V-Cast: Countdown to Michigan State spring showcase
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State is days away from the culmination of spring football under first-year Spartan head coach Jonathan Smith, who will wrap-up spring practice this weekend with a public practice at 2:00 pm on Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The event, which will be televised on the Big Ten Network is free of charge and open to the public.
After practice on Tuesday, Smith said and his coaching staff are looking forward to seeing the Spartans perform in the Spring Showcase in front of fans. Lack of depth at certain positions, including offensive line, forced Smith to rule out the use of a spring game to close out spring football. Smith does, however, anticipate presiding over and event that is both competitive and entertaining.
After practice and interviews on Tuesday, SpartanMag.com staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk recorded a Spring Showcase preview V-Cast.
V-CAST TOPICS
QUARTERBACK: When asked about the progress of Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles from the first scrimmage of spring football to last weekend’s scrimmage in Spartan Stadium, Smith indicated that Chiles had been solid in both scrimmages. Smith also acknowledged that Chiles had a handful of QB runs in last weekend’s scrimmage that would have been explosive gains, if not touchdowns had they taken place in a game setting and not a scrimmage, where quarterbacks are down by touch, not tackle.
Smith also indicated that the offense improved significantly in the second scrimmage by getting serious about ball security. Lack of ball security was an issue for the offense in the first scrimmage and was strength in the second scrimmage. In this weekend’s spring showcase, it will be interesting to see how well Chiles does in getting skill personnel lined up. As the experienced player in offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren’s offense, Chiles needs to be able to get his guys lined up right.
CARTER: When asked about the running back position, Smith made it clear that Nathan Carter had made a strong impression over the course of spring football. The Spartans know that they have a reliable tailback in Carter, who led Michigan State in rushing yards (798) and rushing touchdowns (4) during his first season as a Spartan last fall. Smith characterized Carter as a solid receiver out of the backfield, which is an area of growth for Carter from last season until this.
RUSH END: One of the unique aspects of Joe Rossi’s defense is a hybrid defensive end/linebacker described as a rush end by the Michigan State defense. Kris Bogle, Jalen Thompson, James Schott, Bai Jobe, and Jay Coyne have all taken reps at rush end for the Spartans. Those repping at rush end are not precluded from playing the other defensive end position. Keep an eye on Bogle in the spring showcase. He is a guy that came into the Spartan program with some fanfare after having success as an underclassman at Florida. He was slowed by injuries during his first year at Michigan State. Last season, he played Sparingly. During his final college season, don’t be surprised if Bogle benefits from playing for a new coaching staff. He has earned praise this spring from both Rossi as well as rush end Coach Chad Wilt.
