First-Team Defense Dominates Second Preseason Football Scrimmage
8/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State second-year head coach Bobby Williams sent his football team through its second preseason scrimmage Tuesday (Aug. 28), a 90-minute workout on the grass practice fields behind the Duffy Daugherty Building.
Nine starters watched the scrimmage from the sidelines. Tailback T.J. Duckett, center Brian Ottney and linebacker Josh Thornhill were held out of the action while six starters sat out the scrimmage with injuries, including wide receivers Herb Haygood (sore knee) and Charles Rogers (achilles tendonitis), offensive guard Paul Harker (strained neck), defensive tackle Josh Shaw (sprained ankle), tight end Chris Baker (torn meniscus) and linebacker Ivory McCoy (fractured fifth metatarsal).
"The team has improved a lot since the first scrimmage," Coach Williams said. "I'm pleased with what I saw from the first-team offense, first-team defense and special teams.
"The first-team defense was dominating at times. We had a lot of three and out series and that's exactly what I want to see from the first defense. The second offense made only five first downs all afternoon."
Tailback Tyrell Dortch (5-10, 193, So.) provided the first highlight of the 75-play scrimmage, racing 57 yards around left end for a touchdown.
As in the Aug. 22 scrimmage, quarterbacks Jeff Smoker (6-3, 207, So.) and Ryan Van Dyke (6-5, 223, Sr.) took turns running the first-team offense.
Smoker completed nine-of-11 throws for 152 yards and directed two touchdown drives. He started the scrimmage with a hot hand, hitting his first five pass attempts for 118 yards. His 64-yard completion to tight end Luc Mullinder (6-4, 253, So.) set up a 1-yard TD run by Little John Flowers (6-0, 210, Sr.).
Van Dyke hit seven-of-14 passes for 57 yards with two interceptions.
"Jeff Smoker threw the ball well today and made some good decisions," Williams said. "Ryan Van Dyke had a tough day, throwing two interceptions. Van Dyke made some good throws too, but overall, he had a rough day.
"We're going to go back and grade today's film and take a close look at the quarterback situation. I plan to name a starting quarterback by Saturday so we can finalize a game plan for the season opener against Central Michigan."
Red-shirt freshman Damon Dowdell (6-1, 209), who again took all of the snaps with the second team, connected on seven-of-14 throws for 67 yards, including a 28-yard completion to freshman wide receiver Ben Steckler (6-4, 204) late in the scrimmage.
Mullinder had three catches for 89 yards while Flowers caught three passes out of the backfield for 42 yards. Steckler (6-4, 204) had two receptions for 40 yards.
Junior tailback Tim James (5-8, 164), who got the bulk of the carries with the second unit, scored on a 4-yard run around right end during the "red zone" segment of the "controlled" scrimmage.
Junior cornerback Broderick Nelson (6-0, 175) and freshman safety Robert Flagg (6-2, 192) each intercepted passes on the goal line to end scoring threats.
Sophomore defensive end Greg Taplin (6-5, 254) had two tackles for losses (17 yards), including a 10-yard sack. Senior cornerback DeMario Suggs (5-11, 194) also recorded two tackles for losses (12 yards) and provided the biggest hit of the scrimmage, dropping Charles Barber (6-0, 165, R-Fr.) for a 5-yard loss on a wide receiver screen.
Following the scrimmage, Coach Williams announced that starting cornerback Cedric Henry (5-10, 190, Sr.) has been declared academically ineligible for the 2001 season. A preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection, Henry was considered a top contender for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top defensive back. In 2000, he led the Big Ten in pass break-ups (24) and finished third in interceptions (team-leading five). Henry also registered 45 tackles (27 solos, 18 assists) as a junior.
"This is disappointing news," Williams said. "Cedric Henry was one of the top cover corners in the Big Ten and this is a huge loss for our secondary.
"Cedric plans to remain in school and hopefully, he'll decide to return next year because he does have another season of eligibility remaining."
Top candidates to replace Henry in the starting lineup include Nelson and red-shirt freshman Jason Harmon (5-11, 186).
"We have some big shoes to fill at cornerback," Williams said. "(Broderick) Nelson and (Jason) Harmon are getting the bulk of the work there and we'll see how they respond. These guys have been presented with both a challenge and an opportunity."
Michigan State has scheduled a day off Wednesday (Aug. 29) before beginning final preparation for the 2001 season opener Saturday, Sept. 8 against Central Michigan at 1 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
