Sparty enters the 2009 season with sky high expectations. Having long been the biggest underachiever in the conference, head Coach Mark Dantonio may have the horses to live up to the hype this fall.
The Spartans did not have the greatest defense in the Big Ten, but with eight starters returning, the unit could be even better. The strength is in the middle with linebackers Greg Jones, Adam Decker and Eric Gordon. Jones led the team with 127 tackles and that was just as a sophomore. Now that he is an upperclassman, he is ready to emerge as the leader of a talented defense. The absence of tackle Justin Kershaw and end Brandon Long is a cause for concern. The Spartans only tallied two sacks per game a year ago and Long was an important part of that. However, Trevor Anderson is back for his senior campaign and he led the squad with eight sacks.
The MSU offense last season was pretty much handing the ball to running back Javon Ringer and letting him do his thing. On the year Ringer tallied an incredible 390 carries. Now he is gone and the Spartans will have to diversify their offense. Senior A.J. Jimmerson is the likely candidate to replace Ringer, but Andre Anderson had a quality freshman campaign in 2008 and could be the go-to-guy in 2009. Making matters worse for the offense is the fact that Brian Hoyer has also run out of eligibility. Hoyer did not have a great senior season and the numbers were nothing special, but he was a leader. Now there is a quarterback controversy in East Lansing as Kirk Cousins battles it out with Keith Nichol. Cousins has more experience in the system, but Nichol was a super recruit who committed to MSU originally before opting to head to Oklahoma instead. Now he is back with the Spartans and has to pick up the offense quickly if he wants to unseat Cousins.
Other than a mild test vs Notre Dame, Michigan State should finish the non-conference slate 4-0, go 6-2 during Big Ten play, good for 10-2 overall and a very nice Florida bowl game.
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