Tag: Michigan State Football

No, Michigan State Football’s equipment staff didn’t accidentally reveal new black football helmets

A picture from the team’s equipment room showed a black concept helmet.

Sorry, but I’m going to have to burst some bubbles.

On Monday afternoon a picture of a black football helmet started making the rounds on MSU Twitter, getting fans excited about the Spartans potentially donning a black helmet in the 2020 season. It happened during an Instagram takeover session with Andrew Kolpacki, MSU football’s head equipment manager.

During one of the videos you can see a few guys in the helmet area of the equipment room and one of them is holding a black helmet. A picture was taken and the internet was off with excitement. (Full disclosure: I also tweeted the picture out.)

Another screen shot was taken of a different section of the same video which showed a silver helmet sitting on the counter in the room.

Many folks were excited that this meant new helmets for their beloved Spartans and for them I have some bad news. Someone within the program has reached out to Spartans Wire and revealed that those black and silver helmets are not new helmets, instead they are simply concept helmets being shown to the equipment staff by a rep from Schuette, the helmet manufacturer.

I know. I’m sorry.

That these helmets aren’t specifically new black and/or silver helmets for MSU doesn’t mean that the Spartans will never wear a black helmet. In fact new coach Mel Tucker has told fans that he is in favor of trying out new uniform colors and combinations. It’s just that these helmets aren’t the ones they’ll be wearing.

Maybe one day we’ll get a black helmet and maybe one day we’ll get a Gruff Sparty helmet.

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Organized team activities for college football begin today

Teams are now permitted to begin team workouts and film sessions.

It may not feel like it, but the college football season has technically started.

Monday July 13 is the first day that college football programs are permitted to begin organized team actives such as weight training, conditioning, and film sessions. Previously these activities were classified as mandatory, but the Big Ten announced that summer activities would remain voluntary through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Michigan State football social team has started to share some content for the occasion. Below is a video from Twitter of a workout from this morning.

The teams’s official account also teased some new content coming out today, so we’ll be on the lookout for that.

MSU beat reporter Chris Solari was on campus today and posted a picture of an MSU QB working out with a couple of receivers at Munn Field.

Right now teams are permitted eight hours a week of walkthroughs and meetings. That will jump up to 20 hours per week on July 24. Then the first practices for the fall season are scheduled to begin on August 7.

We’ll see if the MSU football season ever gets off the ground with the planned ten-game conference-only schedule, but the team is still preparing as if it is.

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MSU Football LB Antjuan Simmons named to Bednarik Award watch list

Michigan State Football Linebacker Antjuan Simmons has been named to the Bednarik Award watch list. Read more details today.

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Pandemic or not, watch list season is upon us for the upcoming 2020 college football season. Michigan State Football LB Antjuan Simmons has been added to the Bednarik Award watch list, which is awarded to the College Defensive Player of the Year.

In the 2019-20 season, Simmons led the Spartans with 90 total tackles and recorded the second-highest number of solo tackles and assisted tackles. If there is a 2020 college football season, Simmons will likely tally up big numbers yet again.

Simmons was also named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list just last month.

Antjuan Simmons has been incredibly vocal this off-season, including his comments on the George Floyd protests. There is a high probability he is named team captain, especially since he will be a senior this season.

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WATCH: MSU Football assistant Darrien Harris hosts virtual ‘official’ visit

Michigan State football is looking for new ways to show the campus to recruits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Michigan State football program has done a lot of creative work to bridge the recruiting gap during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without the ability to formally hosts prospects on recruiting visits, MSU has turned to virtual visits, a strong graphic game, and now a virtual “official” visit hosted by former MSU linebacker and current Director of Player Engagement.

The video tour goes through the Skandalaris Football Center, Case Hall (where freshmen football players stay), the Broad School of Business, the Rock, the Spartan statue, and many other notable campus locations.

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Michigan State received $55.6 million in payouts from the Big Ten last fiscal year

Michigan State has earned $55.6 million in payouts from the Big Ten in their revenue share from the last fiscal year.

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The Big Ten Conference had their fiscal year end on June 30, and the conference brought in $781,5 million in the last fiscal year. From that revenue pool, Michigan State earned $55.6 million in payouts from the last year.

The Big Ten actually had the highest per-school payouts last year, which might surprise some who view the SEC as the big money conference. It is important to note, however, that the Big Ten makes large revenue from both football AND basketball, whereas the SEC is highly reliant on football and has less basketball revenue.

Below are the per-school payout breakdowns from each conference. Note that some of these conferences have some caveats. For example, in the Big Ten, Maryland and Rutgers received a smaller payout.

  • Big Ten: $55.6 million
  • Big-12: $38.2 million to $42 million
  • ACC: $27.6 million to $34 million
  • Pac-12: $32.2 million
  • SEC: $45.3 million

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 3-star OT Aamil Wagner

Michigan State has offered 6’6″ offensive tackle Aamil Wagner from Dayton, Ohio.

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Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker is on a mission. That mission? Send an offer to every single recruiting prospect over 6-foot-5 in the country. Tucker’s latest target is 2022 3-star offensive tackle Aamil Wagner, who announced that he had received his ninth offer during recruiting from the Spartans on Friday.

3-star center Michael Myslinski visiting in East Lansing with MSU Football on Saturday

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3-star center Michael Myslinski visiting in East Lansing with MSU Football on Saturday

Michigan State will host a 3-star prospect for an in-person visit on campus tomorrow.

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Despite some recent concerns in the Big Ten regarding the global pandemic, it looks like Michigan State will resume in-person recruiting visits as 2021 3-star center Michael Myslinski is set to visit with MSU Football on Saturday.

Myslinski is the No. 12 ranked center in the 2021 recruiting class according to the 247Sports rankings and their No. 102 ranked player in the state of Florida. Myslinski currently attends Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida.

247Sports currently has Myslinski projected to commit to Iowa but with only a 3/10 confidence level.

Here is Myslinski’s announcement that he’ll be in town tomorrow, accompanied by yet another slick graphic from the MSU social media team:

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Michigan State Football Makes top-6 for 4-star 2022 Safety Braelon Allen

Michigan State Football made the top-6 choices for recruiting for 4-star 2022 Safety Braelon Allen. Read more details about him here.

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Mel Tucker has put in work this recruiting season, focusing on 2021 recruits while also looking to the future with 2022 recruits and beyond. Now, Michigan State football has made the top-6 choices for recruiting for 4-star 2022 Safety Braelon Allen.

Allen hails from Fond Du Lac, WI, where he currently plays for Fond Du Lac High School. He stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs 215-pounds. According to 247Sports, he ranks as the No. 4 prospect in WI and the No. 6 Safety in the entire 2022 recruiting class.

You can check out some of his highlights here.

Right now, 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for Braelon Allen feature two predictions to Wisconsin and one prediction to Notre Dame. We’ll keep you posted on his decision.

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Big Ten announces conference-only football schedule for 2020 season

The Big Ten announced today that if fall sports happen, the league will move to a conference-only schedule. Read more details today.

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After plenty of rumor and innuendo, the Big Ten announced today that if fall sports happen, it will move to a conference-only schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This includes your beloved football season.

The decision to move to a conference-only schedule comes after a number of positive COVID-19 tests across college campuses with the return of collegiate athletes.

Here is the full statement released by the Big Ten today:

“We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority.

To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today that if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports. Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated. By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.”

Pay attention to the part of this statement that says “if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports”. It seems the Big Ten is ready to shut down all of the fall sports if the pandemic continues spiraling out of control. We’ll just have to wait and see at this point.

There has been no decision on what happens with non-conference games just yet. We’ll keep you posted as more information is made available.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Stupid COVID-19, listener mailbag

We’re back to pessimism on college football happening.

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Wil and Matt look at the current COVID-19 landscape and how it is impacting the potential for college football. Then they crack open the mailbag for a couple of segments.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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