Line is MSU -7.
It is looking more and more like Rutgers is the play. See the below article, and to add injury to insult, I hear the man with the inside track on the job, Drew Stanton, is sitting out of this week's practices to rest his knee. This is the knee he blew out last year while, get this, covering punts?!?!?
Damon Dowdell, who is BAD, will likely start the opener.
QB STANDSTILL IS TROUBLING
EAST LANSING, Mich. ? Obviously, Michigan State is behind at the quarterback position. We can gain no other assumption in the last five days of fall camp, based on the press release that Michigan State sent out today from Saturday?s scrimmage.
In the release, head coach John L. Smith said, ?There's still no separation at the quarterback position. None of the quarterbacks moved the team consistently, and they all struggled to put the ball in the end zone.?
I didn?t hear Smith say those words, and media were not allowed to be present to ask follow-up questions. But we will get a chance to watch portions of practice today and Wednesday, and conduct interviews each day.
Dowdell, shown here durig the troubling 2002 season, is still in contention.
Drew Stanton has not stepped up, and Damon Dowdell has not stepped down. This, in itself, is a disconcerting upset.
The cards were stacked to favor Stanton. Smith said if the competition were equal, then the younger quarterback would get the nod. Smith said he would have more patience with a younger quarterback making mistakes than if a veteran made mistakes.
Yet Dowdell is still in the race.
What does this say about Dowdell? Well, remember that he beat out Stanton at this time last year for second-string duties.
He has had many good practices in the past. But few good games.
Dowdell has had his chances with the current staff and the previous regime. He has six more career starts than Stanton. But he is 1-5 as a starter.
Perhaps the competitiveness he is showing this fall is that he is ready to play winning football as a senior, as did Wisconsin's Jim Sorgi in 2003 after three years of ineffective spot starting.
What does today's release say about Stanton? The coaches expected that Stanton would show rust this month, due to the time he missed while recovering from knee surgery. While showing rust, apparently Stanton isn?t showing enough promise.
But that?s based on press release information, which can?t be entirely trusted. The press release quotes Smith as saying, ?we might be able to name the starter on Thursday night before the season opener."
Of course that?s complete baloney. There is no way that a program would wait that long to name a starting quarterback. Media and fans might not be informed of the decision by then, but you can bet that the coaches ? for better or worse ? will decide on one guy well before Sept. 2.
But if a starting quarterback truly is not named prior to the meat of this week?s practices, then you have to wonder when the rest of the offense is going to start to suffer.
If the first-string offense is to operate at its full potential on Sept. 4, one quarterback needs to be given all of the first-string reps for the final two weeks of practice. The offensive teammates need someone to rally around. The huddle needs a leader. And a quarterback needs time to gain a rapport with the rest of the unit.
Every coach knows this. But apparently, MSU is unable to name a full-time first-stringer, right now.
Smith said all along that he planned to have someone named after the Aug. 21 scrimmage. But if MSU is still giving first-string reps to three quarterbacks this week, then that would be a clear sign that the quarterback position is in trouble. That?s the only read I can make based on today?s press release.
It is looking more and more like Rutgers is the play. See the below article, and to add injury to insult, I hear the man with the inside track on the job, Drew Stanton, is sitting out of this week's practices to rest his knee. This is the knee he blew out last year while, get this, covering punts?!?!?
Damon Dowdell, who is BAD, will likely start the opener.
QB STANDSTILL IS TROUBLING
EAST LANSING, Mich. ? Obviously, Michigan State is behind at the quarterback position. We can gain no other assumption in the last five days of fall camp, based on the press release that Michigan State sent out today from Saturday?s scrimmage.
In the release, head coach John L. Smith said, ?There's still no separation at the quarterback position. None of the quarterbacks moved the team consistently, and they all struggled to put the ball in the end zone.?
I didn?t hear Smith say those words, and media were not allowed to be present to ask follow-up questions. But we will get a chance to watch portions of practice today and Wednesday, and conduct interviews each day.
Dowdell, shown here durig the troubling 2002 season, is still in contention.
Drew Stanton has not stepped up, and Damon Dowdell has not stepped down. This, in itself, is a disconcerting upset.
The cards were stacked to favor Stanton. Smith said if the competition were equal, then the younger quarterback would get the nod. Smith said he would have more patience with a younger quarterback making mistakes than if a veteran made mistakes.
Yet Dowdell is still in the race.
What does this say about Dowdell? Well, remember that he beat out Stanton at this time last year for second-string duties.
He has had many good practices in the past. But few good games.
Dowdell has had his chances with the current staff and the previous regime. He has six more career starts than Stanton. But he is 1-5 as a starter.
Perhaps the competitiveness he is showing this fall is that he is ready to play winning football as a senior, as did Wisconsin's Jim Sorgi in 2003 after three years of ineffective spot starting.
What does today's release say about Stanton? The coaches expected that Stanton would show rust this month, due to the time he missed while recovering from knee surgery. While showing rust, apparently Stanton isn?t showing enough promise.
But that?s based on press release information, which can?t be entirely trusted. The press release quotes Smith as saying, ?we might be able to name the starter on Thursday night before the season opener."
Of course that?s complete baloney. There is no way that a program would wait that long to name a starting quarterback. Media and fans might not be informed of the decision by then, but you can bet that the coaches ? for better or worse ? will decide on one guy well before Sept. 2.
But if a starting quarterback truly is not named prior to the meat of this week?s practices, then you have to wonder when the rest of the offense is going to start to suffer.
If the first-string offense is to operate at its full potential on Sept. 4, one quarterback needs to be given all of the first-string reps for the final two weeks of practice. The offensive teammates need someone to rally around. The huddle needs a leader. And a quarterback needs time to gain a rapport with the rest of the unit.
Every coach knows this. But apparently, MSU is unable to name a full-time first-stringer, right now.
Smith said all along that he planned to have someone named after the Aug. 21 scrimmage. But if MSU is still giving first-string reps to three quarterbacks this week, then that would be a clear sign that the quarterback position is in trouble. That?s the only read I can make based on today?s press release.
