Tag: Michigan State Football

Michigan State lands 3-star 2021 IMG Academy tight end Jake Renda

MSU lands quarterback to tight end convert Jake Renda. Renda will play for IMG Academy this year.

For the first time in six weeks Michigan State football has landed a recruit.

Three-star tight end Jake Renda out of New Jersey is the latest class of 2021 football player to choose Mel Tucker’s Michigan State Spartans.

Renda, who is heading to football powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida next year, chose MSU over power five offers from Boston College, NC State, and Arizona.

Renda is rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect. Renda does not have a composite ranking in the service because he isn’t rated by all of the recruiting sites. There is a good explanation for all of this. Renda has been playing quarterback during his football career at Lawrence (NJ) Notre Dame, but has switched to tight end after transferring to play at IMG Academy. All of Renda’s power five offers have come in the last month, with MSU offering June 23. While Renda is committed, it’s a fair bet to say that his recruiting isn’t over with the move to IMG.

Renda is the second tight end in the 2021 class, joining North Forney (TX) standout Kameron Allen.

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Mark Dantonio named second-team All-Decade coach by Big Ten Network

Dantonio won 92 games and three Big Ten titles at Michigan State during the decade.

Former Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio has been named second-team All-Decade by the Big Ten Network.

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer took home the first team honors.

Dantonio won 92 games during the decade, the most in the conference during that time span. He also led the Spartans to three Big Ten titles, tied for second-most in the conference with Wisconsin. Ohio State led the way with four and a national title. Outside of Meyer, Dantonio is the only Big Ten coach to lead his team to the College Football Playoff, which he did in 2015.

In total four Spartans were named to the two All-Decade teams. Darqueze Dennard and Mike Sadler earned first-team honors while Shilique Calhoun joined Dantonio on the second team.

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Mike Sadler named All-Decade punter by Big Ten Network

Sadler is the second Spartan named All-Decade by the Big Ten Network

There might not be a more appropriate representation of the Mark Dantonio era at Michigan State than a punter being named first-team All-Decade.

Forever Spartan Mike Sadler has been named just that by the Big Ten Network, becoming just the second Spartan to make the first team.

Sadler was twice named first-team All-Big Ten during his four-year career and was first team All-American in 2013. He led the nation in punts downed inside the 20 that season. Sadler was also a four-time Academic All-American and authored a number of magical trick plays during his time punting. And who could forget the fan-driven #Sadler4HeismanCampaign that wasn’t totally farcical.

Sadler was set to attend Stanford Law School in 2016 when he and Nebraska punter Sam Foltz were tragically killed in a car accident that July. In his memory The Michael Sadler Foundation was formed to help recognize and build a generation of young students-athlete leaders.

It’s rare that a punter becomes more than just the guy who trots on the field to kick the ball away on fourth down. Mike Sadler far outshone that typical punter status, both on the field and off.

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Shilique Calhoun named to Big Ten Network’s All-Decade second team

Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun has been named to the Big Ten Network’s All-Decade team, joining Darqueze Dennard.

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Shilique Calhoun was more than just one of Mark Dantonio’s best recruits ever, he was one of the most productive pass rushers to ever play for Michigan State. Because of his incredible ability and accomplishments, Calhoun was named to the Big Ten Network’s All-Decade second team, joining Darqueze Dennard in the All-Decade group.

Calhoun made the All-Big Ten First Team three years straight from 2013-15 and was the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2013. Of course, Calhoun was also a huge part of Michigan State’s two Big Ten championships in 2013 and 2015.

Calhoun ended his career at Michigan State with 27 sacks, 44 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles and 3 touchdowns, which is hilarious for a defensive lineman. The Spartans star was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the Third Round of the 2016 draft and now plays for the New England Patriots.

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Michigan State Football offers top 2023 prospect Keldric Faulk

The Spartans have offered a scholarship to defensive end Keldric Faulk, who should be one of the top ranked pass rushers in the 2023 class.

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As we have noted repeatedly during our coverage of Mel Tucker’s aggressive recruiting since arrive at Michigan State, he has not only been heavily focused on 2021 and 2022, but he has already fixed his eye upon the 2023 and 2024 classes, offering some big names from those groups early on in the process. One of the top prospects from the 2023 class is defensive end Keldrick Faulk, and he announced that he received an offer from the Spartans on Thursday.

Faulk isn’t officially ranked yet, but should be one of the top players in the 2023 class once they start getting star-ratings. The 6’5″ defensive end currently plays for Highland Home High School in Alabama and already has offers out from some big-time schools like Alabama, Florida State, LSU, and Penn State.

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No new positives among 41 Michigan State athletes tested for COVID-19

Most of the athletes tested are incoming freshmen who moved in last weekend.

Michigan State university tested 41 student-athletes for COVID-19 on Monday with one positive result, which came from an athlete that had previously tested positive the school announced on Thursday.

According to the school many of the athletes tested were being tested for the first time. Freshman athletes moved onto campus this past weekend. For those athletes a second negative test will be required for them to begin workouts. Between the tests the student-athletes will be instructed to self-isolate.

No staff members tested positive in the latest round of testing.

One athlete tested positive for COVID-19 in the first round of testing of returning athletes on June 15. One week later two additional positive tests were reported.

You can read the statement in full below.

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Former Michigan State football coach Mark Staten hired at Toledo

Staten is the third Dantonio assistant to find a new job within the FBS.

Former Michigan State offensive line and tight end coach Mark Staten will be back on the sidelines in Spartan Stadium this fall . . . just not on the side he is used to.

Staten has been hired to coach tight ends and offensive tackles by Toledo, the school’s head coach Jason Candle announced on Twitter.

The Toledo Rockets are currently scheduled to play at Michigan State on September 19 should the football season go on as planned.

Staten was a mainstay on the staffs of Mark Dantonio, working with him at Cincinnati and all 13 of Dantonio’s years at Michigan State. Staten spent most of his team at MSU coaching the offensive line before switching to tight ends coach and special teams coordinator prior to the 2019 season.

Staten is the third former Dantonio assistant to land a new gig–excluding the ones still on staff under Mel Tucker at MSU. Former receivers coach Terrance Samuel took the same role at UNLV in addition to being named passing game coordinator. Paul Haynes, who coached defensive backs at MSU from 2018-19, took the same position at Minnesota shortly after Dantonio resigned in February.

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Darqueze Dennard makes Big Ten Network All-Decade team

Dennard is the first Spartan to be named to the BTN All-Decade team.

Finally.

Despite winning three Big Ten titles in the last decade the Michigan State football team had been skunked through the first two days of the Big Ten Network’s All-Decade team. Former Michigan State star and founding member of the No Fly Zone Darqueze Dennard has put a stop to that with his selection.

Dennard starred at Michigan State during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He was twice first-team All-Big Ten and was a unanimous All-American in 2013. He won the Thorpe Award and the Tatum Award as the nation’s top defensive back in 2013 before being a first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014.

You can check out Dennard’s interview regarding the selection below.

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WATCH: Michigan State running backs review linebackers’ Spotify playlist in the Battle of the Aux

It’s the final matchup in MSU football’s Battle of the Aux

The Battle of the Aux rages within the (virtual) walls of Michigan State football.

A few weeks ago (and for a primer on what the hell I’m writing about) the offensive and defensive lines–dubbed “Juice Squad” and “A.W.O.L” (Animals Without a Leash), respectively, battled by putting together Spotify playlists to represent the position groups. Then they reviewed each others’ playlists and fans voted on the winner. The defensive line won that first matchup going away. After that, the QBs “Gunslingers” went up against the TEs “The Arsenal” with the QBs coming out on top. That was followed by the DBs “No Fly Zone” taking on the receivers “Ice Gang.” The defensive backs took home the win in that one.

Our final matchup is the running backs “Chain Gang” against the linebackers “Bomb Squad.”

Today we have the running backs reviewing the playlist from the linebackers.

A Twitter poll will be posted later in the week for the fans to vote for the winner.

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WATCH: Michigan State athletic department gives tips to prevent COVID-19 spread

Tom Izzo, Bill Beekman, Mel Tucker and Suzy Merchant got together to make a video on tips to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further.

Despite some stop-and-start reopenings around the country, we are still very much in the midst of a global pandemic (perhaps best exemplified by the recent outbreak at Harper’s in East Lansing), and the Michigan State athletic department continues to do its part advocating for safety and the proper health guideline observance.

On Tuesday, the MSU athletic department dropped a video promoting different tips to keep you and your community safe from the spread of the coronavirus.

You can watch the video below, which features Tom Izzo, Mel Tucker, Suzy Merchant, and Bill Beekman:

Wear a mask and go green.

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