hayes is still on the roster, and has shown up on some spring film. He didn't dress for any games last year while battling an injury. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hayes is three-time Academic All-Big Ten. He had 13 catches as a redshirt sophomore in 2019.
With Foster and Lockett on the rise, and Louisville transfer Christian Fitzpatrick on the way in, Hayes could use a loud end to spring practice.