Michigan State football “a lot further along” this year than last season

Xavier Henderson spoke to the media on Monday afternoon and had good things to say about Michigan State football’s overall progress.

Mondays in preseason camp are gold for fans because it’s when Michigan State football players and coaches speak to the media about the weekly progress and go over what happened over the weekend’s scrimmage.

This Monday, Xavier Henderson spoke to the media along with Mel Tucker and they both had positive things to say about the team’s progress.

Tucker spoke about some guys who stood out in the scrimmage over the weekend (Keon Coleman, Jarek Broussard) and said that he likes the depth of his team but there’s still work to do.

Henderson spoke about the team as a whole and even hyped up his quarterback, stating that Payton Thorne has taken that next step.

There’s also this statement from Henderson which should get everyone excited:

This makes it seem like there’s more buy-in this year than there was a year ago and when a coach puts together an 11-2 season and proves he can compete at the highest level, that will often happen. Tucker is selling championships to his players and it seems like they’re buying in.

If Michigan State is truly further along this year than it was a season ago, that means that there should be no expectation for a drop-off or step back.

If you think about it, every position group has improved or added more depth. Kenneth Walker III is gone, but the running back room got deeper and the offensive line doesn’t have a ton of depth, but the starters are more capable. The cornerbacks are also deeper and the linebackers and defensive line are the best groups on the team, arguably.

Michigan State shouldn’t take a step back this year.