Michigan State University Athletics
Redshirts Make Impression in Second Spring Scrimmage
4/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 8, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State first-year head football coach Bobby Williams sent his team through a 113-play "controlled" scrimmage Saturday to conclude the third week of spring practice. The Spartans were forced to practice indoors at the Duffy Daugherty Football Building after three inches of snow fell early Saturday morning.
"We changed the scrimmage format a little since we had to work inside today," Coach Williams said. "We didn't allow a lot of hitting but I think we got some work done.
"The defense has made tremendous progress over the last three weeks. We lost some playmakers off last year's team but I really like the way the defense has come together as a unit."
First-team quarterback Ryan Van Dyke (Jr./Marshall, Mich.) completed 15-of-31 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. Van Dyke directed a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive to open the scrimmage. He went four-for-four for 49 yards on the opening series, including a 3-yard TD toss to Lavaile Richardson (Sr./Warren, Ohio).
"Ryan Van Dyke has had a very good spring," Williams said. "He was put in a lot of tough situations today and he responded well. We even allowed Ryan to call some of his own plays during the two-minute drills. We wanted to see what plays he feels most comfortable in running in those situations. Ryan called the plays, set the formations and executed pretty well."
Red-shirt freshman Dan Larlham (Kent, Ohio) solidified his position as the No. 2 quarterback by hitting 12-of-20 throws for 238 yards, including TD strikes of 56 yards to Ziehl Kavanaght (R-Fr./Brossard, Quebec) and 50 yards to Josh Lenaburg (R-Fr./Medina, Ohio).
"Dan Larlham has really caught on to what we're trying to do on offense," Williams said. "He has shown some leadership skills and the ability to make plays. Dan took a few too many sacks today but considering the constant pressure he was under, he didn't get rattled. He has made tremendous improvement the last three weeks."
Larlham's favorite target was Lenaburg, who caught five passes for 110 yards and had three other receptions nullified by penalties. Kavanaght had three catches for 104 yards.
"Josh Lenaburg has been a pleasant surprise this spring," Williams said. "Two other young receivers, Ziehl Kavanaght and Demont Smith (one for 22), are starting to come around."
Tight ends Ivory McCoy (Sr./Chicago) and Chris Baker (Jr./Saline, Mich.) had five receptions each for 34 and 29 yards, respectively.
Fullback Dawan Moss (So./Detroit) paced the ground attack with 22 yards on four carries, including a 10-yard TD run.
Michigan State's first-team defense, led by tackles Josh Shaw (Jr./Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Jace Sayler (Sr./McHenry, Ill.), delivered its share of big plays. Shaw recorded four sacks for 14 yards while Sayler produced four tackles for losses, including three sacks for 20 yards. Linebacker T.J. Turner (Sr./Hillsboro, Ohio) had a sack (8 yards) to go along with an interception (25-yard return).
Michigan State has practice sessions scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday next week before concluding spring drills with the annual Green-White intrasquad game Saturday, April 15 at 1:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. Admission is free.
