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Foundation 40: Counting down 67 to 45

EAST LANSING - This is the second installment of SpartanMag’s Foundation 40 ranking for the summer of 2016.

We referred to it as the Bottom 40 in our first installment (ranking players No. 68-100 on July 20), utilizing the phrase that Nick Saban borrowed from Don James.

But SpartanMag members believe “Foundation 40” is a more appropriate term, so that’s what we’ll go with.

In this installment, we count down players from No. 67 to 45.

Players from 45 to 85 represent the true “bottom 40,” as Saban would call it. Those are the players ranked just outside of the two-deep who are competing with the first- and second-stringers and pushing them. These are the players, according to Saban, that indicate the true depth and strength of a team and roster.

Our countdown continues:

67. Kevin Cronin, PK (6-1, 215, Sr., Traverse City) is the team’s kickoff specialist. He has a hand, or foot, in field position battles each week.

We traditionally put kickoff specialists somewhere in our Top 85. But where should we rank him?

We put Cronin behind 17 players who have yet to get on the field in a meaningful way. But most of those 17 have a shot to be in the two-deep this year or are in reasonable position to compete for playing-group roles in the near future. Some of those 17 will become standouts.

Cronin is heading into his third year as the kickoff specialist. He registered touchbacks on 30 percent of his kickoffs last year. He had three touchbacks on three kickoff attempts during the upset of Ohio State last year, earning Spartan Special Teams Co-Player of the Week for that game.


66. Devyn Salmon, C (6-1, 315, Jr., Plant City, Fla.) has yet to get on the field for quality playing time, but might be listed as a second-string center when the fall depth chart comes out this week.

The former defensive tackle hasn’t looked bad in brief mop-up duty or spring games. We felt he was good enough to be ranked on this side of the incoming freshmen in our Top 100.

And if he is indeed listed at No. 2 center, how can you keep a second-stringer outside of the Top 85? (Is he truly the No. 2 center in the program? Maybe not. Brian Allen is likely to move from starting left guard to center for 2016. Other starters have repped at center in practice to take over for Allen in case of emergency, although a concrete contingency usually isn't put in place until the end of August camp. In the meantime, Salmon will likely remain the guy who snaps the ball for the second unit in practice.)


65. Bradley Robinson, LSN (6-2, 228, Fr., Troy Athens) signed with MSU in February, and practiced in the spring. He is in good position to be the team’s long snapper this fall. We didn’t hear much about him during the spring. With long snappers, no news is good news.

There were no bad snaps in the Green-White Game, although we didn’t put a stop watch on the operation and haven’t yet spoken with coaches about their final analysis of spring long snapping. How many of those snaps were Robinson’s. Honestly, I’d have to go back and look at the film. But we didn’t see any bad ones.

Gotta have a long snapper in the Foundation 40. We traditionally put the long snapper somewhere in the Top 85, north of the incoming freshmen, but outside of the two-deep. Until we hear differently, we’re penciling in Robinson as the starting long snapper.


64. Drake Martinez, CB (6-2, 210, Jr., Laguna Beach, Calif.) bounced around from linebacker, to tailback to cornerback during his first nine months on campus. He missed most of last year with an injury.

He’s still one of the fastest guys on the roster, and coaches have about 16 months left with him to figure out where he can help the most.

Look for him to begin making contributions this year as a gunner on the punt coverage team.

Drake Martinez and co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett during spring practice.
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63. Tyriq Thompson, LB (6-1, 225, R-Fr., Detroit) earned some compliments from Dantonio after the second Jersey Scrimmage of the spring. But he was selected behind Byron Bullough, Sean Harrington and Grayson Miller in the Green-White Draft.

Thompson was listed as a fourth-string Sam linebacker in the spring, behind Jon Reschke, Ed Davis and Chris Frey.

Thompson is a worker, a team guy, and was named Scout Team Player of the Week four times last fall. However, his career trajectory is looking similar to that of Shane Jones at this point.

Tyriq Thompson is likely slated for fourth-string Sam linebacker duty.

62. Sean Harrington, LB (6-3, 212, Jr., Commerce Twp, Mich.) is a bigger, quicker, stronger version of Jon Misch. Not that Misch was great, but he was a Top 45 guy back when Dantonio took over.

Harringon, a walk-on from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, covers ground and plays with some pop. And he was selected ahead of Tyriq Thompson in the Green-White draft. So who are we to argue with that?


61. Cassius Peat, DT (6-3, 270, R-Fr., Chandler, Ariz.) keeps growing into his position. He didn’t play in the Green-White Game.

“Cassius Peat was having a great spring until he had a high ankle sprain and missed the last week and a half,” Mike Tressel said in April.

MSU has opportunities available at DT. It’s going to be intriguing to see who steps up and fills those jobs. Peat, Enoch Smith, Keyonta Stallworth, Mufi Hunt and Gerald Owens will compete with incoming frosh Mike Panasiuk and Naquan Jones to become the fourth man at DT, behind Malik McDowell, Raequan Williams and Kevin Williams.

There might be more room for a fifth man to get reps this year than usual, due to plans for McDowell to get snaps at d-end. If and when McDowell moves out to d-end, that opens up extra snaps for back-up DTs.


60. Justice Alexander, DE (6-5, 243, R-Fr., Madedonia, Ohio) had to play d-tackle a lot in the spring, because MSU was painfully low on healthy d-tackles. Alexander isn’t likely a d-tackle in the future, but coaches said the work he had taking on double-teams as a d-tackle this spring aided his development at the point of attack for boundary d-end.


59. Mufi Hunt, DE (6-6, 255, Fr., Sandy, Utah) is quick, and still growing into his frame, and getting acclimated to his new weight. He’s just a puppy. He might be the type of horsepower guy who gets better every 19 days. I rank him a tad higher than most of the other mid-year enrollees.


58. Kaleel Gaines, CB (6-0, 187, R-Fr., Frostproof, Fla.) gets an online badge from me for being one of the most improved players in the program over the course of spring practice.

He has the speed to play CB, but was low on know-how, due to last fall being a washout for him. He was late in gaining acceptance from the NCAA Clearinghouse, which caused him to miss August camp. He had to go straight to the scout team without training on MSU’s system.

He started from near-scratch at bowl practice. I thought he looked promising in the Green-White Game.

57. Robert Bowers, DE (6-4, 256, Soph., Columbus, Ohio) showed a nice take-off, ability to get off a block and force some action in the Green-White Game, but struggled mightily at the point of attack when the offense ran the ball right at him. He has some potential, but still lots of work to do. He might become a third-down player before he becomes an every-down option.


Robert Bowers is likely to compete for second-string boundary defensive end duty in August camp.

56. Enoch Smith, DT (6-2, 294, Soph., Chicago) is an x-factor for the fall. He was the fifth DT on the team last year, behind Malik McDowell, Joel Heath, Damon Knox and Craig Evans. Three of those four are no longer with the team, and one of them - McDowell - will be spending snaps at d-end this year.

Smith saw time only in mop-up situations last year, getting on the field in three games.

On paper, theoretically, he should have a good chance to move up into a role at d-tackle this fall. And we would have a stronger indication of where he stood if he didn’t miss the entire spring with a hand injury.

Smith could conceivably compete for a spot in the rotation as a second-string defensive tackle. Or Smith could conceivably sink back down to a third-string role, outside of the playing group. Anything is possible with Smith, because so much remained unknown about him coming out of the spring.

If healthy, I’m guessing Smith will likely be ahead of Peat, Hunt and Owens. A competition between Smith and Stallworth for a role as the No. 4 DT in the program and a role in the playing group seemsto be the most likely scenario at this point. But I could change my mind on Tuesday, depending on the initial depth chart. Smith is an x-factor.


55. Dillon Alexander, DE (6-3, 240, Soph., Forsyth, Ga.) came out of nowhere to break into the two-deep during the spring. The walk-on was selected ahead of scholarship d-linemen Justice Alexander and Gerald Owens in the spring game draft.

Dillon Alexander was Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week four times last fall.

He began the spring as the No. 3 field DE. When Montez Sweat was dismissed, he moved up to No. 2, behind Demetrius Cooper.

Our unofficial +/-/= scorecard of Dillon Alexander from the Green-White Game:

+ forced fumble on Damion Terry on the first play of second possession. Not a great play by Alexander. Bad ball security by Terry.

= Lined up off side on third-and-19 in the first quarter.

= Showed decent body lean and hips on a pass rush vs Nick Padla. Maybe a little more flexible than you normally see from walk-on d-linemen.

= Decent take-off, very good effort vs Padla. He hit Padla, disengaged to the inside, but the QB escaped to the outside and connected with Sowards for gain of 15.

= Keeps churning. Doesn’t have the longest arms but his motor keeps cranking.

54. Darrell Stewart, WR (6-1, 208, R-Fr., Houston) was the fifth WR selected in the spring game draft. Walk-on Brandon Sowards was selected ahead of him. Maybe we’ve got Stewart too high and Sowards (No. 88) too low.

Stewart was listed as the first-string F wide receiver at the outset of spring practice on the official depth chart, ahead of four walk-ons who were listed at that position. But the F wide receiver is the 12th man on the 11-man starting unit, and not necessarily a legitimate starting position.

The top WRs in the program are Felton Davis, RJ Shelton, Monty Madaris and Donnie Corley. As the fifth WR in that group, Stewart would be the equivalent of a third-string WR, but was listed as a "starting" F. So it’s a bit ambiguous.

Don’t be surprised if Stewart is once again listed as a “starter” at the F WR position on Tuesday’s official depth chart. And perhaps he’s being groomed to be a slot specialist, to begin. His ability to advance the ball after the catch is reportedly superb.

Stewart’s career his just beginning, but there are some very talented freshmen coming into the program that are going to push him for a spot in the two deep. The competition is going to be extremely healthy.

Darrell Stewart

53. Thiyo Lukusa, OL (6-5, 335, Fr., Traverse City) received praise from coaches during the spring as a mid-year enrollee. He was solid at right tackle in the spring game, and is developing the flexibility to move inside and play guard. Bright future. This is a promising No. 53 on our list.

Other No. 53s of the past? In 2012, I had young Nick Hill at No. 53, one spot ahead of young Keith Mumphery and five spots ahead of a young Kurtis Drummond.

On a weak 2002 Bottom 40, I had Luc Mullinder at No. 53. He was surrounded by players who ranked from No. 47 to 56 who never started a game at Michigan State.

Other No. 53s of the past:

* DB Damien Fortson as a freshman in January of 2002.

* DB Travis Key in the spring of 2006 (18 months before the walk-on became a starter and captain). DB Enrique Shaw in the spring of 2007. WR Robert Strickland in December of 2001.

(Strickland was complimented at bowl practice, but was never heard from again. Good talent, but was an accountability challenge at a time when there was very little discipline in the program).

* Walk-on TE Eric Easter in the spring of 2002.

* Junior college LB Drew Young in the post-season Bottom 40 of 1999, after the Citrus Bowl. (Young became a starter the following season, due in part to injuries).

So No. 53 hasn’t been a great spot in our rankings of The Bottom 40 over the years, but we expect Lukusa to have a bigger eventual impact than most of the players listed as previous No. 53s on our list. Perhaps that’s a testament to the current depth.

Nothing against Eric Easter, for instance. He was a solid walk-on. But he never made it onto the field. The fact that he was ranked No. 53 speaks to the weakness of the Bottom 40 in the spring of 2002, when some polls were ranking MSU in the national Top 20 for the upcoming season. (That season ended in a 4-8 debacle and Bobby Williams’ firing).

The current roster’s equivalent to Eric Easter is walk-on TE Hussein Kadry, another solid player who didn’t crack our Top 100. This is an indication of the current depth in the program, in comparison to the shallow 2002 team.


52. Byron Bullough, MLB (6-1, 224, Soph., Traverse City) was credited this spring by coaches of playing quicker, reading quicker. He seems to be on schedule, but not yet ready to overtake Shane Jones to become the No. 2-and-a-half Mike LB. (Riley Bullough is the starting Mike LB. If anything were to happen to Riley Bullough, Jon Reschke would likely move over to become the starting Mike. Thus, we don't regard second-string Shane Jones as the true second-stringer. More like two-and-a-half.)


51. Nick Padla, OT (6-6, 302, Soph., Berrien Springs, Mich.) gained a lot of reps at right tackle during the spring, with Kodi Kieler healing from off-season surgery. Padla is closing in on being part of the rotation.


50. Josh Butler, CB (5-11, 173, R-Fr., Mesquite, Texas) was a hot name at this time last year as a possible immediate contributor, but his star has cooled off a bit lately. He’s still a bit ahead of Gaines in the race for second-string status at cornerback. The fourth CB job is a bit more important now that Jermaine Edmondson is no longer in the program.

Butler is one to watch in August. The program needs him to remain on the rise.

49. David Dowell, S (6-0, 193, R-Fr., North Ridgeville, Ohio) is on schedule as a third-string DB, knocking on the door for second-string status early in his career. He clinched victory for his team at the Green-White Game with a late interception.

David Dowell will be involved in a crowded competition for a second-string safety role in August camp.

48. Jalen Watts-Jackson, S (5-11, 186, Soph., Dearborn, Mich.) is already a legend, and is on the comeback track from a broken and dislocated hip. He came back a little quicker and better than expected in the spring. He was the No. 6 underclassman DB selected in the Green-White Draft, ahead of David Dowell, Butler, Gaines, Lyke and Martinez.

There will be good competitions for the second-string safety positions in August, with Watts-Jackson, Matt Morrissey, Khari Willis, Dowell, Lyke and Demetric Vance vying. There will be good safeties sent down to the scout team.

47. Cam Chambers, WR (6-3, 207, Fr., Sicklerville, NJ) was excellent in the spring as a mid-year enrollee. If it weren’t for Donnie Corley’s great spring, we’d all be talking about Chambers. Chambers is ahead of schedule. He’s physical, he’s mature, and adding polish. He’s going to be good, and he needs to be, because Justin Layne, Trishton Jackson and (next year) Hunter Rison are going to be good, too.

46. Tyler Higby, LG (6-4, 318, R-Fr., Houston) is looking quite promising as an interior lineman.

Tyler Higby (70) is in line to earn a second-string guard position for 2016. (Tyler Higby LJ Scott)

45. Cole Chewins, OT (6-7, 265, R-Fr., Clarkston) is looking quite promising as a future left tackle.

Higby and Chewins are likely to reside on the second string this fall.

With David Beedle’s ability to move inside and rep at left guard, Chewins will be nearby to rep in at left tackle as a second stringer in camp.

Beedle has a good chance to start at left tackle. But Mark Staten will keep him oiled up at guard, too. This will keep Chewins warm as the next man in at left tackle. He’s on the rise.


Cole Chewins is regarded as a rising left tackle for the future. (Cole Chewins Evan Jones)

Higby, Chewins and possibly Padla are likely to be in the two-deep as second-string offensive linemen. They are promising players, right on schedule. Josh Butler is likely to be a second-string cornerback. Although those players are part of the two deep (loosely described as the top 44 in the program) they didn’t crack my Top 44 because because my Top 44 includes a punter, a kicker and a couple of third-stringers.

That list is still to come.

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