Drew Stanton cool as ice, MSU appealing David Stanton ruling
Today it’s the Detroit papers’ turn for their college football preview editions.
First off is the mandatory Drew Stanton story from Dave Dye of the Detroit News. Stanton is thriving under the pressure being put on him by fans.
Stanton, an often-injured junior quarterback from Farmington Hills Harrison, doesn’t agree with the theory that the Spartans will fall apart without him. But, at the same time, he’s the type to thrive in the spotlight.
“I want those expectations on me,” he said. “That’s why I came here. I wanted to be here when this program started to get back on the top of the Big Ten where it should be.”
Stanton considers it his job — if not his calling — to take them there after seemingly endless years of mediocrity for the Spartans, including a 5-7 record last season.
Meanwhile MSU is still appealing the David Stanton ruling with the NCAA. You have to feel for Stanton and his family who have been through a very rough year already.
This comes seven months after Gaylord Stanton, David’s father, died from lung failure. Stanton considered staying closer to home, but decided in the end to come to Michigan State.
“Now I’m regretting it,” Maisie Stanton said. “He had a lot of offers (including Oregon State, Iowa State and Nevada-Las Vegas).”
The eligibility issue centers on the number of credits taken by Stanton while attending College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Part of that controversy involves Stanton being “gray-shirted,” meaning he enrolled in school but didn’t play football in the fall of 2002. He took fewer credits that semester so he would be considered a part-time student.
Dave Dye also points out several things for Michigan State fans to watch for this season including key games, MSU newcomers to watch for such as Javon Ringer and Steve Juarez, and some predictions. We’d love for Dye’s Hawaii prediction to come true…
• Michigan State will score 60 points against a porous Hawaii defense: A little payback for last year’s finale, when the Spartans believed they got ripped off by the officials.
• Michigan State’s defense won’t be quite as bad as advertised: The line will be improved and take some of the pressure off the secondary.
Finally, Dye and the rest of the Detroit News staff have posted their predictions for the Spartans’ season. They all seem to follow the same theme, that MSU could surprise people, but 6-5 and 7-4 seem to be the common predictions.
Dave Dye
The Spartans showed flashes of greatness and ineptness last season. Now they need to develop some consistency to confirm that the program is headed in the right direction in John L. Smith’s third year. Drew Stanton’s health should be enough to assure a 6-5 season and a bowl bid. If the defense improves, 7-4 or 8-3 is possible.