Tag: Michigan State Football

Michigan State Players in the NFL Draft Preview: Josiah Scott

Scott is, for many analysts, the top Michigan State product in the NFL draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is set to begin Thursday, April 23 and Michigan State is expected to have a number of players taken. Junior cornerback Josiah Scott left MSU early to pursue his professional career and is now viewed by many analysts as the top Spartan prospect in the draft with a chance to get selected as high as the third round. It has been a long and steady ride for the Ohio product who came to MSU as a low-ranked three-star prospect but immediately found his way on the field en route to Freshman All-American honors. Let’s take a look at where everything sits with Scott and when he might hear his name called.

The SpartansWire Take:

Josiah Scott is a professional football player. Despite some size limitations he has a natural ability to play defensive back. Like many MSU corners before him, he is comfortable working receivers with his hands and can play on an island with his back to the quarterback. While his best bet is probably playing on the interior of a defense, Scott has repeatedly show plus ability in coverage throughout his career. He’s also a sneaky hitter despite his size. The loudest “Ohhh” uttered in a Spartan Stadium press box in 2019 came courtesy of a Josiah Scott tackle.

What analysts are saying:

DraftWire Big Board Draft Position: 5th round, No. 165 overall

On a conference call with local reporters NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said he is a “big fan” of Scott and ranks him as the 87th overall prospect in the class.

“He’s got seven career picks. He’s played outside. I think he’s going to be a day one starting nickel. He’s very instinctive. You see him pattern read. He’s fluid. He can find the ball down the field. He just lost some 50/50 balls due to size on the outside, but I think he’s going to be a really good nickel.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also rates Scott as the top MSU prospect in the draft.

“I think Josiah Scott – he’s gonna help a secondary, whether he’s gonna help a secondary whether he’s a starter, nickel, fourth corner,” Kiper said. “He’s gonna be a guy who plays in the league for a long time, I think, as I’d say a third- to fifth-round pick… He’s 5-10, he’s about 175. He’s aggressive, he’s a willing tackler, he’s got good awareness, he was a really good recruit coming out. Played right away. He’s got pretty good ball skills, seven career interceptions. I like the tape. I like what I saw of him. I like the way he turns, I like the way he flips his hips, like his feet.”

Combine Results:

Height: 5-9

Weight: 185

Arms: 29 3/8″

Hands: 8 3/4″

40-yard dash: 4.42 seconds

Bench press: 17

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

3-Cone drill: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Wonderlic: N/A

Career Stats:

Games: 29

Tackles: 95

Interceptions: 6

Passes defended: 22

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In honor of The Last Dance: Michigan State sports documentaries I’d love to see

These stories are ripe with interest for Michigan State football and basketball documentaries.

On Sunday night ESPN debuted the first two parts of The Last Dance, a ten-part documentary series on the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls. It was a great two hours of television, with a ton of in-depth stories building the foundation of the story of what was the end of one of sports’ greatest dynasties.

That got me to thinking: What Michigan State sports documentaries would I want to see?

What may be the obvious answers for a MSU fan, aren’t the ones I thought of first. For example, I don’t particularly want to see a Flintstones documentary, or a documentary on the 2013 football team. There’s certainly interesting things there, but those stories have been pretty well documented. The best documentaries are revealing in nature and often have to do with some sort of scandal or trouble. Add in that conflict to something like a giant corporation or megs sports franchise and “viola” you’ve got a pretty interesting documentary. So the Flintstones are out. MSU football 2013-2015 is out. Magic Johnson’s career is mostly out, but there could be something interesting there digging into the status of college sports at the time and how the 1979 NCAA Tournament shifted basketball both on the court and off. But Magic vs. Bird is a pretty well-mined pit.

What follows is a list of MSU-related sports documentaries that I would absolutely love to see. They aren’t in any particular order, really, with the exception of the first one. You’ll see why.

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Michigan State Football NFL Draft Preview: Brian Lewerke

Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke is heading into the NFL Draft this week. Here is a breakdown of what we, and other analysts think about it.

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Going into the 2020 NFL Draft, there is one Michigan State Football player whose future seems most uncertain, and that is former Spartan quarterback Brian Lewerke. Lewerke had an extremely up-and-down career at Michigan State, but after putting up a nice performance at the NFL combine which included an above-average score on the Wonderlic test, Lewerke could see a rise in his draft stock come selection-time.

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The SpartansWire Take:

Personally, I think Brian Lewerke was a victim of circumstance while at Michigan State. His own injury issues coupled with the decimated offensive line and injuries to key wide receivers like Felton Davis III and Darrell Stewart Jr. left him in a tough position.

While many fans will point to Lewerke’s struggles throwing the ball downfield, the Spartans also played a conservative offensive scheme by design, especially after the repeated injuries on the offensive line left Lewerke under pressure almost constantly for his last two season.

Lewerke doesn’t have a cannon, but he has shown enough to me that I think he can be a solid NFL backup for a long-time. He isn’t that fast but he has proven to be elusive and smart when he has to tuck the ball and run. I think that Lewerke should at least be a day 3 draft pick who could end up having a Brian Hoyer-like career.

What analysts are saying:

As noted above, one NFC coach told NFL.com that he thought Lewerke looked great during his freshman year (I think he meant his sophomore year, where he threw 20 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions) but then was held back by his own injuries, no help, and a bad scheme.

“He got crushed because he played with a bad shoulder two years ago,” the NFC coach said. “I thought he played really good his freshman year. And last year they had a terrible scheme and no talent. He had moments of greatness and moments of bad play, but there was nothing that helped him.”

According to Daniel Jeremiah, some front office members around the league have “fallen in love” with Lewerke and this could lead to him rising all the way to the fourth round, even though Jeremiah himself sees him as a fringe NFL Draft prospect:

“Lewerke, to me, he’s a late-round player. He’s a seventh-round free-agent-type player for me,” Jeremiah said. “Although I will say, I’ve talked to some folks around the league — there’s some quarterback coaches that have really fallen in love with this kid, and I say that in terms of fourth, fifth round. It would not shock me if he went a little bit higher than I thought he would.”

Jeremiah had him ranked as the fourth-best MSU prospect heading into the draft.

Bob McGinn of The Athletic has Lewerke ranked as the No. 11 best quarterback in the draft. For reference, there are an average of 11 quarterbacks taken each year in the draft, so that ranking could pay dividends for Lewerke if it translates on Draft Day.

DraftWire has him listed as a projected day 3 prospect.

NFL Combine Results:

Height: 6-2

Weight: 213

Arms: 32 1/8″

Hands: 10 5/8″

40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds

Bench press: N/A

Vertical jump: 31.0 inches

Broad jump: 113.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 7.14 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.4 seconds

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Wonderlic: 30

College Career Stats:

8,293 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns, 1,255 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 32 interceptions, 120.8 passer rating, 57.7% completion percentage.

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Michigan State Football hosting 4-star QB Kaidon Salter for virtual visit on Sunday

Michigan State Football is hosting one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2021 class on Sunday.

In February, we found out that Michigan State Football had offered one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2021 class in Cedar Hill’s Kaidon Salter. Two weeks back, Salter announced that MSU had made it into his top-11 schools for recruitment. Tonight, we found out that Salter will be having a virtual visit with Mel Tucker and the Michigan State coaching staff on Sunday. The news was first reported by Corey Robinson of SpartanMag.com. This is a huge development on the recruiting front and a big opportunity for Tucker to land a huge commitment for his 2021 recruiting class.

Salter is the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class according to 247sports and their No. 12 ranked player in the state of Texas. 247sports currently has him projected to go to either Baylor or Arkansas but perhaps the introduction of Coach Tucker to Michigan State has changed the calculus here.

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Michigan State Football offers 2022 top-5 Safety Bryce Anderson

Michigan State has offered top-100 safety Bryce Anderson out of West Brook High School a scholarship.

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As we have said multiple times over the course of this offseason, while the 2021 recruiting class is exciting and will be a decent barometer of Mel Tucker’s recruiting skills as he tries to play catch-up during a pandemic, the real test will occur with the 2022 class, and Mel Tucker is certainly taking some big swings already when it comes to his 2022 offers. The latest reported offer comes from 2022 4-star safety Bryce Anderson, who announced his scholarship offer on Twitter on Saturday.

Anderson is the No. 4 ranked safety in the 2022 class according to 257sports and the No. 14 ranked player in the state of Texas for 2022. Anderson, who is currently playing at West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas, has offers from heavy-hitters like Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma and he is currently projected to end up with LSU. According to 247sports, he committed to LSU back in September but if MSU is offering him now maybe they know something we don’t…

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Michigan State Players in the NFL Draft Preview: Kenny Willekes

We take a look at former Michigan State Football player Kenny Willekes’ NFL Draft chances and the buzz surrounding him.

To me, Kenny Willekes is the most interesting Michigan State player in the NFL Draft. Michigan State’s career leader in tackles-for-loss went from being a walk-on to being, in my mind, the best player on the team for the last two years. Now, he will look to overcome skeptics and make his way to an NFL roster via the 2020 NFL Draft. Below you will find a quick round-up of our thoughts on Willekes along with the thoughts of a few draft analysts.

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The SpartansWire Take:

In my opinion, I think many of the criticism of Kenny Willekes are overstated. For some reason, he has gotten tagged with narrative that he lacks athleticism. I personally don’t understand where that comes from, I’ve never seen it show up on game footage, but nonetheless, that is what Willekes is facing heading into next week’s NFL Draft. He went into this draft putting out an awesome highlight video of himself doing multiple athletic feats to quell these concerns, and one NFL GM was impressed by the showcase.

We might be biased, but to me, Willekes should be a second or third-round draft pick, however, I am anticipating that he will be drafted in the fourth round.

What analysts are saying:

DraftWire Big Board Draft Position: 4th round, No. 154

While DraftWire had Willekes as their top Michigan State player in the draft based on their Big Board, NFL Network Analyst Daniel Jeremiah had Willekes as the No. 3 ranked Spartan in the draft behind Josiah Scott and Joe Bachie.

Combine Results:

Height: 6-3

Weight: 264

Arms: 31 1/4″

Hands: 9 1/2″

40-yard dash: 4.87 seconds

Bench press: 32 reps (3rd among DL)

Vertical jump: 32.5 inches (9th among DL)

Broad jump: 119.0 inches (9th among DL)

3-Cone drill: 7.39 seconds (10th among DL)

Career Stats:

40 games played, 228 tackles, 49 tackles for loss (school record), 23.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.

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MSU Football makes top-10 for recruitment of 2021 3-star RB Logan Diggs

Michigan State has made the top-10 for 3-star 2021 running back Logan Diggs out of Archbishop Rummel.

With five players already committed to their 2021 recruiting class, Michigan State Football could have another 3-star joining that group as 3-star running back Logan Diggs put MSU in his top-10 choices for his recruitment on Saturday, which he posted in a Tweet.

Diggs, who is currently playing for Archbishop Rummel in Metairie, Louisiana, is the No. 26 ranked running back in the 2021 class according to 247sports and their No. 12 ranked player in the state of Louisiana. The Spartans offered Diggs back at the start of March.

Here is Diggs announcement from Twitter:

 

Brian Lewerke ranked No. 11 QB in 2020 NFL Draft by The Athletic

The former Michigan State quarterback was ranked No. 11 of 20 by Bob McGinn of The Athletic.

Bob McGinn of The Athletic recently posted an article ranking every quarterback in the NFL Draft and former Michigan State Football quarterback Brian Lewerke came in at No. 11 out of 20.

You should definitely read the full piece (here) to see McGinn’s take on Lewerke, but here is an excerpt where he had a scout give feedback on the Spartan QB:

“He looked good in 2017. Then he had a rough year in 2018 and this year was awful. It’s like he had the yips. He couldn’t make routine throws. It was tough to watch. Can he play better? Yes, but if you have to make a decision right now I’m saying he’s not going to be a good NFL player.”

There were only two other Big Ten quarterbacks in the rankings and that was Nate Stanley at No. 12 and Shea Patterson, who came in at No. 17.

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Former MSU QB Brian Lewerke scored a 25 on Wonderlic test at NFL Draft Combine

The former Michigan State QB scored above average on his Wonderlic test at the annual scouting combine.

Back in February, former Michigan State Football QB Brian Lewerke attended the NFL scouting combine where he, along with other quarterbacks and offensive line in attendance, took the Wonderlic Contemporary test. While those scores are supposed to be kept private, many have been released by Bob McGinn of The Athletic. In his NFL Draft preview post ranking the quarterbacks in the draft, McGinn revealed that Lewerke scored a 25 on the test.

The Wonderlic test is used at the NFL Draft combine to test the cognitive abilities of quarterbacks and offensive lineman in three areas: vocabulary, reasoning, and math.

The average score of a football player is supposedly 20, while the average score of a quarterback is 24, so that would put Lewerke just above average.

Nate Stanley of Iowa led all QBs with a score of 40, Jake Fromm of Georgia had 35, and Joe Burrow was at 34. Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama might have hurt his lofty draft expectations with a score of 13.

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Tracking every Michigan State Football commit for the 2021 recruiting class

In this post we will track every commitment for the Michigan State Football 2021 recruiting class.

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The 2021 recruiting class presents an interesting challenge for Mel Tucker and the Michigan State Football team. Tucker was already behind the eight-ball from day one, taking over for Mark Dantonio and having to build out a staff while other teams were already knee-deep in their recruiting processes. Then, this little thing called the COVID-19 Coronavirus broke out in the United States, putting an end to any opportunities for in-person recruiting. Tucker has still managed to be extremely active on the recruiting front. We will be tracking every new recruit for the 2021 class in this post.

One thing that is very clear about this class is that Mel Tucker is looking for size and athleticism. Ethan Boyd is 6’7″, Tyson Watson is 6’6″, and Harmon and Nealy are both 6’4″. At 6’4″, Nealy will be one of the tallest defensive backs in the country and that length should be very interesting to watch in coverage.

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