Michigan State Football: 5 breakout candidates vs. Bowling Green
By Stephen Robb
Which five Michigan State football players will have breakout performances against Bowling Green Saturday?
It is finally game time after a grueling and problematic off season. The Spartans are back for the redemption season of 2017. There are many new starters on both sides of the ball.
While there are many new faces starting there is the same old one prowling the sidelines. Mark Dantonio enters his eleventh season at the helm. He has witnessed more ups than downs in his tenure.
The Spartans are ready to hit the field against the Falcons of Bowling Green after being humiliated in their 2016 campaign, a new low for Dantonio. Bowling Green is also recovering from a poor 2016 record of 4-8.
History says that MSU will have a bounce-back year considering Dantonio has followed up his disappointing seasons with huge upswings. The 2009 Spartans were 6-7 while in 2010 they went 11-2. Then in 2012 they went 7-6 while going 13-1 in 2013.
However, this year’s team is still young and has many first year starters. It still remains to be seen if their team chemistry will translate to the field.
Which Spartans have the best chance of breaking out in this game?
Kenny Willekes, standing 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, is the next unheralded Spartan to capture a starting job. The former walk-on has earned himself a start at defensive end over Demetrius Cooper and he has been compared to former DE Marcus Rush.
Rush had a knack for his hustle, hard work and always seemingly being around the ball. Willekes is similar in that he is always around the pigskin and works extremely hard. Coaches have called Kenny “relentless.”
Michigan State was near the bottom of the list of schools in the FBS in sacks last year. It’s something that must improve for the Spartans to return to a bowl game.
Willekes was a do-everything type of player for North Pointe Christian in Rockford, Mich., and the Spartans hope that translates in East Lansing. There is much that will be demanded of Kenny as he and the defensive line will need to redeem themselves after last season. He will bring his hard-nosed attitude to this game and will shine for the Green and White.