Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Take New Approach On & Off The Football Field
8/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - John L. Smith is pushing the Michigan State Spartans harder than they've been pushed before.
Then he asks for more.
Michigan State's new coach may not be able to turn the Spartans around right away on the field, but he is trying to be a difference-maker for them mentally and physically.
Smith forces his players to run energy-sapping sprints in the middle of practices, instead of at the end.
"It's new for these guys, but it's not new for us," Smith said Friday during media day. "We've always believed in doing that and that has always made us a second-half team.
"We want to drain them as much as they can, then they still have a whole half of practice left. They'll get used to it and they'll like it and they'll believe in it."
Smith still believes quarterback Jeff Smoker will be fully reinstated to the program, but he is not ready to make it official.
"We're hoping," Smith said. "We're knocking on that wood."
Smoker was suspended from the team during last season for violating team rules and 10 days later, his family announced he was seeking treatment for a substance-abuse problem.
Smoker's absence only accelerated Michigan State's deterioration on the field and was one of many problems off it.
The Spartans were ranked 15th after a 2-0 start, but lost six of their next seven games and were 2-5 in the Big Ten and 4-8 overall - their worst record since 1991.
Then-coach Bobby Williams was fired with three games left in the season, and Smith was hired away from Louisville in December.
Even with Smith's track record of success and rebuilding programs, many are predicting Michigan State will be among the worst teams in the conference again this year.
"That's great because there's no pressure on us," senior linebacker Monquiz Wedlow said. "We can just got to go out and play. Nobody expects us to do anything. I think the pressure is on the teams picked to be on top. The way I figure it, the Big Ten is up for grabs."
Smoker is not the only Spartan expected to make a dramatic comeback this season.
Tyrell Dortch hasn't played a game since Oct. 27, 2001, when he had a horrific compound fracture of his right leg. But after a strong showing in spring practice, he is the team's No. 1 running back.
"For that guy to fight back, isn't that nice to see?" Smith said.
Sophomore Matt Trannon, a 6-6, 228-pound receiver, will make his much-anticipated debut on Aug. 30 at home against Western Michigan. Trannon was academically ineligible to play as a freshman.
Charles Rogers and Plaxico Burress were the last two Spartan receivers to miss their first season because they were academically ineligible.
Michigan State returns six starters on offense, eight on defense and the team's kicker and punter.
Despite consistently sending players to the NFL, the Spartans have gone to only one Rose Bowl, won three Big Ten titles and won eight or more games in consecutive seasons once since 1966.
The Spartans have led the Big Ten in one category over the past three decades: coaching changes. Smith became the school's eighth coach in 30 years.
Smith - who turned around Louisville, Utah State and Idaho as a head coach over the past 14 seasons - has a career record of 110-60. He ranks 14th among active NCAA I-A coaches in wins.
Smith has spent the past eight months changing his players' attitudes and habits. Being late for appointments or classes or keeping a messy locker will get a player an order of early morning sprints.
"It's easier to establish those kinds of things," he said. "I'm a big believer in doing it right Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so that we can have a chance on the one day of the week that we go to battle."
By LARRY LAGE, The Associated Press
