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| Guest substitute running back, Sparty, fumbles; William Gholston recovers |
The biggest question mark for the 2012 season is projected starting quarterback Andrew Maxwell. The redshirt sophomore will be taking over the rein after graduated senior Kirk Cousins lead the Spartans to their most successful four years in program history. Unfortunately for the Spartan faithful, Maxwell sprained his right knee during a practice on April 14th and was left out of the game. Redshirt freshman Connor Cook started in Maxwell's place and took the majority of the snaps for both the green and white squads.
Cook struggled early and often. He completed 20 of his 45 passes for 294
yards with one touchdown and one interception. He had his most success for the White team (11-for-19, 134, one TD). The biggest play on the offensive end was a 45-yard pass to Johnny Adams who was subbed in at wide receiver from his usual cornerback spot. The play eventually led to a 97-yard scoring drive capped off by a 32 yard run from freshman Nick Hill. It was one of two scoring drives for the White team.
A couple scary moments in the game were when sophomore William Gholston went down with
an apparent knee injury and Nick Hill hobbled off the field late in the
third quarter. Neither injury appeared to be serious. Team doctors assessed Gholston's injury as a bruised knee and they are not too worried about it. Nick
Hill looked to have rolled his ankle and later re-entered the game and
had a 25-yard burst.
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| Nick Hall runs the ball and is tackled by redshirt freshman RJ Williamson |
Majority of the game was dominated on the defensive side of the ball. Part of the reason Cook struggled throughout the game was due to the amount of pressure he faced in the backfield. The defenses finished with 14 tackles for loss and four sacks combined.
A large allotment of that came from the sophomore Gholston, who was the first pick for the green team. Everyone knows the kid can play, but some of the plays he makes never cease to amaze you. In the second quarter, he had two dominating plays in a row. The first one he flew off the line and dropped the running back Hill in the backfield on a counter play that was run to the opposite side of the field. On the very next play Gholston got up high and batted down a Cook pass on third down. Later in the quarter he brought down Hill once again in the backfield, this time in the endzone for a safety giving the green team their only 2 points of the game.
"They're going to forget my name when he emerges." former Spartan and Green Bay Packer draftee Jerel Worthy said about Gholston after his safety.
Gholston should be a pre-season all Big Ten 1st Team player, but I don't think he will stop there. There is a strong chance he will make a case for an All American spot. Alongside Gholston, the Spartans have Marcus Rush, Rashad White, and Tyler Hoover to round out a strong defensive line. With this depth along the line, teams will have a tough time double teaming Gholston leaving him with one on one coverage meaning trouble for opposing quarterbacks. Michigan State fans can only hope if Gholston does in fact have a break out season in 2012 that he doesn't leave his last year of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft. I think that could be end up being very wishful thinking.
Other Game Notes
- Running backs Larry Caper, Jr. and LeVeon Bell, Soph. saw just one possession each in the game. Caper was said to have a slight concussion
- Senior Denicos Allen led all tacklers with seven tackles and swatted down two passes
- Mark Dantonio says he'll consider flipping Johnny Adams round a little bit in the fall.
- The Michigan State mascot, Sparty, had his first career carry going for -2 yards and a fumble
- Quote of Day: "I'm not in trouble for hitting Sparty, am I?"-- William Gholston to Mark Dantonio
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