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2010 Michigan State Recruiting Class
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Feb 3, 2010
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Michigan State Spartans 2010
Head Coach: Mark Dantonio
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2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 10-2
2009 Results: 6-7
9/5 Montana
State W 44-3
9/12 C. Michigan L 29-27
9/19 at Notre Dame L 33-30
9/26 at Wisconsin L 38-30
10/3 Michigan W 26-20 OT
10/10 at Illinois W 24-14
10/17 Northwestern W 24-14
10/24 Iowa L 15-13
10/31 at Minnesota L 42-34
11/7 Western Mich W 49-14
11/14 at Purdue W 40-37
11/21 Penn State L 42-14
11/28 OPEN DATE
ALAMO BOWL
1/2 Texas Tech L 41-31
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2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2008 Results: 9-4
8/30 at California
L 38-31
9/6
Eastern Mich W
42-10
9/13
Florida Atlantic
W 17-0
9/20
Notre Dame W
23-7
9/27
at Indiana W
42-29
10/4
Iowa W 16-13
10/11
at Nwestern W
37-20
10/18 Ohio State L 45-7
10/25 at Michigan W 35-21
11/1 Wisconsin W 25-24
11/8
Purdue W 21-7
11/15 OPEN DATE
11/22 at Penn State
L 49-18
Capital One Bowl
1/1 Georgia L 24-12
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Michigan State
Spartans
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Top Five Prospects |
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DE |
William Gholston |
6-7 |
237 |
Detroit, MI |
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LB |
Max Bullough |
6-3 |
225 |
Traverse City, MI |
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QB |
Joe Boisture |
6-6 |
202 |
Saline, MI |
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OL |
Skyler Schofner |
6-6 |
276 |
Sunbury, OH |
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DB |
Isaiah Lewis |
5-11 |
190 |
Indianapolis, IN |
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The Rest of the Class |
RB |
Leveon Bell |
6-1 |
220 |
Reynoldsburg, OH |
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DE |
Taylor Calero |
6-3 |
230 |
Beverly Hills, MI |
DB |
Darqueze Dennard |
5-11 |
170 |
Jeffersonville, GA |
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OL |
Michael Dennis |
6-7 |
260 |
Carey, OH |
ATH |
Kurtis Drummond |
6-2 |
198 |
Hubbard, OH |
DB |
Mylan Hicks |
5-11 |
182 |
Detroit, MI |
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RB |
Nick Hill |
5-6 |
179 |
Chelsea, MI |
OL |
Travis Jackson |
6-4 |
265 |
Columbus, OH |
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ATH |
Jeremy Langford |
6-0 |
185 |
Westland, MI |
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ATH |
Tony Lippett |
6-3 |
185 |
Detroit, MI |
ATH |
Keith Mumphery |
6-1 |
195 |
Vienna, GA |
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RB |
Niko Palazeti |
6-0 |
230 |
Northville, MI |
DE |
Marcus Rush |
6-3 |
225 |
Cincinnati, OH |
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K |
Mike Sadler |
6-1 |
185 |
Grand Rapids, MI |
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DT |
Anthony White |
6-3 |
305 |
Fort Scott, KS |
LB |
Justin Wilson |
6-0 |
217 |
Davie, FL |
January 2
ALAMO BOWL
Texas Tech 41 … Michigan State 31
Steven Sheffield came off the bench to complete 9-of-11 passes for 88 yards with a scoring throw of 11 yards out to Detron Lewis, and two fourth down throws to keep late drives alive to put the game away. Sheffield replaced Taylor Potts, who hurt his finger, but could’ve come back in. Potts bombed away for 372 yards with a two-yard touchdown pass to Lyle Leong and a 15-yarder to Jacoby Franks, but Michigan State was able to keep up the pace with Edwin Baker running for a 46-yard score in the first and Kirk Cousins connecting with Keshawn Martin for a 48-yard touchdown in the second. Martin came up with a fantastic throw on a trick play finding Blair White for an eight-yard touchdown and a late third quarter lead, and Brett Swenson bombed away for a 44-yard field goal for a four point advantage midway through the fourth. Needing a spark, Tech interim head coach Ruffin McNeill put in Sheffield, who was great at a closer. The two teams combined for 975 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: The combination of Texas Tech QBs Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield completed 38-of-54 passes for 460 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 13-27, 220 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Edwin Baker, 12-97, 1 TD, Receiving: Blair White, 6-114, 1 TD
Texas Tech: Passing: Taylor Potts, 29-43, 372 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Baron Batch, 22-100, 2 TD, Receiving: Detron Lewis, 10-114, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Spartans couldn’t come up with one big stop in the final five minutes. The offense was creative and productive, but it failed late with Kirk Cousins throwing a key interception, and the defense couldn’t make a fourth down play get Steven Sheffield and the Tech offense off the field. Even so, considering all the massive losses after the controversial suspension, the team played well and it had its chances to get the win. On the plus side, LB Greg Jones, if this is his last game before turning pro, came up with a strong effort making 13 tackles. However, no pass rush from the defensive front meant the secondary got bombed on.
Nov. 21
Penn State 42 … at Michigan State 14
Penn State busted open a 7-7 halftime tie with 35 straight points as Daryll Clark threw four touchdown passes including two to Graham Zug and one to Andrew Quarless, who also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Drake. Michigan State’s defense couldn’t handle the Penn State passing game, while the offense that got an 11-yard Charlie Gantt touchdown catch in the second quarter didn’t get back on the board until the final minutes on a 71-yard Keshawn Martin touchdown catch.
Player of the Game: Penn State QB Daryll Clark completed 19-of-27 yards for 310 yards and four touchdowns
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 16-28, 155 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Edwin Baker, 9-48, Receiving: B.J. Cunningham, 4-39
Penn State: Passing: Daryll Clark, 19-27, 310 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Evan Royster, 13-114, Receiving: Graham Zug, 4-99, 2 TD
What It All Means: What happened to the defense? Greg Jones has done his part, making 15 tackles against Penn State, but the secondary hasn’t even been close over the last few weeks. In the last three Big Ten games, MSU allowed 42 points to Minnesota, 37 to Purdue, and 42 to Penn State, and this drip off the map came after holding Iowa to 15 points. Over the next several weeks before the bowl game, Mark Dantonio has to use all the pass rushing talents of his defensive front to generate more production from the secondary. The offense has to be far more consistent, and it has one last chance to produce.
Nov. 14
Michigan State 40 … at Purdue 37
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes including a 73-yarder to B.J. Cunningham and a nine-yarder to Blair White in the fourth quarter, but it took a 21-yard Brett Swenson field goal and a hold on defense to get the win. Purdue dominated the stat sheet, outgaining MSU 524 yards to 362, and held on to the ball for close to 41 minute. Keith Smith caught 15 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown for the Boilermakers and Ralph Bolden came up with two short scores on the way to a 34-23 lead before MSU went on a 17-3 run over the final 12 minutes.
Player of the Game: Michigan State LB Trenton Robinson made 14 tackles
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 39-55, 373 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 20-76, 2 TD, Receiving: Keith Smith, 15-152, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 11-25, 208 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Keshawn Martin, 3-70, Receiving: B.J. Cunningham, 3-92, 1 TD
What It All Means: Bowl eligibility. It hasn’t been pretty and there have been some major disappointments, but MSU is going to a bowl by showing its resiliency. The defense has gone into the tank in Big Ten play, and the offense couldn’t stay on the field with only 12 first downs and just over 19 minutes of possession time against Purdue, but after the bleakness of the Minnesota loss, MSU has rallied. A win over Penn State would put a tremendous cap on the rocky regular season, but to get that, the secondary needs to come up with a strong performance after getting ripped up by Joey Elliott and the Boilermakers.
Oct. 7
at Michigan State 49 … Western Michigan 14
Asthon Leggett ran for four touchdowns and Kirk Cousins was almost perfect in the blowout win. Leggett tore off scoring runs from 71, one and 13 yards away, while Cousins connected with Garrett Celek for a 13-yard touchdown and hit Dion Sims for a seven-yard score. WMU was outgained 602 yards to 211 with 80 of its yards coming on a Brandon West scoring run in the third.
Player of the Game: Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins completed 22-of-25 passes for 353 yards and two scores, & Ashton Leggett ran 14 times for 110 yards and four scores.
Western Michigan: Passing: Tim Hiller, 15-37, 111 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon West, 7-98, Receiving: Robert Arnheim, 5-40
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 22-25, 353 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Ashton Leggett, 14-110, 4 TD, Receiving: Blair White, 6-70
What It All Means: After disastrous losses to Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan State came back roaring with its best performance of the season. After all the injuries and other issues in the MSU backfield, getting a terrific day from RB Ashton Leggett was exactly what the team needed to settle down. Throw in the near-perfect, 22-of-25 passing day from Kirk Cousins, and this was everything the coaching staff could’ve asked for. Up next is a trip to Purdue with Penn State to follow needing one more win to be bowl eligible.
Oct. 31
at Minnesota 42 … Michigan State 34
In a bizarre game, Minnesota committed 17 penalties to Michigan State’s nine but got five Adam Weber touchdown passes including an all-timer of a bizarre play to pull away late. With the Gophers up one in the fourth, Nick Tow-Arnett caught pass on 3rd-and-17, got blasted and fell to the turf, but the ball bounced up in the air and was grabbed by Duane Bennett who took it in for a game-sealing 59-yard score. Bennett also took a pass 62 yards for a score and ran for a one-yard touchdown, but Michigan State always seemed to have an answer highlighted by Keshawn Martin’s 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half and a 84-yard touchdown run. In a matchup of two tremendous linebackers, Michigan State’s Greg Jones came up with 12 tackles and Minnesota’s Lee Campbell made six.
Player of the Game: Minnesota QB Adam Weber completed 19-of-31 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns with an interception.
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 21-35, 236 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Keshawn Martin, 1-84, 1 TD, Receiving: B.J. Cunningham, 5-83
Minnesota: Passing: Adam Weber, 19-31, 416 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Duane Bennett, 14-36, 1 TD, Receiving: Nick Tow-Arnett, 8-81, 2 TD
What It All Means: Just when it seemed like Michigan State couldn’t have any more problems, here comes a strange loss to Minnesota. The Spartans were a few seconds away from beating Iowa and needed to bounce back strong, but this wasn’t the performance the coaching staff was hoping for with no defense, not enough consistency with the running game, and a rough loss that means there’s work to do to get to a bowl. Now MSU has to beat Western Michigan and Purdue to get to six wins before facing Penn State.
Oct. 24
Iowa 15 … at Michigan State 13
Ricky Stanzi connected with Marvin McNutt on a seven-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock to cap off a furious final few minutes. Michigan State, helped by a hook-and-lateral to get in position, took a late lead on a 30-yard strike from Kirk Cousins to Blair White with 1:37 to play. But Iowa, helped by a penalty, got deep into MSU territory only to misfire on a few chances into the end zone. Before the final few two touchdowns, the two teams traded field goals with Daniel Murray connected from 37, 20, and 20 for Iowa, and Michigan State getting 34 and 23 yarders from Brett Swenson. Iowa only gained 276 yards of offense.
Player of the Game: Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi completed 11-of-27 passes for 138 yards and a score
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 16-32, 225 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Edwin Baker, 11-68, Receiving: Blair White, 3-95, 1 TD
Iowa: Passing: Ricky Stanzi, 11-27, 138 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Adam Robinson, 27-109, Receiving: Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, 3-59
What It All Means: No one seems to do soul-crushing Big Ten losses quite like Michigan State. The Spartans came up with a brilliant scoring drive that might have served as a defining moment in the Mark Dantonio era, and then the defense that was so brilliant all night long couldn’t come up with a final stop. Greg Jones was his normal terrific self with 12 tackles, but the great performance was lost in the pain of the defeat. However, unlike past MSU teams, Dantoino’s clubs have been able to bounce back from rough patches, and it’ll need to do it again next week at Minnesota.
Oct. 17
at Michigan State 24 … Northwestern 14
Northwestern came up with a goal line stand and got a 15-yard Andrew Brewer touchdown catch for a 7-0 first half lead, and then Michigan State turned it on with 24 straight points with Blair White catching touchdown passes from 22 and 47 yards away and with Larry Caper running for a 22-yard score. Zeke Marskshausen, who caught 16 passes on the day, scores from one-yard out to pull Northwestern within ten, but that was as close as it would get. Eric Gordon and Greg Jones combined for 29 tackles, three sacks, and 4-5 tackles for loss for the Spartans.
Player of the Game: Michigan State WR Blair White caught 12 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns
Northwestern : Passing: Mike Kafka, 34-47, 291 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mike Kafka, 18-42, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 16-111, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 21-31, 281 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Larry Caper, 16-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Blair White, 12-186, 2 TD
What It All Means: Larry Caper fought through injury to be a nice factor for the running game, even though he was held to 3.9 yards per carry, but the story of the offense is at quarterback, where Kirk Cousins came up big with an efficient, effective game while combining with Blair White for 12 passes. The linebackers were phenomenal, with Greg Jones coming up with an All-America-type game with 14 tackles and two sacks, while Eric Gordon chipped in with 15 sacks. The team is hot at just the right time with the showdown against Iowa up next. A win next week means the Big Ten title is a realistic dream.
Oct. 10
Michigan State 24 … at Illinois 14
MSU scored the first 24 points of the game as Larry Caper ran for a 17-yard touchdown and Glenn Winston ran for a two-yarder. Danny Fortener added to the Illinois misery with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown that sent Eddie McGee, who got the start in place of Juice Williams, to the bench. Mikel LeShoure scored for the Illini on a three-yard run and a 41-yard pass play. McGee completed just 2-of-11 passes for 31 yards.
Player of the Game: Michigan State LB Greg Jones made 11 tackles and a sack.
Illinois: Passing: Juice Williams, 7-17, 109 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jason Ford, 4-40, Receiving: Chris Duvalt, 3-47
Michigan State: Passing: Keith Nichol, 13-25, 179 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Larry Caper, 16-95, 1 TD, Receiving: Blair White, 4-50
What It All Means: It might have been a road win in the Big Ten, but beating Illinois at the moment isn’t any big deal. The offense got a full game from Keith Nichol at quarterback, and he had one of his worst outings yet barely completing half his passes with an interception. Fortunately, RB Larry Caper should be fine after hurting his knee against the Illini and is expected to be ready to go for the Northwestern game, and for an offense that’s starting to find its balance at the right time, that’s big. Greg Jones continues to play at an All-America level making play after play against the run.
Oct. 3
at Michigan State 26 … Michigan 20 OT
Michigan State’s Larry Caper ran for a 23-yard touchdown in overtime for a win after Chris Rucker had ended Michigan’s possession with an interception in the end zone. Before the pick, Michigan’s Tate Forcier had a tremendous finish with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Stonum with just over four minutes to play and a nine-yard strike to Roy Roundtree with two seconds to play to force overtime. Caper ran for a one-yard score and Brett Swenson hit two field goals for the Spartans on the way to a 20-6 lead, but the defense struggled late.
Player of the Game: In a losing cause, Michigan S Jordan Kovacs made 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and forced a fumble.
Michigan: Passing: Tate Forcier, 17-32, 223 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tate Forcier, 13-27, Receiving: Darryl Stonum, 5-97, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 15-21, 152 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Kirk Cousins, 7-75, Receiving: Blair White, 6-49
What It All Means: It’s not an overstatement to say the win saved the season, and now the Spartans have to use this win the rest of the way. The Iowa game is at home and the toughest road game left is at Minnesota, so the chances will be there to make this game the spark to a big run. This was a balanced effort with several players playing key roles, but the defense struggled under pressure late and couldn’t do enough to get to Tate Forcier late even with three sacks on the day. This was the team’s best performance this year against the run, and now it has to carry forward.
Sept. 26
at Wisconsin 38 … Michigan State 30
Garrett Graham caught three touchdown passes and John Clay barreled his way for 142 yards and a one-yard score as Wisconsin took a commanding 38-17 lead late into the fourth quarter. Michigan State had stayed alive on two Kirk Cousins touchdown passes, highlighted by a brilliant 20-yard grab from B.J. Cunningham, but UW’s Scott Tolzien broke the game open with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Toon and a 23-yarder to Graham. Keith Nichol threw two MSU touchdown passes in the final two minutes including a 91-yarder to Keshawn Martin with 15 seconds to play.
Player of the Game: Wisconsin RB John Clay ran 32 times for 142 yards and a score.
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 17-34, 201 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Glenn Winston, 9-52, Receiving: Mark Dell, 5-74, 1 TD
Wisconsin: Passing: Scott Tolzien, 19-31, 243 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: John Clay, 32-142, 1 TD, Receiving: Garrett Graham, 5-58, 3 TD
What It All Means: The Spartans can’t seem to figure out what they do well. The passing attack is strong, with both Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol bombing away, there’s no ground attack to balance the attack out and Cousins and Nichol are a bit too erratic. The defensive line isn’t doing enough to make things happen in the backfield, and because of it the secondary is getting picked apart. On the plus side, Greg Jones, who has been a bit maligned, made 14 tackles against the Badgers. He’ll have to be a huge factor next week against Michigan in a must-win game to turn the season around.
Sept. 19
at Notre Dame 33 … Michigan State 30
In a thriller, Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone in the final moments, and made a mistake throwing a bad pass for an interception by Kyle McCarthy, when a field goal would’ve tied the score and would’ve forced overtime. Cousins had rallied the Spartans to a 30-26 fourth quarter lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Blair White, his second scoring grab of the game, but Jimmy Clausen connected with Golden Tate for the game-winner on the ensuing drive. Clausen also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd, who suffered a broken collarbone and was lost for the day. Irish RB Armando Allen started off the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run and he threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Robby Parris.
Player of the Game: Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen completed 22-of-31 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 23-35, 302 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Larry Caper, 12-51, 2 TD, Receiving: B.J. Cunningham, 7-74
Notre Dame: Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 22-31, 300 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Armando Allen, 23-115, 1 TD, Receiving: Golden Tate, 7-127, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Spartans had the Irish in trouble, but Kirk Cousins, who had a magnificent game until the final drive, threw two passes that will haunt him for a long, long time, and now the season has hit a critical moment. At 1-2 with Wisconsin coming up next, MSU has to get flawless performances out of the receivers and the passing game with a ground game that isn’t getting the job done. The coaching staff isn’t committing to the run even though it averaged 4.2 yards per carry. That has to change to balance out the offense and help out Cousins.
Sept. 12
Central Michigan 29 ... at Michigan State 27
In a wild
finish, CMU pulled within one on an 11-yard Paris Cotton touchdown catch
with :32 to play. Instead of trying for overtime, the Chippewas went for
two and missed as Antonio Brown caught the ball out of the end zone.
CMU's onside kick was perfect leading to 47-yard field goal attempt to
try to win the game. Andrew Aguila missed, but MSU was offsides. Aguila
nailed the 42-yarder on his second shot and CMU had the upset. MSU got
short touchdown passes from both Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins, but CMU
kept coming back with Dan LeFevour throwing three touchdown passes
including two in the fourth quarter. In a losing cause, MSU LB Greg
Jones came up with 15 tackles.
Player of the Game: Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour completed 33-of-46
passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, and he
ran 13 times for ten yards.
Central Michigan: Passing: Dan LeFevour, 33-46, 328 yds, 3 TD,
1 INT
Rushing: Paris Cotton, 6-27, Receiving: Antonio Brown, 6-71, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 13-18, 164 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Caulton Ray, 16-51, 1 TD Receiving: Blair White, 7-105
What It All Means: The Spartans never appeared to have any sort of a
rhythm. The offense wasn't consistent, and there will be plenty of talk
about playing two quarterbacks and not just sticking with Kirk Cousins
over Keith Nichol, but in the end, MSU was beaten by a better
quarterback. Dan LeFevour used his great receiving corps to keep the CMU
offense moving and the Spartan secondary struggled to throw him off. MSU
needs to figure out what it wants to do offensively before the Notre
Dame game. Is Caulton Ray ready to be a workhorse back? Can the passing
game come up with more than a mere 16 completions? For a team talented
enough to do some big things this year in the Big Ten, it has too many
issues. That's what happens when you lose to a MAC team.
Sept. 5
at Michigan State 44 … Montana State 3
Both Spartan quarterbacks were terrific with Kirk Cousins throwing for three scores and Keith Nichols throwing two more in a breather of a win. Cousins led the way to the first two scores of the game, and then Nichol took over and threw two scores for a 28-0 lead. Montana State broke a 34-point run with a 33-yard field goal, but Cousins quickly answered with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Blair White, his second score of the day. Michigan State outgained Montana State 493 yards to 160.
Player of the Game: Michigan State WR Blair White caught nine passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns
Morgan State: Passing: Mark Iddins, 11-22, 91
Rushing: Ricky Evans, 5-31, Receiving: Elvis Alpla, 4-38
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 10-17, 183 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Caulton Ray, 12-71, Receiving: Blair White, 9-162, 2 TD
What It All Means: If this game was supposed to be partially about sorting out the quarterback situation, it didn’t, but not in a bad way. Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol each played well, but Cousins was a bit sharper. The running game got some good work in with Caulton Ray making things happen and Larry Caper and Edwin Baker each having some decent runs. The defense looked more than ready for Central Michigan. Greg Jones kicked off an All-America season with a whopper of a performance making 14 tackles 1.5 sacks, and three tackles for loss.
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