U-M? OSU? Spartans not worried about being overshadowed
CHICAGO – You have to be creative when they see you coming, and there’s no question Michigan State’s player representatives had the media game plan pegged this week.
Ohio State won it all. Michigan has Jim Harbaugh. You get overlooked. Thoughts?
“You guys are really good at re-wording stuff, but like, still asking the same question,” MSU senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun said after a persistent effort by one reporter to get some Harbaugh reaction. “’What I’m gonna do is switch this word and that word…’”
And then Calhoun smiled as he reiterated that Harbaugh’s shirtless pictures from a camp last month were well-received.
“I said earlier he’s a very handsome man, I’m happy that he’s getting in the media,” Calhoun said. “But honestly, you know, I’m happy for them. I’m happy they got a coach they like and they believe in, and I wish the best for them. But I’m honestly and truthfully not focused on their program, I’m focused on the Michigan State Spartans and how we can be successful.”
That’s where the Spartans kept trying to steer things, but in reality, the Ohio State/Michigan talk jibes perfectly with their approach. Even when picked No. 6 in the nation, as MSU was Thursday in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, it isn’t considered the favorite in its own division.
The Spartans haven’t reached “darling” status, and as conveyed by offseason workout shirts with poker “chips” on the shoulders, they’ll probably continue to mention that to each other.
“Ohio State’s obviously the alpha dog in the Big Ten, they’re favored to win and stuff like that,” MSU senior quarterback Connor Cook said. “And then Michigan with Jim Harbaugh coming in, they’re getting all the hype and stuff, and people are kind of forgetting about us, the Michigan State Spartans. That obviously adds fuel to the fire and makes us more motivated when people aren’t talking about us or giving us the respect we deserve.”
They’re not concerned – they swear – about claiming more of it.
“I don’t care at all,” MSU senior center Jack Allen said. “We get to play them, so…”
So they’ll get their chance, at U-M on Oct. 17 and at OSU on Nov. 21. But now is the time for talking, and taking stock of what others are saying.
“Of course we’re gonna care, because we’re humans,” Calhoun said. “It’s a part of human nature to care. But I don’t think we put too much effort into caring. We’re not gonna be like, ‘Oh, they said Ohio State’s supposed to be preseason No. 1, let’s go kill ourselves, let’s lose it.’ No, no. We still have to play the game. At the end of the day we still have to play against those guys. We’re not gonna go out there and be like, ‘Since you’re preseason No. 1, can we possibly cancel this game? You guys already won, right?’ No.”
MSU coach Mark Dantonio was asked about the attention gap as well. He looked around at a table packed with reporters and said: “We are three deep right here. I feel fine. I think Michigan State gets a lot of credit. We have a lot of press. I worry about … how are we handling the press that we are encountering?”
They encountered a lot of it in Chicago, and a lot of variations on the same basic question. Finally, someone got really creative and asked Calhoun if Harbaugh recruited him at all when he was head coach at Stanford.
“No, no, no, no, no. I wasn’t getting into Stanford, I’ll be honest with you guys,” Calhoun said, laughing again. “I’m not even gonna sugarcoat that one. I wasn’t getting into Stanford. So I feel no hatred against him for not recruiting me. He was smart.”
Freshman back impresses: The Spartans won’t have a great feel for freshman running back LJ Scott’s chances to play this season until after practice starts Aug. 8. But the 6-foot, 233-pound power runner from Hubbard, Ohio has made an impression in workouts.
"He looks like Le’Veon Bell,” Allen said of the former MSU and current NFL star. “He looks like he could be Le’Veon’s cousin or little brother or something.”
Scott will join Gerald Holmes and Madre London in the competition, and Delton Williams will make it a foursome when he reports Aug. 14.
“Le’Veon played early on in the process … so it’s possible,” Dantonio said. “And LJ Scott looks like the real deal.”
Ticket update: MSU announced there are now fewer than 1,000 season tickets left and that a “mini-plan” for Oregon and two other games will not be offered as originally planned.