Spartans’ dreams come true in NFL draft
Drew Stanton’s childhood dreams came true on Saturday as he was selected by the Detroit Lions as the 43rd overall selection in the second round of the NFL draft Saturday.
Carlos Martinez of the Detroit Free Press writes that Stanton always wanted to play for the Lions, but not as a quarterback.
The funny thing is that Stanton never wanted to be a quarterback for the Lions. He wanted to be Barry Sanders. He attended his first NFL game at the Silverdome and soon bought a Sanders jersey and highlight tape.
“I always tried to be Barry Sanders; I wasn’t the quarterback,” Stanton said about the backyard games of his youth. “That’s where I got myself in trouble. I always used to go through those scenarios and do all those things as a little kid. Now it’s just really nice to call this my home once again.”
Terry Foster of the Detroit News had a bit of advice for Stanton: watch and learn.
The Lions got the right guy in the second round.
Now they must treat him the right way.
He must sit and learn the game old-school style, like Terry Bradshaw, who sat, learned and eventually became a Hall of Fame quarterback. Stanton is a very good talent who was victimized by very bad coaching at Michigan State.
Meanwhile, Detroit Free Press writer, and UM slappy Michael Rosenberg doesn’t believe that Stanton was the right choice. Not surprisingly, Rosenberg thought the Lions should have drafted a UM player instead. 
To be fair, Stanton played in a spread offense with subpar talent around him. So Stanton was not in position to showcase his NFL potential.
I hate to start a Michigan-Michigan State argument here, but since those are the players I see most often, let me say that I think U-M’s LaMarr Woodley could have filled the Lions’ need for a pass rusher. (And while we’re on the topic: I think U-M’s David Harris is going to be a great pro. Harris was available for the Lions, even after they traded down. But he doesn’t fit well into their scheme.)
Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press also thought that the Stanton pick was puzzling for the Lions. Mitch has apparently run out of “feel good” stories.
Monday morning after the NFL draft is like Sunday morning after a wild college party. You either had a great time, a lousy time or you wait to learn if you made a fool of yourself.
The Lions will have to wait. It was a strange weekend. The home team took another receiver with its highest pick. A great receiver, we are told, but still another receiver. That’s four in the last five years. And as rare a bird as Calvin Johnson is, his Georgia Tech team last year went 9-5. Guys who catch the ball do not ensure victories.
Then, with the second pick, Lions fans were mystified: Drew Stanton from Michigan State. We’ve all watched Stanton. At times he throws like an NFL quarterback. And at times he throws like, well, a Lions quarterback.
But why would Detroit trade away backup Josh McCown, who at least has started a few games in the NFL, then use such a high pick on Stanton, who at best needs to start anew, break bad habits and grow into an NFL passer — and at worst isn’t going to do any of that?
Also drafted this weekend was MSU defensive tackle Clifton Ryan who went in the fifth round to the St. Louis Rams as the 154th overall pick. Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal writes that two former MSU assistants were in the draft war room this weekend as assistants for the Rams. Rexrode also mentions that MSU punter Brandon Fields went as a surprise pick in the seventh round to the Miami Dolphins as the 225th overall pick.
Who you know matters in this NFL business, too, so it made sense to see the St. Louis Rams draft Michigan State defensive tackle Clifton Ryan on Sunday.
Two former MSU assistant coaches familiar with Ryan occupy the St. Louis staff - quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier and defensive quality control coach Mike Cox. Head coach Scott Linehan was an assistant at Louisville under former MSU head coach John L. Smith.
“From what I understand, coach Cox was fighting for me in the war room,” Ryan said of Cox, who joined Linehan in the offseason after Smith and his staff were fired at MSU. “He helped me out a lot, so I’m grateful. I’m just blessed and honored to have my name called.”