Victory 4 MSU

Today I’m starting the new post format for Victory 4 MSU which should provide a more organized outlet for MSU sporting news and commentary. Instead of short, random news updates throughout the week, there will be a weekly news post each Friday containing a more substantial amount of content. In addition to the weekly news posts will be pre-season opponent overviews, Big-10 power rankings, football and basketball game previews and post-game analysis, weekly Big-10 news and (hopefully) video highlights of games. My pre-season opponent overviews will begin on Monday with Cal, so be sure to check it out.

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Andrew Maxwell Impressing at the Elite 11

Reports from the Elite 11 quarterbacks camp have 2009 Spartan commit Andrew Maxwell solidly in the top 5 performers at camp. This event hosts the very best quarterback prospects from around the nation and gives them an opportunity to learn from college and NFL coaches and players. As its title implies, it traditionally hosted the top 11 QBs, however this year 12 prospects were on hand.

From ESPN:

“Maxwell has been the top guy for me so far,” Elite 11 quarterbacks coach Brett Johnson said. “He was great in all my drills Monday and had another nice workout today. He just does everything well.”

Fellow QBs coach Tee Martin echoed those statements.

“If I was a college coach, Maxwell and McCarron would be two of the guys I would look at over just about anyone,” Martin said. “Both are smooth, have a nice delivery and know where to go with the ball.”

Link: Elite 11

MSU will have two Elite 11 quarterbacks on the roster in 2009 with transfer Keith Nichol having attended the 2006 camp. Jeff Smoker and Drew Stanton are the only other Spartans who have been to the Elite 11.

MSU Lands Indiana Linebacker

The Spartans got the 13th commitment for their 2009 class on Tuesday from Fort Wayne, Indiana linebacker TyQuan Hammock. Hammock is rated a 3-star prospect by Rivals.com and checks in at 6′1 and 220 lbs. He had scholarship offers from Louisville, Indiana, Minnesota and several MAC schools. TyQuan chose to be a Spartan after an unofficial visit to East Lansing and called head coach Mark Dantonio later that same day.

With TyQuan Hammock joining Chris Norman at linebacker for this class, MSU will likely take another 3-5 players to wrap up the 2009 recruiting class. Offensive linemen are the priority right now, so expect a couple more OL commits join the Spartan squad.

East vs. West High School All-Star Game

Incoming Spartan freshmen Glenn Winston and Caulton Ray led the East All-Stars to victory in the 28th annual East vs West game at Spartan Stadium on Saturday. The running back duo racked up 155 yards out of their team’s total of 184 to lead their team to a 9-0 win over the West. Winston had impressive speed for his size at 210 lbs, down from 215 due to conditioning coach Ken Mannie’s workout routine. Ray was no pushover either weighing a solid 200 lbs.

Other future Spartans competing in the game were offensive linemen Ethan Ruhland and John Deyo. Deyo played for the West and was solid at left guard while the rest of their line struggled. Ruhland played for the victorious East at right guard. Ruhland had to come out of the game after a minor ankle sprain, but his injury won’t have any affect on training camp.

Edwin Baker Rocks the Top Gun Showcase

Andrew Maxwell isn’t the only Spartan recruit turning heads at summer camps. 2009 running back commit Edwin “Rock” Baker attended the three day Football University Top Gun Showcase Camp in Paisley, Florida this past week. The camp hosts around 30 elite college prospects and was awash in talent this year. Nevertheless, the Rock was able to stand out from the crowd.

From Rivals.com:

He was one of the most complete players in the three-day camp. Baker always was the first to arrive at player meetings and asked coaches several questions, showing he’s a real student of the game. He’s quick and built like a body-builder with biceps and calves that would make Hulk Hogan envious. He should be a great every-down back for Michigan State.

Link: Top Gun Showcase

The more I read about Baker the more excited I am to see the duo of Caper and Baker in the backfield at Michigan State. The future is looking very bright for Spartan football.

Student Section Grows

MSU has expanded the seating area for students after an increase of around 1,000 tickets sold last year left many students intermingled with season ticket holders instead of fellow students. The section has added about 1,000 seats with some added in the lower and upper decks, with the lower deck seats being closer to the 50 yard line.

This seating arrangement change comes after a debacle last season where students had to wait in line for an hour or more to get a wristband and enter the game. Some students arrived 45 minutes early only to miss the entire first quarter. Hopefully an expanded section and streamlined process will speed up entry to the game. True student spartan football fans now have the chance to be seated closer to the 50 yard line than ever before, just be sure to get there early.

Link to the press release: Student Section Expands

Here is a link to the new stadium diagram: Spartan Stadium

Two final notes: College Football News has their preview of the 2008 Spartans out. The preview is very positive and notes that a successful season will end with 9 wins. That may be a reach, but is certainly possible. The article is found here.

Also, Thursday was Big 10 media day which had each coach talk for a little bit and answer questions. Mark Dantonio’s segment can be viewed here.

That’s it for this week’s news, thanks for stopping by!

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Tags: Andrew Maxwell, Caulton Ray, Edwin Baker, Glenn Winston, TyQuan Hammock

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am and is filed under Spartan Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.