MSU and the Case of the Disappearing Fullback

Niko Palazeti committed to Michigan State as a fullback on 2/1/2010. This may have been the end of an era for Michigan State's football program. I think Palazeti will be the last four year scholarship fullback to come through the Duffy Daughtery building.

Nothing against the kid, I'm sure he'll do a fine job in the Green and White and looked very good in relief of Todd Anderson in FAU-type garbage time this year. It's just, the Fullback is an endangered species in football in general. Oh sure, they've found niche roles in the biocommunity of college football on teams like Michigan State, but I think even now they're starting to disappear from these teams as well.

Why, might you ask?

I'm so glad you did, even though you didn't really. First and foremost, the game of football has changed significantly since the 70s and 80s. The responsibility of the fullback is two fold. First on a run play, they are supposed to get out and hit a linebacker to provide blocking for the running back. Second, on a pass play, they are responsible for doing one of two things, they can either block for the Quarterback OR they can slide out into the flat and act as the QB safety valve.

Interesting Note: The first offensive play of the Dantonio era was a play action pass to the fullback, Andrew Hawken.

Since the 70s and 80s, the pass coverage responsibilities of the Linebackers have increased substantially since the advent of the West Coast Offense. In the West Coast Offense, it was discovered that more than two dudes can try to catch a pass at one time. So linebackers have gotten faster and smaller. This presents a problem for guys who play the slower and bulkier fullback position as they're responsible for putting a hit on these guys in the run game.

In the pass game, the fullback can still pass block, but again with the smaller linebackers, running backs have been asked to do more in pass blocking and as it concerns running out into the flat to catch a safety valve pass for the QBs you'd want the quicker, faster running backs catching those passes as well.

None of the reasons listed above are the most important though, not for MSU anyway


Running Example

MSU used this constantly in the MSU - Wisconsin Round 1 game.

MSU lines up in a single back, Two TE set.  Linthicum lines up left of France.

Linthicum goes in motion, this at the very least does one thing for Cousins. It lets him know whether Linthicum is in man coverage or a zone if the linebacker tries to stay with him or not.

A couple times Linthicum went right back to where he started out and Cousins jumped with glee knowing whether he was looking at zone or man.

Much more often, Linthicum lined up in the fullback spot and now the Single Back Two TE set became a strong I formation with lots of run blocking for the running back. The nice thing is that as soon as Linthicum was set Cousins would snap. This was a really nice way to set up strong run blocking for the RB without tipping our hand run until the last possible moment.

Off Bell or Baker would go for a few yards.

Passing Example

This happened more often as the season wore on, but typically it was Anderson(the FB) "playing" TE. It typically happened in 3rd and short to 3rd and short-medium. Think between 3rd and 3 and 3rd and 5.

MSU starts out in the strong I.

Anderson motions left and lines up just behind Cunningham or whoever.

MSU managed to conceal their 4 WR look out of the huddle up until a moment or two prior to the snap. This forces the opposing defense to adjust prior to the play.

The QB drops back into the shotgun and now a 3rd and 4 has changed from the look of a strong run play into a strong pass play.

So What Does This Mean?

Dan Roushar runs a misdirection offense that relies on concealing the true intent of a play until seconds before the snap. One of the easiest ways to play with the look of a play is to move a TE into the fullback spot a second or two prior to the snap or to move a fullback into a WR spot seconds prior to the snap.  The role of a traditional fullback has disappeared on any spread team and is even disappearing in a more traditional offense like MSU runs.

So for my own part, I wish Palazeti and any other fullback to come to MSU the best of luck at the position. I just found myself wondering if he would be the last four year scholarship recruit at the position. We'll see how much more time Roushar spends using this misdirection in 2012.

Update Now With H-Back!

Ok, so for a couple of year 

Assume the Position: Fullbacks

This is part 3a 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 fullback can be a very important position in the pro-style offense we run. Faster than an offensive lineman but still can deliver a punishing hit to break a running back free. If a defense is napping and loses sight of the fullback, they can kill you in play action. The first play of the Mark Dantonio era offensively was a 16ish yard pass play to the fullback in play action.

MSU currently has five fullbacks on the roster: Todd Anderson, Jeff Bobek, Niko Palazeti, Trevon Pendleton and Adam Setterbo. Of the five, only Niko Palazeti was recruited out of high school and offered a scholarship at the fullback position, Todd Anderson and Adam Setterbo I believe are scholarship players this year as well. Like years prior, I expect Dantonio to use the fullbacks on a rotational basis to try and keep defenses guessing.

Todd Anderson

Todd Anderson played DE last year and made some noise earlier in the season. At 6'2" and 260 he's got ideal size to play fullback and a nasty streak forged on the MSU defensive line. Anderson emerged as the top fullback candidate during Spring Practice and figures to be the likely starter in this position.

2011 Prediction

Anderson should be the starter and go-to guy at Fullback this season. It's rumored his pass-catching and blocking are coming along smashingly. After last year, where the fullback position seemed to be down a bit I think he can bring back some of the nastiness that'll get you a 3rd and 1 conversion when you really need it. Which is always. You always really need a 3rd and 1 conversion.

Jeff Bobek

As a member of the class of 2009 Jeff Bobek was recruited as an inside linebacker. He decided to walk-on at Michigan State. His brother Brian was a four-star recruit for the Buckeyes and will be a true freshman this year.

2011 Prediction

Bobek is not expected to contribute significant minutes at this time.

Niko Palazeti

Palazeti was recruited and accepted an offer to play fullback for Michigan State. To my knowledge he is the first Dantonio recruit to receive a scholarship offer at the fullback position. While other fullbacks have been on scholarship, he is the first I know of to be recruited as such. Palazeti was a late commit in the recruiting class of 2010. This year he will be eligible as a redshirt freshman. At 6'1 and 250, he's got the solid build you're looking for in a blocking and receiving FB.

2011 Prediction

Palazeti will see minutes on the field this year. I don't believe he is the present of the fullback position, but I think he is the future. With four years left to play he's gonna be blowing holes open for running backs not yet committed in 2014. I'd expect him to be part of the fullback rotation and see significant minutes in run-heavy games and/or blowouts.

Trevon Pendleton

Pendleton was the third ranked fullback and a three star recruit according to rivals in the class of 2011. He had scholarship offers from Air Force and Ball State. Sadly, no school starting with the letter C or below elected to offer him. He has come to Michigan State as a preferred walk-on. He and Palazeti are without question the future of the fullback position probably starting in 2012. At 5'11 and 230 he's really going to be in a good position to bowling ball his way through a LB or two.

2011 Prediction

I suspect Pendleton will redshirt this year.

Adam Setterbo

Setterbo is entering his fifth year as a Spartan. He was also a preferred walk-on coming out of high school. He has been a valuable member of the scout team in the past few years and that should translate to some game time this year.

2011 Prediction

Setterbo will see the field rotationally this year although I suspect it'll only be a handful of times. Still, despite limited game time, guys like Setterbo are what teams are built around. Hardworking dudes who keep coming back even if they don't have all of the physical talent in the world.

Worst Case Scenario: As always depth is a bit of an issue although not as severe as at other positions. If we lost Anderson and Palazeti odds are we'd just go to more single-back sets and rotate in Setterbo more often as well as use some of our TEs in an H-back type set up. The offense could survive some losses at this position.

Best Case Scenario: Really fullbacks are about what they ADD for a team. A good fullback can pop your running back free for an extra 2 yards between the tackles. A good fullback can sneak away when no one is looking and grab a pass for a first down. Anderson has shown a knack for making plays when he's on the field in the past, if that continues at the FB position this could be an immediate strength for us. If Palazeti shows promise immediately and quickly we could begin converting 3rd and shorts easier against the Iowas and Wiskys of the world.

Overall Assessment:The fullback position is under a period of quiet transition. Palazeti and Pendleton represent a young future at the position which will help us convert 3rd and 1s with even more consistency in the upcoming 2-3 years. 2011 will serve as a valuable transition year to start breaking in these young guys who will be making our opponents D black and blue for years to come. Anderson seems to be in a position to play the position well right now, but I think will aid in developing our young guys.