Big plays and MSU passing attack dominate 2nd scrimmage
Head Coach John L. Smith wasn’t happy with the team’s performance on the field during MSU’s second scrimmage of fall camp. However, after reviewing the 100 play, 2 1/2-hour practice on video he did find some bright spots, including the passing of QB Drew Stanton who went 3-for-3 for 132 yards, and threw touchdowns of 63 and 44 yards.
“I wasn’t a happy camper when I came off the field Tuesday, but after looking at the video, the scrimmage wasn’t nearly as bad as I first thought,” Coach Smith said. “The first-team offense executed well and produced big plays. With Drew Stanton in the lineup, the first-team offense ran like clockwork. I also saw improvement in our operating procedures. Our overall execution was much better on both sides of the football. The first scrimmage was sloppy -in terms of how we used our hands, in our execution and sloppy in getting into the proper formations.
“I was disappointed in the overall operation of the second-team offense and defensively, we made too many mistakes and gave up far too many big plays. The big plays remain a major concern. We simply can’t afford to surrender that many big plays.”
Quarterback Drew Stanton (6-3, 222, Jr.), who played just six snaps with the first-team offense, directed two scoring drives. On the second play from scrimmage, Stanton hooked up with Kyle Brown (6-1, 210, Sr.) for a 63-yard scoring play. His 25-yard completion to Terry Love (5-11, 173, So.) on the second series set up another scoring pass to Brown, this time a 44-yard bomb. Stanton finished 3-for-3 for 132 yards.
“Drew Stanton has worked extremely hard at improving his accuracy, especially in throwing the deep ball,” Smith said. “I really believe that he’s improved at making all of the throws. It’s exciting because he’s made some great throws in preseason camp.”