East Lansing, Mich. - All things are close to being back on course for Scottie Hazelton.
Spring practice was productive, summer conditioning was good, his beard is awesome, and if he listens closely he can hear the band practicing across campus.
And on Saturday the Michigan State defensive coordinator has one last scrimmage to give fall camp proper momentum toward its close and the beginning of a real, live college football season.
“The cool thing about having scrimmages is you get a chance to evaluate these guys over and over and say, ‘Okay, let’s see where they fit in,’” Hazelton said.
The Spartans had their first scrimmage on Aug. 14. Their second scrimmage, which will be closed to the public and media, will be played at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.
After a 2020 season of trying to piece together a defense with limited time for teaching, he had a full spring with most of his players this year, and now they are three-quarters of the way through a full fall camp.
But there is still a lot of teaching, learning and evaluating taking place. Michigan State is indoctrinating nine transfers on defense. Seven of them weren’t here for spring practice.
Mix in some freshmen who are showing potential to be a part of the playing group, and there’s much work to be done.
“You talk about scrimmage two,” Hazelton said, “and you say, ‘Okay, what can each guy do? What’s his role going to be? Hey, this guy we might want to play against the run more. Bigger, more physical. And this guy we might want to put in pass rush situations or second-and-long.’ And you start to get those ideas for subs.”
Quavaris Crouch - a junior transfer from Tennessee, and originally from Charlotte, N.C. - was expected to make a splash as one of the most impressive athletes on the roster. He has repped with 2020 starter Noah Harvey as the first-string linebacking pair.
“We’re excited to see what he’s going to do in the second scrimmage to see where he fits into the defense,” Hazelton said of Crouch. “We’re excited about him. We still have to clean up some things. He doesn’t have all his alignments down. He’ll do some of those little things like that but he is a guy that will be able to make some plays for us. He is an outstanding young man. He plays with a lot of energy. He loves the game of ball. His energy is contagious to other guys.”
Crouch delivered a hard hit to tailback Elijah Collins during last week’s scrimmage in run defense. That wasn’t a surprise. He started all 10 games at Tennessee last year and posted 57 tackles.
Other transfers, such as LB/DE Itayvion “Tank” Brown (Minnesota), CB Marqui Lowery (Louisville) and CB Khary Crump (Arizona) are still inexperienced. The same goes for true freshman candidates such as Charles Brantley, a former four-star recruit out of Venice, Fla.
“How scrimmages work, sometimes in the first one, there’s a guy who flashes and you’ll expect a guy to play really, really good and you’re excited to see him play,” Hazelton said. “But the first time you play live (in a scrimmage), sometimes guys do stuff that they haven’t been doing and they do some weird things.
“And other guys, the light comes on and they shine even brighter.
“The second one is going to be great because now they’ve been through it. They understand what the scrimmage is like. It’s the same. Ball is ball, whether it’s out there in spiders and no pads, or whether it’s live. So the guys are starting to get that and that’s what we hope that we can really see people play and see where everybody fits and then it gets inked out.”
Hazelton works closely with defensive ends during practice. He’s eager to see how those guys play on Saturday, plus some intriguing defensive tackle candidates.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE UPDATE
Redshirt freshman Simeon Barrow (6-2, 285, Grovetown, Ga.) opted out of last season but had an excellent showing in the spring scrimmage. If he plays well in the second scrimmage, he could bash his way into a role.
“Simeon has had some really good flashes,” Hazelton said. “He’s been a guy that’s showed up. Even with his snap and his body and his hands, he has done some good things there.
“He still has some things to work on where he doesn’t always play with power. Like everybody, we identify these things and work on these things and give them a chance to go. That’s what scrimmage two will be about.”
Jalen Hunt (6-4, 320, Soph., Belleville) was coming along nicely last year when he missed the final two games of the season with an undisclosed injury. He’s one of the top rising talents in the program and is expected to contend strongly for starting duties.
Jacob Slade (6-4, 315, Jr., Lewis Center, Ohio) started seven games at defensive tackle last year and logged 274 snaps. He’s battled some ailments this month but is expected to be a fixture with Hunt at defensive tackle.
Dashawn Mallory (6-2, 285, Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) started two games at DT last year when he weighed in excess of 325 pounds. He has changed his body, added quickness and endurance and is eager to unleash his new and improved physique on opponents this fall.
“Those guys in the weight room did a good job with a lot of them cats,” Hazelton said “Last year, he (Mallory) was a lot bigger. His explosion factor was a lot less when he was that big.