Kicker Matt Coghlin part of Michigan State's special teams success, development
MINNEAPOLIS – Matt Coghlin heard his name called more times Saturday than he had in Michigan State’s previous five games.
His teammates also revealed his nickname after the redshirt freshman booted three field goals in the 19th-raned Spartans’ 30-27 victory over Minnesota.
“I thought McLovin did a great job of kicking the ball,” linebacker Joe Bachie said with a chuckle.
Only it’s not Coghlin’s nickname. According to coach Mark Dantonio, it’s “McMuffin.”
It doesn’t matter to Coghlin. Call him whatever, just give him a chance to kick.
Coghlin was one of a few special teams stars Saturday, connecting from 42, 35 and 25 yards out in the rain at TCF Bank Stadium. He also missed a 45-yard attempt wide left in the fourth quarter but showed a strong leg in less-than-favorable conditions.
“It’s good. Obviously starting off with not too many, you don’t get worried but you just kind of get anxious for a field goal,” said Coghlin, who is now 5-of-7 for the season. “Now, they’re coming in flurries. I just had to be prepared to kick some field goals, and I think I’ve done that.”
Dantonio said Coghlin has endeared himself to his teammates with “a great personality” and by being “a little bit of a joker.”
“Everybody has a personality off the field. So they like McMuffin, yeah. No question. He’s a good guy,” Dantonio said. “He’s proven to be a good kicker. … He missed the last one here, but I’ll give him a hall pass on that one, I guess. He’s gotten the ball up, which that’s the main thing with me all the time. Get the ball up and believe you’re going to make it.”
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Another plus came in the return game, with running back Connor Heyward taking over for fellow true freshmen Laress Nelson on punts and Andre Welch on kickoffs. Heyward returned three kickoffs for 115 yards and one punt for 6 yards.
“He’s got great running skills, he’s calm, he’s been in a position of leadership,” Dantonio said on his Sunday teleconference. “I don’t think any situation is too big for him because he was a quarterback at a large high school in Georgia and also he started as a ninth grader for their basketball team which is a very good team. So I knew he had been in pressure situations before. He has great hands, great hand-eye coordination. He has done an outstanding job of catching punts in practice and kickoffs in practice and I just felt like we needed a guy that could do that and had some running back skills.”
MSU also recovered two Minnesota onside kicks, one by junior Khari Willis and the game-sealing one in the waning minutes by true freshman Cody White as part of the Spartans’ “hands team.”
With the positives from the newcomers come mistakes as well.
True freshman Dominique Long drew a 15-yard penalty for interfering with a fair catch, even though he flashed blazing speed to beat everyone downfield and get in a position next to Minnesota return man Antonio Shenault. Heyward showed his inexperience in his debut with some poor judgement on when to make a fair catch or let the ball bounce on punts. And junior punter Jake Hartbarger let a snap go through his hands early in the rain that gave the Gophers exceptional field position.
Dantonio said those things “hurt us a little bit” but are part of the growing pains of playing so many youngsters. The problems and promise on special teams is a microcosm of the Spartans as the season’s midpoint.
“I feel like our football team is developing a personality as we do this, as we move through,” he said. “We're going to play hard, we're going to make some mistakes, but we're going to play hard and we're going to come ready to play. Those are the biggest two things that I could ask for of our football team.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!