Michigan State Football: Next man up at every position
Sep 27, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Damion Terry (6) takes the snap against the Wyoming Cowboys during the 1st half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
If you’ve been following Michigan State football over the past eight years under head coach Mark Dantonio, you know that the program implores the ‘next man up’ mentality.
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Dantonio has worked hard to put together a roster full of entirely capable players who could step up in the case of an injury.
Well, the prime example of senior linebacker Ed Davis going down with a season-ending knee injury unfortunately happened a couple of weeks ago and the job is up in the air, or so it seems. A few guys are playing well enough to overtake the MONEY linebacker position and be that next man up.
This mentality has been used countless times over the past decade with Dantonio at the helm and it’s something that really helps in times such as this one.
It doesn’t always have to be injuries that call for the next man up to be ready, sometimes it’s players leaving the program early for the league, graduation and just overall poor play.
Two more solid examples would be Connor Cook taking over the quarterback position and being the next man up after Andrew Maxwell had a tough time leading the offense effectively. Also, Le’Veon Bell leaving early for the NFL draft a few years ago and Jeremy Langford emerged at the running back position — that will need to take place again this year as Langford has gone pro.
Let’s take a look at the ‘next man up’ at every single position on the team for the upcoming seasons.
Next: Quarterback