Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
>> Kirby Smart and Jim Tressel. But he's got a rebuilding project on his hands at Michigan State this fall. The Spartans return only three full-season starters from last year: defensive end Jacub Panasiuk, linebacker Antjuan Simmons and safety Zavier Henderson. Simmons was Michigan State's leading tackler in 2019, >nishing with 90 stops, including 15 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. A 6- foot-0, 216-pound senior from Ann Arbor, Mich., he will give Tucker a cor- nerstone on which to build. The area most in need of immediate improvement is the pass defense. A year ago, Michigan State allowed 24 touchdown passes, the second-highest total in the Big Ten. SPECIAL TEAMS Matt Coghlin returns aBer winning All-Big Ten honors the past two seasons. He hit 22 of 32 at- tempts last year. The competition to re- place punter Jake Hartbarger will likely pit walk-on Tyler Hunt against UTEP graduate transfer Mitchell Crawford. OUTLOOK With Lewerke, Kenny Willekes and Joe Bachie, among others, set to depart, this had long been shaping up as a rebuilding year for the Spartans. Then the bottom fell out. Mark Danto- nio's resignation in February, just >ve months aBer becoming the winningest coach in school history, set in motion a high-speed search for his successor. Tucker, a well-traveled college and NFL assistant who spent the previous season as head coach at Colorado, took the job in mid-February aBer Cincinnati's Luke Fickell pulled out of consideration. Tucker brought o@ensive coordinator Jay Johnson with him from the Buf- faloes' sta@ and hired Scottie Hazelton away from Kansas State to oversee the defense. With spring practice just around the corner, the new sta@ had to come together quickly, and it did. But then the pandemic hit, and it hit Michi- gan State especially hard; the entire pro- gram had to go into quarantine in July because of a COVID-19 outbreak. So we don't really know what to expect from the Spartans this year. They'll have to make very good use of preseason camp, because the transitional issues that ac- company just about every coaching change didn't get sorted out in the spring. If there's a positive here, it's that Michigan State fans ought to be willing to show Tucker and his sta@ a bit more patience than usual given the unprece- dented circumstances. ■ 2019 RECORD 7-5, 4-5 Big Ten COACH Mike Locksley (4-14 in two sea- sons at Maryland; career record: 6-40) OFFENSE Maryland needs Josh Jackson to bounce back from an injury-plagued junior season in which he completed just 47.3 percent of his passes for 1,274 yards. If that doesn't happen, the Terps may not have a lot of good options. Tyrrell Pigrome has transferred out, and while Taulia Tagovailoa, Tua's younger brother, has transferred in from Ala- bama, it was unclear as of this writing whether the NCAA would approve his petition for immediate eligibility. The quarterback spot isn't Maryland's only potential concern. In the back>eld, both Javon Leake and Anthony McFarland leB early to enter the NFL. Tayon Fleet- Davis is the team's top returning RB with 265 yards and two touchdowns last year. The o@ensive line is also in ?ux. It re- turns three starters, but it wasn't very e@ective last season, giving up a Big Ten-worst 38 sacks. The receiver corps brings back Dontay Demus Jr., who >n- ished with a team-best 41 catches for 625 yards last year, while >ve-star re- cruit Rakim Jarrett has a chance to make an immediate impact. But this unit's productivity will ultimately depend on whether the Terps are able to protect their QB, whoever that may be. There's a lot of work to do on this side of the ball. DEFENSE There's lots of work to do here, too. A year ago, Maryland gave up more yards (449.2 per game) than any team in the Big Ten, while also >nishing 13th in the conference in scoring defense (34.7 points per game). Three of the Terps' top four tacklers are gone from that unit, but this isn't a total rebuild. Linebackers Ayinde Eley and Chance Campbell are both back aBer >nishing TOP RETURNEES PASSING Josh Jackson 98 of 207 | 1,274 yds. | 12 TD | 6 int. RUSHING Tayon Fleet-Davis 63 att. | 265 yds. | 2 TD RECEIVING Dontay Demus Jr. 41 rec. | 625 yds. | 6 TD TACKLING Ayinde Eley 44 solo | 35 asst. | 79 total SACKS Tahj Capehart 1 sack | 13 yds. Jordan Mosley 1 sack | 3 yds. Sam Okuayinonu 1 sack | 5 yds. Oladimeji Olayinka 1 sack | 5 yds. Lawtez Rogers 1 sack | 7 yds. Shaq Smith 1 sack | 1 yd. 6. MARYLAND JOSH JACKSON Steve Manuel P E N N S TAT E O P P O N E N T O C T. 1 7 @ B E AV E R STA D I U M , U N I V E R S I T Y PA R K , PA .