Michigan State deals with
quarterback controversy
Editor's Note: This is part nine of a 10-part
series examining every football team in the Big Ten other than Purdue.
The Purdue Preview Tailgate Guide will appear Friday.
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
Quarterback controversies often hurt teams.
The other players are divided as to which player
they like, the player who ends up starting is under-prepared because
he's been splitting time with his competitor and the coach is constantly
questioned about his decision to go with one player over the other.
However, Michigan State has been dealing with a
quarterback battle that began early last season between Jeff Smoker
and Ryan Van Dyke. And the Spartans actually look at the state of affairs
positively.
"It's exciting," running back T.J. Duckett said.
"We can't wait to see who's starting for us."
Smoker, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound sophomore, is listed
as the starter. But Van Dyke will challenge him for the job.
Last year as a junior Van Dyke, a 6-5, 224-pound
senior, started the first game but hurt his throwing hand.
 Smoker
came in and helped the Spartans win that first game as well as the next
two, becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Michigan
State since 1982. After Smoker fared poorly in MSU's fourth game, a
37-17 loss to Northwestern, Van Dyke reclaimed the starting spot. However,
Van Dyke led the Spartans to three more losses.
Van Dyke left the Spartans' game with Illinois,
and Smoker came in to lead a fourth-quarter comeback. He remained the
starter for the rest of the season.
Neither quarterback did much good in Michigan State's
final game, a 42-23 loss to Penn State that ended the Spartans' chances
at a bowl game.
This year neither quarterback has distinguished
himself as the starter.
"We are going to continue to have a race where
they both work with the first team offense," Michigan State coach Bobby
Williams said. "If the race is still close going into the season, we'll
have to play them both."
Williams, a Purdue graduate, likes the contrasting
styles of Smoker and Van Dyke, who are actually good friends instead
of bitter rivals.
Smoker is more of a scrambler, but he still passed
for 1,365 yards, a freshman record at Michigan State. Van Dyke, a senior,
is a drop-back passer who has thrown 10 touchdowns in his career.
"I want the guy who's playing better, the guy who's
out there to win and the guy we know will take us to that spot," Duckett
said. "But it's not my decision."
Senior linebacker Josh Thornhill said he doesn't
see any discernable difference in the quarterbacks' ability to lead
the offense.
"To me, it seems pretty even," Thornhill said.
"I can't tell who's going to have the spot. They're going to make each
other better."
Whoever starts will have one of the conference's
top running backs behind him. Duckett was fourth in the Big Ten and
11th nationally in rushing, averaging 123 yards per game. The junior
has a small shot at winning the Heisman Trophy, given annually to the
nation's best college football player. He deflects the hype.
"It's not that big a deal," Duckett said. "The
players who win it are usually on good teams, so we need to have success
for that to even be a possibility."
For the Spartans to have success, they need points.
Since 1990, Michigan State is 56-11-1 when it scores at least 24 points
and 11-48-1 when it scores fewer than 24.
Defense shouldn't be a problem for Michigan State.
The Spartans had the best defense in the league last season, statistically.
That didn't stop the team from going 5-6 and finishing in last place
in the conference though.
"It was frustrating, but at the same time there's
no way you can point fingers," Thornhill said.
Thornhill is one of six starters returning on a
defense that led the league total defense, allowing just 318.3 yards
per game; pass defense, at just 164.1 yards per game; and pass efficiency
defense, permitting opposing quarterbacks to accumulate just a 104.5
rating. The Spartans' pass defense was the seventh-best in the country
in 2000.
Only one starter from that four-man defensive backfield,
free safety Thomas Wright, returns. Senior cornerback Cedric Henry,
who failed to pass any courses this summer, has been declared academically
ineligible for this season.
The replacement for All-Big Ten cornerback Renaldo
Hill is DeMario Suggs. The senior played in all 11 games last season
and started four times, making 45 tackles and one interception —
off Purdue's Drew Brees. He was also voted the team's most outstanding
special teams player last season.
Michigan State is expecting more great things from
its defense as well as the rest of the team.
"I have very high expectations for this program
as do our players and coaches," Williams said. "It is important we get
this program going. We took a step backward in overall wins last season,
but I thought we took some positive steps forward in what we tried to
accomplish with the program."
The players don't want to fail to meet their goals.
"For me, a successful season means getting no less
than eight wins, winning all the games we're supposed to win and playing
in a New Year's Day Bowl," Thornhill said. "Anything else, we'll have
sold ourselves short."
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