Four Spartans Invited To Play In Football All-Star Games
12/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 28, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Four Michigan State seniors - running back DeAndra Cobb, tight end Jason Randall, placekicker Dave Rayner and linebacker Ronald Stanley - have accepted invitations to play in postseason football all-star games.
Randall will represent the North, coached by Ohio State's Jim Tressel, in the Jan. 15 The Villages Gridiron Classic in The Villages, Fla. ESPN2 will televise the Gridiron Classic, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. EST at The Villages Polo Stadium.
Rayner also will be in action on Jan. 15, participating in the East-West Shrine Game at SBC Park in San Francisco, Calif. He will represent the East, coached by Purdue's Joe Tiller. ESPN will televise the 80th East-West Shrine Game at 2 p.m. EST.
Cobb, Rayner and Stanley will represent the East, coached by Georgia's Mark Richt, in the Jan. 22 Hula Bowl Maui. ESPN will televise the Hula Bowl Maui at 7 p.m. EST.
The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Cobb led the Spartans in rushing (728 on 96 carries) and all-purpose yards (1,607). He averaged a school-record 7.6 yards per carry in 2004. Cobb ranks among the Big Ten leaders in all-purpose yards (fourth at 133.9 yards per game), kickoff returns (fifth with his 24.1-yard average) and rushing (ninth at 60.7 ypg.).
He earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors against Hawaii after returning three kickoffs for 111 yards (37.0 avg.). Cobb accounted for 249 all-purpose yards in the season finale against the Warriors, including 128 yards rushing on 16 attempts. It marked Cobb's second career 100-yard rushing game.
Cobb rushed 22 times for a career-best 205 yards vs. Michigan, scoring on runs of 72 and 64 yards. He produced those totals against a Wolverine defense that ranked third in the NCAA against the run, allowing just 71.6 yards per game. Cobb also became just the second back in Spartan history to record a 200-yard rushing game in the MSU-Michigan series, joining T.J. Duckett who picked up 211 yards on 27 attempts in 2001.
He gained a team-best 93 yards on nine carries vs. Illinois and scored the first offensive touchdown of his career on a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Las Vegas, Nev., native returned five kickoffs for 152 yards (30.4 avg.) vs. Notre Dame, including an 89-yard runback for a touchdown in the third quarter. It marked Cobb's fourth career kickoff return for a score, one shy of the Big Ten record held by Purdue's Stan Brown (1968-70). The NCAA career mark belongs to Southern Cal's Anthony Davis (1972-74), who returned six kickoffs for TDs.
His career 25.5-yard kickoff return average ranks sixth on the Big Ten's all-time list. Cobb also stands third on MSU's all-time chart with 1,632 career kickoff return yards.
 Second-team All-Big Ten tight end Jason Randall had 11 catches for 121 yards in 2004. (WireImage)  | |
Randall, a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches, had 11 receptions for 121 yards (11.0 avg.) in 2004. The 6-5, 269-pound Randall caught at least one pass in eight games. He had a season-high three catches for 42 yards vs. Michigan, including a 29-yard grab from Drew Stanton in the second quarter that led to a field goal.
The Muskegon Heights, Mich., native had 52 career receptions for 594 yards (11.4 avg.) and five touchdowns.
 Dave Rayner, MSU's all-time leading scorer with 334 career points, has accepted invitations to play in both the Jan. 15 East-West Shrine Game and Jan. 22 Hula Bowl Maui. (WireImage) | |
Rayner, a second-team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media in 2004, ranks as MSU's all-time leader in scoring (334 career points), field goals (62 made) and extra points (148 made). He became only the 14th player in Big Ten history to reach the 300-point milestone.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Rayner leads the Big Ten in scoring with 105 points, converting 22-of-31 field-goal attempts (.710) and all 39 extra-point tries in 2004. His 22 field goals lead the NCAA (tied with Boise State's Tyler Jones) and matched MSU's single-season record. Rayner kicked extremely well down the stretch, hitting 13 of his last 17 field-goal attempts (.765) over the last six games. He also converted his last 76 extra-point attempts in a row.
Rayner was selected one of the Lou Groza Award's Top Three Stars for Week 11 after scoring 13 points vs. Ohio State, providing four field goals and an extra point. He converted 4-of-5 field-goal attempts against the Buckeyes, hitting from 27, 44, 53 and 29 yards. His 53-yarder in the third quarter matched his career long.
The Oxford, Mich., native earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors twice in 2004 (vs. Minnesota and Indiana).
Rayner scored 15 points against the Golden Gophers, matching his career high. He was perfect on three field-goal attempts - converting from 22, 23 and 37 yards - and six extra-point tries. Four of his nine kickoffs vs. Minnesota also resulted in touchbacks.
He was perfect on three field-goal (44, 22 and 39 yards) and three extra-point attempts to account for 12 points vs. Indiana, while six of his seven kickoffs produced touchbacks.
For the second year in a row, Rayner was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top placekicker by the Palm Beach County (Fla.) Sports Commission.
 Ronald Stanley, who lead the Spartans in tackles with 125 in 2004, will participate in the Jan. 22 Hula Bowl Maui. | |
The 6-foot, 234-pound Stanley led the Spartans in tackles (125 total) and production points (192) and ranked second in tackles for losses (9 for 33 yards) in 2004. He reached the 100-tackle milestone each of the last two seasons (2003-04).
With seven stops vs. Hawaii in the season finale, Stanley moved into sixth place on MSU's all-time list with 368 career tackles.
The Saginaw, Mich., native posted double figures in tackles six times in 2004, including 12 stops vs. Penn State. Stanley produced double figures in tackles in back-to-back games vs. Michigan (13) and Ohio State (16). He became only the 14th player in Spartan history to reach the 300-tackle milestone, recording 12 tackles in MSU's 38-25 victory over Illinois. His 9-yard sack against the Illini resulted in a fumble and led to a Spartan field goal. He also registered 12 tackles vs. Indiana, including two behind the line of scrimmage (6 yards). Stanley recorded a career-best 20 tackles, including two for losses (4 yards), in the season opener at Rutgers.
Stanley reached double figures in tackles 14 times during his four-year career.
