Spartans’ Smith Finds His Seat Warm

By Paul Smith
paul.smith@collegeblitz.com

Chesterton, Ind. -- The exhilarating high that permeated the Michigan State sideline last mid-September after the Spartans' 44-41 overtime win at Notre Dame had even the most cynical M.S.U. fan dreaming big.

The Spartans had already posted a 49-14 victory over Kent State and a 42-14 rout of Hawaii, the latter a massively impressive payback for a classic ref-job loss in Honolulu the year before.

At 3-0, State was in the top 10, and when the Spartans went into Champaign and schooled Illinois 61-14, some began entering M.S.U. in national championship conversations.

So how, you ask, did fourth-year Spartans coach John L. Smith find his way onto the "Coaches on the Hotseat" list?

Alongside Michigan's Lloyd Carr, no less?

Simple. Despite the presence of one of America's best quarterbacks -- Drew Stanton (literally a two-thirds completion percentage, 66.7, plus 3,077 passing yards and 22 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions), the Spartans simply tanked in the final seven games, managing only a 46-15 home win against bottom-feeder Indiana.

The first two losses -- 34-31 in overtime to their bitter neighbors from Ann Arbor and 35-24 at Ohio State -- were understandable. But then came a 49-14 Twilight Zoner against Northwestern. In East Lansing. The freefall was taking on its own life.

That was then, Smith is quick to point out, this is now. Just how hot is that seat there? Well, this certainly doesn't help:

"We expect to go to bowl games, and we expect to compete for championships."

The speaker: Athletic Director Ron Mason, with the explicit approval of university President Lou Anna K. Simon.

Not exactly a rip-roaring endorsement for a guy who brought some flashy credentials to East Lansing from his 14 years at Louisville. In the fourth year of his six-year contract, Smith's Spartan record is dead even at 18-18.

"I think it's a great thing about athletics," Smith said after a recent scrimmage. "We're upset and the players are upset. The great thing about athletics is we get to line up again. We're very disappointed and we want to change that taste in our mouth."

It sounded pretty sour from the mouths of the decision-makers as well.

"...It's a new year, a beginning and a chance to show that we're better than that," Smith continued. "The seniors and the entire football team have taken offense (to last year's finish). So what do we have to do? Prove it."

One positive area: Expectations are not all that high, although the talent level is. There was some off-field damage control to consider, too.

Junior wide receiver Terry Love out of Bellwood, Ill. and a high school with a rich athletic tradition, Proviso East, got involved with two others in making the modern-day version of Molotov cocktail bombs and set them off outside an on-campus apartment. Two went off and while no one was hurt, teammates Irving Campbell and Mike Bell along with Love were implicated.

"What did I learn?" he repeated Chicago Sun-Times reporter Vaughn McClure's question. "That playing Division I ball, you're under a microscope.

"I'm just happy I didn't get in any serious trouble." He did his off-field penance -- no jail time -- and returns as one of the Big Ten's promising young gamebreakers at a position where the Spartans are traditionally strong.
Starting wideout Mike Trannon and tight end Kellen Davis give Stanton some excellent defense stretchers.

Toss in 817-yard, 5-touchdown rusher Javon Ringer, a sophomore bowling ball, along with senior Jerramy Scott, another wideout who produced 722 yards and 4 T.D.s after playing his way into a starting position, and you can see some serious offensive potential.

"As you take a look at us, there are a lot of spots where we have good depth and a lot of spots where we have some good competition going on," Smith said. "And there are some spots where we don't."

It is that identity crisis and how Smith deals with it that could ultimately decide his status.

The Spartans' offensive line would be a perfect example of Smith's point.

On the left side, there are junior tackle Mike Gyetval, a mobile, extremely powerful 6-feet, 7-inch, 304-pounder, and senior guard Kyle Cook (6-3, 295), who are just a cut below the nation's elite, but still two major obstacles for any enemy defense. But the other three positions are peopled by folks who are greener than the Spartans uniform.

Typical.

But if those promising, but as yet unproven underclass people -- center John Masters, right guard Roland Martin and right tackle Jesse Miller -- fit in quickly, Michigan State's offense should roll.

Defensively, junior strong safety Nehemiah Warrick is one of the Big Ten's best, senior tackle Clifton Ryan is a steadying influence on the d-line, and senior linebacker David Herron is a talented sideline-to-sideline type.

But another if comes into focus. Many of the remaining defenders are relatively untested.

"We have to find the right combination up front," Smith assessed. "That's a big key. Normally what we say, if we can find eight guys who can play up front, then we'll be okay."

Banged around frequently last season, quarterback Stanton took out an insurance policy this time around.

"We would encourage anybody in the position he is to do that," Smith said. "In regards to knowing the policy that we took out on my nephew (Alex Smith) a year ago, yes, they deserve ... and we should take that policy out."

If only the head coaching job had the same possibility. An early-season road game at improving Pitt. National championship dreamer Notre Dame, followed two weeks later by a visit to Michigan, then a home date with preseason No. 1 Ohio State wrapped around a home game with Illinois.

And you thought, other than sharing a state and job description, John L. Smith and Lloyd Carr had nothing in common!