Shabaj's Big Plays Belie Stature

Sept. 12, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Agim Shabaj looks up to Plaxico Burress and Charles Rogers, Michigan State's last great receivers and a pair of first-round NFL draft picks.

At 5-9, the slippery sophomore doesn't have much choice.

But instead of sitting and wishing he were 6-6 or 6-4, like Burress and Rogers, respectively, Shabaj just wants to make big plays.

If he makes any more huge catches or has a long punt return Saturday, Shabaj can help the 2-0 Spartans stand tall against 1-1 Louisiana Tech.

"I'd love to be the guy we go to," he says with a wide smile. "But we have a spread offense. Whoever's open gets the ball this year. There'll be times when I'm open and (quarterback Jeff Smoker) goes to somebody else. I know that."

Covering Shabaj has been as tough as pronouncing his name (uh-GEEM shuh-BY). Smoker already has gone to him 13 times for 234 yards - an 18-yard average - and three touchdowns this season. His 117-yards-per game is average is 13th-best in the country.

"Agim has definitely been making a lot of big plays," said Smoker, the nation's 10th-rated passer. "We've still got a lot of other guys who can make plays. But he's a quick receiver who's hard to cover. He'll make a move one way, then go the other. He's real elusive."

Shabaj's exceptional body control was never more evident than in a twisting, leaping grab last week against Rutgers.

"It was just a corner route," he said. "I saw the ball up in the air and went for it. I didn't know if it'd be a great catch or not. I knew I was going to get the ball. But I was happy to hear the whole stadium roar."

Besides the cheers of thousands at Spartan Stadium, Shabaj has earned rare compliments from position coach Jim McElwain.

"You mean AG-um?" McElwain said, deliberately mispronouncing the name. "He has a real will to compete. That's what I've been most impressed with. And he has some lateral quickness that really helps him get open. He can start and stop. That's something in this offense that's real effective."

McElwain said Shabaj's shiftiness is ideal for a slot receiver in first-year coach John L. Smith's attack.

"So much is made of straight (routes) 40 times, when it's how you can get open and move laterally that matters," McElwain said. "We work a lot, especially in the offseason, on change-of-direction drills. Truth be known, you either have it or you don't.

"But he's a guy who's tough to tackle. He'd be tough to tackle in a phone booth."

If Shabaj stepped out of that booth with an "S" on his chest and the ability to fly, some fans might not be surprised.

But he said he still has to work on "just about everything" to be in the class of Burress, Rogers or Michigan State's other recent NFL receivers, Gari Scott and Herb Haygood.

Three years ago against Notre Dame, it was Haygood who stunned the Fighting Irish with a 68-yard game-winning score on a fourth-down pass.

If Smoker needs another prayer answered next week at Notre Dame, or Saturday against the Bulldogs, Shabaj promises he'll be as tall as he has to be.