LSJ Blogs: Hey, Joe

Pat White transferring

John Lewandowski confirmed tonight that redshirt freshman safety Pat White has requested a transfer.

Depth chart day

And there really isn't much on MSU's first depth chart of the season that's surprising at all. At kicker, it's Dan Conroy OR Kevin Muma. The dreaded "OR" returns.

Eleven days gone

And just five days until Saturday's opener, are you hyperventilating yet? Before delving deeply into the Western Michigan matchup, let's review:

MSU Basketball 10-11 schedule released

Denny Schwarze here again. Tom Izzo said in a statement the 2010-2011 non-conference schedule is one of the toughest he's had. It includes home games against Texas and South Carolina, a road game at Duke and neutral site games against Syracuse, Oakland University and Maui Invitational opponents.

But he feels as strong as the non-conference slate is, the Big Ten schedule will be that much tougher. MSU has a couple of marquee games that will see appearances from College GameDay, including a trip to West Lafayette to face Purdue on Jan. 22 and at home against Illinois on Feb. 19. Purdue will also come to East Lansing on Feb. 26 or 27, depending on what channel picks up the game. The Jan. 18 game at Illinois coupled with the trip to Purdue will be a huge two-game trip for the Spartans as they hope to win another Big Ten title. Izzo said he likes the depth of the conference this year and expects to see many teams from the league in the Top 25.

The Spartans open exhibition play on Nov. 2 against Saginaw Valley State and host Eastern Michigan in their regular season opener on Nov. 12.

A little more on the Maui field... MSU plays Chaminade first on Nov. 22 and unless State pulls a 1982 Virginia (Chaminade defeated the #1 ranked Cavaliers in by far the tournament's greatest upset), they will get the winner of Wichita State-Connecticut the next day. Kentucky, Oklahoma, Virginia and Washington sit on the other side of the bracket, with Kentucky most likely being the favorite to advance through to the championship game out of that quartet.

"Depending on the Maui matchups, we could play six of our 12 non-conference games against BCS conference schools, which shows our commitment to playing quality competition," Izzo said in a statement when the schedule was released.

The complete schedule is below:

(NOTE: * - Maui Invitational, #- Jimmy V Classic, $- Palace of Auburn Hills)

November
Tues. 2 SAGINAW VALLEY STATE (Exhib.) (BigTenNetwork.com)  7 p.m.
Mon. 8 NEBRASKA-OMAHA (Exhib.) (BigTenNetwork.com) 7 p.m.
Fri. 12 EASTERN MICHIGAN (Big Ten Network) 8:30 p.m.
Tues. 16 SOUTH CAROLINA (ESPN) 10 p.m.
Mon. 22 vs. Chaminade* (ESPNU) 9:30 p.m.
Tues. 23 vs. Connecticut/Wichita State* (ESPN/ESPN2) TBD
Wed. 24 vs. Kentucky/Oklahoma/Virginia/Washington* (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) TBD
Sun. 28 TENNESSEE TECH (Big Ten Network) 1 p.m.
December
Wed. 1 at Duke (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) (ESPN) 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 4 BOWLING GREEN (BigTenNetwork.com) 1:30 p.m.
Tues. 7 vs. Syracuse# (ESPN) 9 p.m.
Sat. 11 vs. Oakland$ TBA
Wed. 22 TEXAS (ESPN2) 7 p.m.
Fri. 31 MINNESOTA (Big Ten Network) 4 p.m.
January
Mon. 3 at Northwestern (Big Ten Network) 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 8 at Penn State (Big Ten Network) 1 p.m.
Tues. 11 WISCONSIN (ESPN) 7 p.m.
Sat. 15 NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten Network) 1 p.m.
Tues. 18 at Illinois (ESPN) 7 p.m.
Sat. 22 at Purdue (ESPN) 9 p.m.
Thurs. 27 MICHIGAN (ESPN/ESPN2) 7 p.m.
Sun. 30 INDIANA (Big Ten Network) 6 p.m.
February
Wed. 2 at Iowa (Big Ten Network) 8:30 p.m.
Sun. 6 at Wisconsin (CBS) 1 p.m.
Thurs. 10 PENN STATE (Big Ten Network) 7 p.m.
Tues. 15 Ohio State (ESPN) 9 p.m.
Sat. 19 ILLINOIS (ESPN) 9 p.m.
Tues. 22 at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) 9 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 26-27 PURDUE (CBS, ESPN, Big Ten Network) TBA
March
Wed. 2 IOWA (Big Ten Network) 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 5 at Michigan (CBS) 2 p.m.
Thur.-Sun. 10-13 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind.
Thur.-Sun. 17-20 NCAA Tournament - First/Second Rounds
Thur.-Sun. 24-27 NCAA Tournament - Regionals
April
Sat./Mon. 2 & 4 NCAA Final Four Houston, Texas

Spartan football scores verbal from Ohio OL

Who likes getting the bad news before the good news? I said earlier Valdez Showers gave a verbal to Florida, but Michigan State got a verbal commitment a few hours ago from Cincinnati (Finneytown) offensive lineman Donavon Clark. Clark, ranked 13th among offensive guards by Scout.com and 50th among offensive tackles in the 2011 class according to Rivals.com, chose MSU over Cincinnati and Tennessee and also had offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, USC and West Virginia.

Just got off the phone with Clark and his coach at Finneytown, Darryn Chenault. Clark said he was "ready to make it official" after taking unofficial visits to some of the 21 schools that offered him scholarships. He explained that "it just felt right. It just popped in my head that I wanted to be a Spartan." He said having family in the mid-Michigan area also made him comfortable enough to make his decision now before his senior season.

Both Clark and Chenault had very positive things to say about head coach Mark Dantonio and Chenault explained that he thought Clark felt like Dantonio was a friend along with a coach.

This is the second offensive linemen recruit that MSU has received a verbal from in a week, joining center Jack Allen from Hinsdale, Ill. This is more good news for the Spartans, who went from searching for offensive line prospects to quickly adding two to this class. Clark becomes the third prep player from Ohio to join the class and second player from Cincinnati, joining defensive end Joel Heath of Mount Healthy H.S.

According to Rivals.com rankings, MSU has 12 three-star recruits in the class and one five-star (LB Lawrence Thomas). Clark is a four-star prospect, according to Scout.com. Scout.com also lists Michigan State with the 19th best class in the country and the second best in the Big Ten for 2011.

Quick Valdez Showers update

This is Denny Schwarze filling in for Joe again

Valdez Showers of Madison Heights Madison has given a verbal commitment to play at the University of Florida. According to his high school coach, Showers chose Florida over Michigan State and Michigan.

Florida has recruited Showers as a cornerback, which is a little strange considering the Gators have an offer out to #2 ranked corner Marcus Roberson of Fort Lauderdale and have received verbals from Louchiez Purifoy and Nick Waisome (#7 and #11 ranked corners on Rivals.con, respectively). Showers is ranked #36 out of corners in the 2011 class, according to Rivals.

Update from Tuesday, Aug. 24 practice

Hey everyone, this is Denny Schwarze filling in for Joe Rexrode. I've been serving as the Michigan State football reporter for the last week while Joe is home with the newborn and now I've taken over his blog too. I haven't blogged much, so this responsibility is a mighty one. Let's get to a few tidbits from today's practice and some position updates:

First, it looks like William Gholston has found a position a little quicker than some may have thought. Gholston will play as a defensive end, according to head coach Mark Dantonio. This is good news for Spartan fans, as Gholston will see more immediate playing time at that position than he would at the linebacker spot. This is bad news if you had Gholston over Mark Dell and Mylan Hicks in your "Which Spartan will end up wearing jersey #2" pool. A numerical change may be in order now that Gholston is playing on the D-line, which would put a damper on the "Too Tall" nickname/number association. But hey, he still stands 6 feet, 7 inches.

Dantonio also explained that sophomore nose tackle Blake Treadwell is hurt and has been held out of practice. This has been a lingering thing as he did not practice when the team went down to Ford Field last week. The coaching staff wants to see if he can go at the end of this week, but will wait until Monday if he can't. This could open the door for Kevin Pickelman to get some more reps. Pickelman appeared in 12 games last year and started against Western Michigan as well as the Alamo Bowl game against Texas Tech. Anthony Rashad White could see some increased action as well.

Le'Veon Bell has really caught the eye of the coaches. It's going to come down to Bell and safety Isaiah Lewis for the biggest impact freshman in 2010, but my pick is Bell. The runningback has the "look of a Big Ten back" according to offensive coordinator Don Treadwell. A freshman listed at 6'2, 230 pounds definitely meets the standard of a bruising Big Ten runningback and Bell could see situational time in short yardage downs, much like Dantonio and Treadwell used Jehuu Caulcrick. It's looking like Bell and fellow freshman runningback Nick Hill will get their chances because they enrolled early and are comfortable in the offensive scheme despite being so young.

Speaking of Lewis, secondary coach Harlon Barnett said that the freshman safety from Indianapolis has "separated himself" in the Nickel and said that "he's earned it". High praise for a freshman. Barnett said this is the best freshmen defensive back crop he's had in seven years on the staff. If the Spartans add highly-touted corner recruit Doran Grant or former Orchard Lake St. Mary's star and rumored Florida State transfer Dionte Allen, this could be a great unit in years to come.

The kicker competition is still wide open. Dantonio said if he had only Dan Conroy or Kevin Muma on his roster that he'd be comfortable with them. Muma said Mike Sadler is no longer competing for the starting kicker spot but finds his punting left-footed, kicking right-footed style very intriguing.

I reported over the weekend that MSU scored a verbal commitment from a center recruit named Jack Allen out of Hinsdale, Illinois. Getting a verbal from this kid was huge considering Iowa and Wisconsin had also offered him. When you look at the type of talent those two schools churn out from the offensive line (First round picks Robert Gallery, Bryan Bulaga and Joe Thomas), it's a tribute to the coaching staff and the university that the kid decided to give a verbal commitment to the program. The Scout.com regional editor I talked to for the story said this was a huge get for MSU. The Spartans may be close to another offensive line verbal, as offensive tackle Donavon Clark of Finneytown, Ohio is expected to choose between MSU, Tennessee and Cincinnati this week.

I'll leave you with this, this upcoming Saturday is the last Saturday we'll have without college football until the middle of December. 

Take care everyone.

Full pads + full scrimmage = injuries

Bad news for MSU today on Zach Hueter, the sophomore offensive guard who had a chance this season to get into the playing rotation. He is out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury that will require surgery.

Allen's destination, football roster, other items

Chris Allen is down to Iowa State, UTEP and St. John's, Tom Izzo said this morning, with a decision expected soon.

Bell, Caper pace rush attack; Jones, Norman cause havoc

Le'Veon Bell, Chris Norman, Denzel Drone, Kevin Pickelman, Johnny Adams, these are some of the names to emerge from MSU's first scrimmage of preseason camp.