Grinz on Green: Spartans Want to Improve Running Game

Sept. 18, 2014

By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen

EAST LANSING, Mich. - After two games, Michigan State's rushing average (167.0 yards per game) is 6.8 yards below last season's output, which was good for only eighth in the Big Ten, and more importantly is: well off the goal of 200 yards per game set by the Spartan linemen; a disappointing showing according to leading rusher Jeremy Langford; not an acceptable indicator for offensive line coach and relentless taskmaster Mark Staten.

The line has been experiencing growing pains caused by the graduation of former starters Blake Treadwell, Dan France and Fou Fonoti, and an injury to multi-positional Connor Kruse. However, left tackle Jack Conklin doesn't see any major issues standing in the way of the line hitting a number that hasn't been achieved since the Spartans rushed for 201.8 yards per game nine years ago.

"We're real close," Conklin said. "We have some young guys who've had to step in, and that's going to take a second. It's been a few things, a little mistake there, one false step. That's the thing about offensive line, we all have to get our jobs done.

"That's the beauty of it, too, because a play can't work out without all of us working together. The chemistry is getting there; it just wasn't there the times it needed to be (at Oregon)."

An even greater emphasis will be placed on coordinated execution when MSU hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

"It's just working together more and more," Conklin said. "I think you'll see a big difference. The first half (against the Ducks) we had 86 yards and we needed to keep going like we did last year because we were a second-half team - we'd break a 50-yard run in the fourth quarter.

"But you could see that even with our 4- and 5-yard runs, if somebody had stayed on their block just a little longer, it would break into a 10- or 15-yarder. It's just little things like that. We'll be there soon."

Langford, who has been held to under 100 yards in three consecutive games (including the Rose Bowl) since ripping off eight straight century-plus efforts last season, said he is mentally and physically right since sustaining a twisted left ankle in the season opener against Jacksonville State.

"I think I babied it a lot, but it feels a lot better," said Langford. "We're not doing the best to our ability as a unit but I'm positive about it. I trust my linemen and I know they trust me, and once we get the ball rolling, we'll be hard to stop." Langford, who has 143 yards on 37 carries, is also back to repeating the mantra that worked for him while gaining 1,422 yards last season.

"Chemistry (with the line) does help, but at the same time I blame myself for not hitting the holes as hard as I could and getting the 4 yards and getting the confidence rolling," he said. "That's what helped me get the starting spot, and I think I lost sight of that going into the season - getting the 4 yards this play, getting the 4 yards that play, getting the linemen confidence and eventually it will break.

"I wasn't keying on getting the 4 yards, I was trying to hit the home run."

Junior right guard Donavon Clark and sophomore right tackle Kodi Kieler are new to the starting lineup while Benny McGowan and Brandon Clemons are being integrated into the rotation. Additionally, Brian Allen, the younger brother of starting center Jack, has been getting significant playing time, which is rare for a true freshman lineman. He's working at the center and both guard positions.

Staten isn't fixated on a specific rushing average as much as he is on the yards needed to sustain drives and eat up the clock when a victory is on the line. After taking a 27-18 lead in the third quarter at Oregon, the offense failed to pick up a first down on three of its final six possessions. The other three drives picked up five first downs but also produced no points as the Ducks pulled away for a 46-27 win.

"We'll just continue to mix them in there, match them in there and hopefully get some younger guys in there when I can (against EMU)," Staten said. "We'll continue to work some of our combinations and try to stay in front of them longer than they stay away from us.

"I just want to get them experience. I'd like some guys to play, I'd like them to play solid, I'd like them to play together. We've got to be able to do our job up front, win the trenches, get after them and impose our will."

The inability to do that against Oregon isn't sitting well with the line.

"I think it really woke them up," Staten said. "I mean heck, we really hadn't lost in a year. It was a slap in the face. It wasn't necessarily what (the Ducks) did, it's what we didn't do and that's hard if you've got any pride in you."

The line is rallying around a goal that would set them apart. The Spartans rushed for 200 yards in just three of 14 games last season and MSU has averaged 200 rushing yards per game only twice, in 2004 and '05, in the last 23 years.

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GoG Notes & Quotes: Staten is resisting the urge to play junior-college transfer Miguel Machado, especially since Kruse's return appears to be imminent.

"I'd love to be able to redshirt him and I've told him that a lot," Staten said. "I fully planned on playing him against Oregon, and then we got rolling in the second quarter when I was about to put him in, and it just ended up being one of those things, `Will it be better for you as a person?'

"I think it would be better for the team, maybe, if he gets some playing time and experience, but better for him and the overall longevity of this offensive line for him to continue to watch and learn, travel and still get some reps with the two's, a lot like Jack Allen and a lot of these guys have done."

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Kruse could be a welcomed catalyst.

"I can't wait to get Kruser back here in about a week and see what happens," Staten said. "He was running and hitting the sled yesterday. It's going to help a ton. It's also going to make everybody else who's been starting the last few weeks nervous because you don't lose a spot because of injury. A couple guys are entrenched where they are, but a few other guys need to continue to accelerate their play.

"(Kruse) doesn't get enough praise for his leadership value - being a former walk-on, and earning his way for a couple years, and earning a scholarship and just the toughness. The demand he places not only on himself but everybody else in that room and on the offense is tremendous. When you're nicked up, you don't feel like you can make those demands."

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Linebackers coach Mike Tressel said costly breakdowns against Oregon were due to a combination of circumstances, as opposed to a lack of preparation or in-game adjustments.

"One of the times where we had the defensive back knocked off the deep route was because the linebacker did such a good job of rerouting the tight end," Tressel said. "He knocked him right into the corner. Some of those things are unfortunate and happen sometimes.

"As I think back to the big plays, I don't think they were due to pre-snap adjustments. Unfortunately, when you get tired and lose a little bit of swag, that type of thing can happen. It's not one person not doing their job, there's 11 not doing their job really well. I don't think it was a not-knowing thing."

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Conklin still had a smile on his face for the way he plastered Oregon defensive back Erick Dorgan with a picture-perfect, pile-driving shoulder tackle during an interception return in the first quarter.

"For it being a pick, it couldn't have been a much better play from that standpoint," said Conklin, who hasn't gotten many chances to bring down ball-carriers since high school. "It was fun. I've seen (the replay) a ton and everybody on Twitter tagged me on it.

"Kodi (Kieler) and me ran our guys back on the protection and ran our guys into each other, so we fell down. The only thing we heard was the audience and I was like, `It's probably a pick or something.' I get up and see him streaking down the sideline and I was already angry. There were two guys in front of him and I'm like, `I'm just going to dive into these guys and hopefully take the runner out too.'

"And then, both of them ran right by so I'm like, `OK, I'm just going to throw everything I've got into this guy.' I was angry so I just got up and ran back to the sideline. I was just doing my job. He came up to me (after the game) and said, `That one hurt, that one hurt real bad.' "