True frosh CB Aydan West oozes potential in Michigan State debut

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Aydan West’s college debut at Michigan State was anything but a mop up appearance.  True, he entered the game with Michigan State leading 21-0. But his 16 snaps on defense presented a stiff challenge. The gifted true freshman was up to it. Of the 16 snaps, he was on the field for 13 pass attempts.  He was targeted only once, but he held firm like a veteran in getting comfortable depth and stacking the wide receiver who tried to beat him deep, 6-foot-2 Terence Marshall. West made it look easy, but his assignment was fairly complex. At the snap, Michigan State appeared to be in cover-three zone. But then EDGE Isaac Smith buzzed to the flat while both side of the Spartans’ pass defense morphed into a well-disguised cover-two zone.  Michigan State hadn’t played much cover-two on this night, and surely hadn’t disguised it so elaborately. But West carried out his assignment like a veteran - a quick, fast, athletic, poised veteran. West played inside technique at the snap while giving ground, with his shoulders open to the post. Then as the route developed, he flipped his hips to a fast, comfortable backpedal, and then opened his hips to the sideline to combat the deep route down the sideline.  West accelerated in an instant to stay on top of the receiver, cut him off, squeezed him inside the imaginary red line to the sideline, had time to locate the ball, and had his hands in position to knock the ball away if the pass had been accurate.  It was just one play, but he carried it out with the aplomb that we had been hearing about the rookie since he enrolled in January and participated in spring practice. (MORE inside SpartanMag).