Michigan State University Athletics
Preseason Camp Update: Coach Dantonio Quotes
8/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State football team is in its third week of preseason camp, with the season opener now less than two weeks away as the Spartans will face Western Michigan on Sept. 4 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.
The Spartans held their second scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday in Spartan Stadium, with the offense prevailing over the defense, 34-18.
Following Monday's practice, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio gave an update on the team to the media.
"Well, we just changed gears," said Dantonio. "We started practicing in the afternoon today. So our guys are here all day, doing different things throughout the day, lifts, meetings, things of that nature. We just shifted gears a little bit...We had a little scout team stuff today, first time doing that, so there's little things you have to work through there, but you get a sense they want to get on with it, and I think that's probably the case with most football teams right now."
As for being ranked No. 5 in the Preseason Associated Press Poll -- MSU's highest preseason ranking since 1967 -- Dantonio quickly responded: "Yeah, they went 3-7 that year. I saw that.
"I think that ratings are great," Dantonio added, "especially early in the season, but that's an indication of what has been done here, it's not an indication of what will be done here. And we have to look at those rankings and put those over here, and see where we can come with those. At the end of the season, we'll get ranked in terms of what we earned. That's how we've always approached it."
TICKET UPDATE: The Spartan Ticket Office announced on Monday that fewer than 200 season tickets remain on sale. The home opener is Sept. 12 vs. No. 7 Oregon. Fans can still order season tickets online at msuspartans.com.
QUOTABLE:
On the running backs...
I thought Madre London had a great scrimmage. Gerald (Holmes) is probably ahead of LJ (Scott) in terms of knowing what to do, but LJ makes plays and looks very, very good out there. And Delton Williams is just getting back into the flow of it. He came in on the 14th. He's lost a lot of time, so there's timing things; there's just little things, he's got to get himself back in shape. He is certainly functional. So I think we have four very good running backs. Nick Tompkins sort of rounds that out. He's just a little bit light, but he plays extremely hard and he's very quick.
On if he's made a decision regarding LJ Scott to redshirt this season...
No. I would say right now, I would lean to not redshirting him. But we'll see.
On the cornerbacks...
Vayante Copeland has had a very good summer camp. Arjen Colquhoun is in the mix. Darian (Hicks) we're probably going to get back this week hopefully. It might be a little bit soon for him to play, but he's been going through conditioning type of things. He just hasn't put the pads on; tomorrow will be his first day in shells. So we'll see how it all shakes out with him. The freshmen look good. Josh Butler...all those guys look good, but they're just young, so we've got numbers there. But right now, (Demetrious) Cox is out there as well, so we've got depth there. We're playing well. Jermaine Edmondson is another guy that's in the mix.
On if Madre London is the No. 1 tailback as of right now following Saturday's scrimmage...
He's No. 1 right now.
On if the offense improved in the second scrimmage...
Yeah, things got cleaned up; zero turnovers in the scrimmage. They had some explosive plays, which always helps. I think Connor Cook was especially sharp; so was (Tyler) O'Connor, so was Damion Terry. They all played very well. The receivers caught the ball.
On the Sam linebacker position...
I think (Jon) Reschke and (Frey) are both in there; they're both going to see time at money (strong side linebacker). Reschke had a very good scrimmage as well. Chris Frey is playing well. I think both those guys have an opportunity to play. They've played themselves into the starting position I would say.
On Western Michigan and how they're different from 2013...>
Well, that was 2013, so it's a much better football team in terms of knowing what to do and all being on the same page. You've been together as a staff for now two years, and going into your third, so there's a lot of things you could do now that maybe you weren't able to do early. It's much more cohesive. (They have a) good running back, some good wide receivers, I think the quarterback is a very good player as well. They have depth back on the offensive line. Defensively, they have to fill in some things, but they also have some players there too. I think it's a good football team.
On the third defensive end in the rotation...
Good question, because (Demetrius) Cooper has played pretty well, but Montez Sweat has had a great summer camp. Makes a lot of plays; 6-5, 245 pounds, he runs around like he does. So he's been very good. And Evan Jones has been solid. So you sort of go with that and see how it all shakes out. We have five guys there (Shilique Calhoun, Lawrence Thomas).
