Pledge Week: Wide Receivers

The week draws to a sweet, merciful close with our star position group in this class, the Wide Receivers. This was Mark Dantonio's most impressive recruiting haul. DeAnthony Arnett write up will be very brief.

DeAnthony Arnett

Arnett transferred to MSU a few weeks ago from Tennessee. He is currently seeking a hardship waiver from the NCAA which would allow him to skip the customary transfer year. Arnett is very talented and provided the aforementioned waiver works out, will see the field in 2012. He'll play out of the slot quite a bit as his "shake and bake" is his main claim to fame.


Aaron Burbridge

Burbridge committed to MSU on 7/28/2011 over offers from OSU, ND, UM and pretty much any other school you can think of. He was ranked a four star recruit by all three recruiting services. At 6'1" and 175 lbs, he is basically the spitting image of former Farmington Hills Harrison standout Mark Dell. Burbridge appears to have all of the physical tools to dominate the college game at catching and running with the football. Doesn't look to be an elite blocker yet.


To the YouTubes!

Well, he's faster than every one else on the field. There's a disgusting one handed catch about two minutes in, not to mention a pretty nice grab on an endzone corner route. There's a reason he was nationally recruited and it's because his milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

2012 Prognostication: Barring injury will be a four year contributor, perhaps even a four year starter.

Kyle Kerrick

Kerrick committed to MSU on 6/23/2011 over offers from Illinois, Pitt, WVa and the MAC. He's ranked a three-star prospect by all three recruiting services. Kerrick figures to be auditioning for the BJ Cunningham role vs his main competition Monty Madaris. An advantage that Kerrick possesses is that he is MSU's only early enrollee for 2012 so he will participate in Spring Ball which means that when Madaris comes to town Kerrick will already have an extra 15 practices under his belt.



To The YouTubes!

He's more shifty than I imagined. When I hear a "big-bodied" wide receiver, I always imagine Derrick Nix with in pillow armor catching passes. This kid looks quick and shifty for a few steps but in a foot race his speed is pretty pedestrian. Perfect for a BJ Cunningham replacement.

2012 Prognostication: If you're a WR, you're in the mix to play this year. He'll be on the field no later than next year at least situationally.

MacGarrett Kings Jr.

Kings committed to MSU on 7/13/2011 over offers from Auburn, Georgia and Wisconsin. All three services have him ranked as a three-star WR recruit. So, in short, are you worried you might miss Keshawn Martin? You should be. Kings, can be a reasonable facsimile therein(I'm not going to say replacement). Unlike Martin, Kings has played WR and RB in HS and will not have to "learn to catch the ball". He could fit into the Keshawn position immediately.


To The YouTubes!

Just my suspicion, but Mr. Hill is going to have to work to keep the #1 KR job at a minimum. Kings shows nice hands on a catch around 1:35. Good adjustment to the ball and good hands to make the catch. It won't take him 2 seasons to learn to be a good wide receiver like the recently departed Keshawn. Excellent pick-up. What's not to love? His top end speed is not elite but his first few steps are as quick as anyone that I remember having seen. That's a nitpicking criticism though.

2012 Prognostication: Will return punts, kicks or both this year. Will see the field as a WR if Arnett's waiver is not granted.

Monty Madaris

Madaris committed to MSU on well today when he sent in his NLI. He committed earlier this week, but then there was much drama. All water under the bridge now. Madaris had functional offers at this point probably from just MSU and Cincy, although at one time had offers from Florida State, Nebraska and a disputable offer with Michigan. At some point, he could serve as a cautionary tale of holding out for an offer you're not going to get(I still think he wanted to play at OSU). He's ranked a four star recruit by Scout and 247. Rivals was stingier and only gave him very high three.

To The YouTubes!

Madaris senior year highlights are outstanding. He doesn't slow down to catch the ball, his routes look really fluid, he gets up to speed quickly and doesn't get caught from behind, and best of all, he comes from Archbishop Moeller High School who has brought us such players as Greg Jones and Marcus Rush. Monty Madaris looks like he could be worth the wait and a nice compliment to Burbridge.


2012 Prognostication: Will compete with Kerrick to be the next BJ Cunningham. Kerrick has a head start, Madaris has more physical tools. One will redshirt this year unless the other is injured.

Assume the Position: Wide Receivers

This is part 4a of an ambitiously stated seven part series. This series will focus on introducing MSU fans to their position group players. It is not intended to replace the quality analysis that media types can provide, but we give it our best shot. We'll work backwards from the most stable position groups to the more dynamic ones so we can write about the most volatile groups last.

The Spartans return all but one starter last year from the Wide Receiver position. Mark Dell is now catching passes from Tim Tebow in Denver. The core group of BJ Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol returns for 2011 and is looking to mess some folks up. This group at first glance should be as talented as any in the big 10. As always we proceed alphabetically.

Juwan Caesar

Juwan Caesar is a Floridian transplant who is going to learn what cold is this winter. He committed to Michigan State in January over offers from West Virginia, Illinois and Minnesota. Despite his "meh" offer sheet, the staff and media seemed particularly excited for his commitment. He sports elite size at 6'4 and 210 and seems to run pretty fluidly.



2011 Prediction

Caesar seems far from a shoe-in to play this season. With a deep WR group in front of him there's no moral imperative to burn his redshirt. He would be a logical backup to Cunningham, Fowler and Nichol so if the injury gods strike maybe he sees the field. Otherwise it's probably a redshirt this year.

B.J. Cunningham

B.J. Cunningham is a redshirt senior who will be one of our starters this upcoming year. Last year BJ really emerged as a redzone threat for us scoring 9 TDs in 2010, tied with Titus Young and A.J. Green for 27th nationally. Cunningham is a big-bodied wide receiver at 6'2" and 215. The most amazing thing about Cunningham in 2010 though was how he became a clutch receiver for us. Need a 3rd and 6, BJ Cunningham will catch that slant for you.

2011 Prediction

Cunningham will be the man this season. I look for a Devin Thomas type dominance from him when the ball goes his way towards the end of the season. I do not expect his numbers to be as gaudy on account of the plethora of targets that Cousins has to throw to. Cunningham will catch touchdowns, he will get us out of 3rd and long and he will run block. Expect big things from him this year.

Bennie Fowler

Bennie Fowler is another man among children in terms of physical stature. As another 6'2" 215 lbs kind of guy, he'll be another of those big bodied wide receivers that Dantonio loves. He saw limited action in 2010 as a redshirt freshman in a VERY deep playing group. He amassed 14 catches for 175 and a TD.

He also was the recipient of the other trick play in 2010.



I felt like Dantonio was a bit overly smug about the success of this play. It was a well-thrown ball by Bates coupled with a good catch by Fowler with impending collision that made the play. I'm pretty sure everyone knew the fake was coming.

2011 Prediction

Fowler will see increased playing time in 2011 although I don't know if he'll be a full-time starter. He showed some promise as a kick returner towards the end of the season in 2010. If Cunningham, Martin and Nichol are injury-free this season, you might see a smaller dose of Bennie Fowler this year. If they get dinged up even an average amount you'll see plenty.

This year as a redshirt sophmore I expect him to get plenty of touches as a WR, KR and even a few at RB, his high school position. Think WR sweeps to the Nichol/Cunningham side of the field. Bennie Fowler will be a star on this team in 2012, the question is will he be one in 2011? Magic 8-ball says.... Yes.

Takudzwa Kubvoruno

Kubvoruno is a walk-on to MSU starting in 2011. He had interest in MSU, CMU and Army but no scholarship offers from those three. He has probably the raddest YouTube highlight reel of any walk-on in MSU history.



I've seriously seen actual non-pornographic movies with worse production than this.

2011 Prediction

I do not expect Kubvoruno to contribute in 2011. While he or any other walk-on WR could be the next Blair White, for him to see the field this year would really need to involve major catastrophe. Even worse than the 2008 Michigan Offense.

Keshawn Martin

It's simple. Keshawn Martin is the most fun I have had watching a Spartan football player since Drew Stanton. You just do not know what he's going to do next. Each play could be the play where he pulls up and gets his Denard on, or he might just have Nichol block out for him while he slips around for 10-20 yards. Statistically, Martin has never been a huge producer for MSU, but you cannot leave him unattended or you will pay.

2011 Prediction

Martin will continue his defense-frustrating ways in 2011. Offenses will need to account for all of the various ways he can get you. He is our jack of all trades and honestly just a boatload of fun to watch. In short, expect his trend of 500 yards and 5 or so TDs to continue, but expect to watch him continue to abuse defenses that he catches napping. I expect a grand sendoff for this young man on Senior Day.

Keith Mumphery

Keith Mumphery was a member of the class of 2010. He selected MSU over Arkansas, the other MSU and Nebraska. He's another 6'0, 200 lbs guy but what makes him an interesting future WR is that he's very fluid and speedy in and out of his cuts. Mumphery comes into this season as a Redshirt Freshman and may push for playing time.

As with all freshman that have yet to hit the field....



2011 Prediction

Keith Mumphery will definitely see playing time against some of the preseason tomato cans and perhaps more if injuries or he REALLY excels in the position. Like Caesar though, he will spend most of 2011 being developed to really be someone in 2012 and beyond.

Keith Nichol

Nichol like Kirk Cousins has one of the most interesting stories on the team this year. Originally committed to Michigan State, he switched his commitment to Oklahoma, played against Sam Bradford to win the starting job. Lost to the eventual first pick in the NFL draft, and ended up transferring back to Michigan State to compete against Kirk Cousins in the QB position. There he battled valiantly to win the spot in 2009 and ended up at WR after rathergate. He started at WR in the bowl game against Texas Tech and did a nice job playing a position there was no design on him playing later in the season.

Last year, he had 22 receptions for 264 yards and a TD. These numbers are not particularly impressive. What is impressive though is that Keith Nichol is a supremely good run-blocker.



Keith Nichol in run blocking is like all three Hanson brothers. Also, Glenn Winston on the off chance if you're reading this, fighting is better done on the field.

2011 Prediction

Keith Nichol will be our third receiver this year and figures to spend a lot of time playing against teams where we run a lot. I suspect he'll go around 4-5 hundred yards and 4-5 TDs. I'd suspect he'll remain our third-string QB as well.

Kyle Nichol

Kyle is a walk-on and Keith's younger brother. At 5'9" and 180 he's not really got the physical stature to compete for playing time. I have every confidence he's every bit the warrior his brother is, but I suspect we'll never really find out.

2011 Prediction

I suspect you'll see Kyle on the field for a "brothers" play on Senior Day.

Chris D. Rucker

The "other" Chris Rucker was a member of the class of 2007. He was brought in at receiver although he too has dabbled at Corner throughout his career at MSU. Brought in as a speedster his role was going to be to stretch the field. He didn't play in 2010 and played in only two games in 2009. He had one catch against Montana State, the third MSU, for 21 yards and one catch against Wisconsin for 8 yards and all I remember is probably 3-4 drops with one or two in the end zone.

2011 Prediction

If you haven't seen the field in four years at MSU, you're probably not going to see it in the fifth. Rucker is one of the guys a team depends on behind the scenes, but his play this year should be limited to special teams and senior day.

Andre Sims Jr.

Sims is kind of a carbon-copy of Chris D. Rucker although the early word out of camp is that he is turning some heads already. At 5'8", 180# he's a guy who will need to find the hole in the zone and get there before everyone else. His highlight film would indicate he has the ability.



2011 Prediction

It sounds like Sims might be making enough noise that he may not be redshirted. That would REALLY be saying something given the playing group in front of him. If he's not redshirted, expect him to spend some time returning kicks and playing special teams with the occasional appearance in a 4 or 5 wide set. Sims could be playing the role of Keshawn Martin in 2012 and I'd be a-ok with that.

Brad Sonntag

Sonntag is another walk-on for MSU. A program guy who has played all 5 years at the WR position. He's primarily been a special teams guy in 2009 and 2010. I believe he played WR in the Rather Bowl in 2009, but he did not catch a pass. Sonntag is an effort guy and effort guys always make the team a bit better.

2011 Prediction

Expect Sonntag's contribution on Special Teams to continue this upcoming year. I don't expect him to see the field at WR except perhaps on Senior day.

AJ Troup

Troup is a true freshman walk-on for Michigan State this year. At 6'2 and 202 he has the body frame to play the position. I was going to drop his Senior Year highlight reel here, but he put his home phone number in it. A two-star recruit with offers from Northern Iowa and North Dakota, he decided to eschew all that and play for the Spartans.



So this will have to do...

2011 Prediction and Beyond

AJ Troup is the kind of kid that has Blair White written all over him, he'll redshirt this year, play some special teams next year and maybe in a couple of years crack the two deeps at the WR position. This is the kind of kid that makes teams great. The kid who works 3-4 years to get the chance to play and when he does, look out. This year, just a redshirt, in 3 years though, maybe a pleasant surprise starter.

Best Case Scenario: We have between four and six Wide Receivers who would start for most Big Ten teams. With that in mind, the coaching staff is able to distribute catches such that no one is getting the ball too much. This with a dominant ground game makes our offense impossible to stop as Dantonio has pointed out, every defense has a weakness. The deep and varied array of talent makes it too difficult for teams to stop our WR group.

Worst Case Scenario: Cunningham and Nichol are injured early on in the season, which leaves no one to participate in run-blocking for our running backs. Martin and Fowler while extremely talented are asked to do too much. Also, Kirk Cousins DOOM.

Overall Assessment:

The Spartans have probably the deepest group of Wide Receivers in the Big Ten this year. They can kill you in possession, they can kill you with speed, they can kill you in run support. Barring significant injury, you can expect this group to be among the nation's most dangerous WR groups. They will contribute significantly towards Michigan State's final record this year. They are flatly excellent.