MSU Red Cedar Message Board

How I see it, it's either going to be the freshman Costello or the third year soph Gauna. And I guess there's an outside chance they go small with Dawson at the 4 but I really think Izzo wants a big guy there.

No way is Costello clearly ahead of Alex in that battle. As long as his midrange/outside shot has become more consistent, I actually think AG has a decent chance of winning the starting PF spot.

YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!!!!!

I see Gauna making a huge step forward this season. He has good size and a great jumper for a big, but was clearly overwhelmed on the defensive end last year. If he can improve his D as much as Payne did in his second year, I could definitely see AG starting for the better part of the season. Having Nix and Costello as backup front court is a great luxury to have.

Need? I don't think so. If one proves themselves to be one of the top 5 options, then yes, they'll play, but I don't believe the staff is counting on one of those guys to be a starter this year.

I think it's more likely that a true FR WR ends up at PR/KR (especially if Hill is playing more RB) than in the regular WR rotation.

Another thought is this: Coaches went to visit the Packers last year. I thought it was primarily for defensive purposes (Packers run split-field coverage (1/2 man, 1/2 zone) at times that's gaining traction at the college level, most notably at TCU), but with Roushar's comments about wanting a more vertical passing attack, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Spartans start moving to more 3 and 4 WR sets. I'm not talking about a spread O here, just more downfield looks. I think that lends itself to utilizing 4-5 WRs regularly throughout the season, whereas last year MSU used 3 WRs, then an RB and a TE in 4 or 5 wide sets. If that happens, you'll see Caesar and maybe a true FR get some looks.

In either case, I'm very excited to see what the new offense is going to look like. I don't think you'll see as much consistency, but I think there could be more explosive plays overall. The new WRs (talking about the projected starters) are better athletes than their predecessors.

Aligning yourself with coaching tactics from a top NFL team would seem to be a pretty compelling message for recruits. Is this common within college programs?

As usual, thanks Rocky for all your informative posts. Much appreciated.