Wrapping a busy Saturday

How about that NFL draft? The Raiders take Jeremy Ware (and later, U-M's Stevie Brown!) while early entrant Donovan Warren goes undrafted. Meanwhile, Blair White surprisingly goes undrafted but lands with the Indianapolis Colts -- along with former MSU teammate Brett Swenson.

    I like both of those guys to stick. It's not about the fact that White is a great story, or that he really works hard, or that he wants to prove everyone wrong. He has the talent to carve out a career in the NFL. That will become apparent to the Colts and their fans in August.

    So MSU has one player drafted, a bit of a comment on last season's team. Here's the Big Ten breakdown:

Penn State 6
Iowa 6
Ohio State 4
Michigan 3
Northwestern 3
Illinois 3
Indiana 3
Minnesota 2

Wisconsin 2
MSU 1
Purdue 1

    Iowa, Michigan and Penn State each had one first-round pick. Iowa had the best showing, with four guys taken in the first three rounds (can we stop now with the "Iowa does it with no talent" stuff? It's almost as bad as the same refrain regarding Wisconsin basketball). This was Ohio State's weakest showing in a while, with one in the fifth and three in the seventh. But that just means the Buckeyes -- fresh off a Rose Bowl win -- were young and will stock the upper shelf of the draft again in the near future.

    Also: Mel Kiper gave the Lions a B-plus. Rejoice, Lion Nation.

    At Spartan Stadium today, it wasn't the most entertaining of spring games, but it was definitely clean -- three penalties, one turnover. Two areas that rely a lot on communication and don't have the depth to perform well in games like this -- offensive line and secondary -- predictably had struggles. Neither team could run the ball much. Don't take that to mean MSU will struggle to run the ball this fall, or excel at stopping it.

    And both teams made big plays in the passing game, but if you watched closely, you noticed most of the plays came at the expense of reserves and younger players. I thought MSU's starting corners, Johnny Adams and Chris L. Rucker, looked really good. Same with Trenton Robinson, whose athletic ability has never been in question. If he reacts better and gets himself into better position in 2010, this secondary has a chance.

    Linebacker, receiver and running back all have plenty of talented depth. Same with tight end, where Charlie Gantt and Dion Sims played well, while Brian Linthicum and Garrett Celek sat with injuries. The defensive interior was missing Jerel Worthy and Kevin Pickelman, but that should be a solid area in the fall with those two, Blake Treadwell and emerging No. 4 man Dan France.

    Defensive end is a question mark. Colin Neely will be back from injury. Tyler Hoover did some good things today. Johnathan Strayhorn is the next walk-on on this team to make a mark. But the young guys looked young and we'll have to see about the incoming freshmen.

    That position, kicker and the offensive line are the question marks. I think the offensive line has enough maturing material to take a step forward. Mark Dantonio made it clear today that John Stipek is the guy at center -- and one of the most improved players he's coached over a period of time. But we'll have to wait until the fall to find out what happens on the right side.

    One last thing. Dantonio was asked about Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham, who both said they felt they owed him for letting them return to the team.

    “My players don’t owe me anything," Dantonio said. "My players owe our football team, they owe each other. And I owe our football players my loyalty as well, it’s a two-way street. I will always do the best I can for our players, whether they are here or not here. I will always try to benefit their lives as people, and do the best I can do. Doesn’t mean we won’t fall down. Doesn’t mean I won’t say something that will hurt somebody’s feelings at some point in time. But I’m very proud of our football team, and I know that we have to continue to move forward in every aspect of our lives. Educationally, socially and athletically.

    "But I will say that the attitude is right right now. The chemistry is right. And sometimes it’s tougher to stay than to go. Very easy for them to go. Sometimes it’s tougher to stay and take this, look at all the people in the eye, and be able to get back on the field and make plays when that’s happened to you. And that’ll be the test of a champion.”