Michigan State football seeking more production, scoring from tight ends
EAST LANSING — Jim Bollman, Michigan State's co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, saw the “dropoff” in catches from his tight ends and knows MSU needs more from them this fall.
MSU went into last fall with Matt Sokol, a converted high school quarterback, seeing his first significant action as a starter. Matt Dotson, a highly regarded true freshman who was adjusting to the speed and power needed in college, and redshirt freshman Noah Davis also saw snaps and sporadic passes.
Between them, they found the end zone just once.
“I guess the numbers of balls that were caught, I guess you would have to say there was a dropoff in that regard,” Bollman said Tuesday. “But it’s gotta be how it affects the whole offense. I think everyone (has) done a good job of improving over the winter.”
Co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said the Spartans want to score more points after last year’s 10-3 turnaround, and that could start with the tight ends reasserting their presence as an integral part of their offense.
Josiah Price caught 21 touchdown passes from 2013-16, a record for MSU tight ends, and combined with Jamal Lyles for 134 catches and 1,648 yards in their 103 career games while serving as critical blocking components on the edge in the run game.
In their absence last season, Sokol caught 21 passes for 222 yards but scored just one touchdown and dropped a few other passes and potential scores. Dotson had just two catches for 19 yards, while Davis added three catches for 22 yards. Neither scored.
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MSU scored 30 touchdowns last season on 51 red-zone chances, typically the prime area for a quarterback to connect with his tight end.
“We’ve had some good scrimmages, had some good practices, but we have not been consistent offensively at getting the ball in the end zone,” Warner said. “And a lot of it has to do with youth, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We have to score points. We didn’t do enough last year, we’ve got to do more of it.”
Warner cited Dotson, a former 4-star recruit, as the offensive surprise of the spring.
“He played for us a little for us last year, and we’ve had high expectations for him,” Warner said. “Maybe it’s not a surprise as much as it is just him getting an opportunity now, and he’s taking advantage of it. He’s done some good things for us.”
Part of that development, Bollman said, is because off the 6-foot-5, 249-pound Dotson’s improved strength and blocking technique in his second year, something that typically happens after a baptism to the rigors of playing tight end in college against bigger, faster defensive linemen.
“He knew that he needed to work on his blocking and improve on that, and he’s really doing a great job of doing that,” Bollman said. “He’s always been a very good route runner and continues to improve in all those parts of the game, too. He’s doing a good job.”
Sokol has been one of the team’s better leaders, and Bollman said he has seen on-field improvement as well. The 6-6, 255-pound senior was a member of the Eagles Council last season and should be again this fall.
Davis, at 6-4 and 244 pounds, looked better at times as a blocker off the edge last season than as a pass-catcher in his first college action.
Bollman said getting Dotson and Davis early exposure to playing time will benefit them this season.
“We’re blessed that a lot of those guys played last year for many different reasons,” Bollman said. “When guys play early, its usually a combination of you needing their help and them being great players. And we’re a combination. That was usually the case in our situation, and they’re continually progressing, which is very good.”
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Replacing Frey
MSU lost just two defensive starters from last season, and there is a heated battle to replace Chris Frey at the strong-side linebacker spot.
New defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel called it a “big-time competition” between sophomore Brandon Randle and junior Tyriq Thompson to try and replace Frey’s 55 tackles, four sacks and three fumble recoveries from last season.
The 6-2, 225-pound Randle spent much of his playing time as a standup rush end in third-down packages. He had five tackles, a sack and three QB hurries.
The 6-1, 244-pound Thompson had 11 tackles and one hurry in 12 games.
“They both bring different qualities to the table,” Tressel said. “Brandon is more of a slippery, blitz, bend-the-edge guy. Tyriq is a little bit more of a thumper with more experience and probably a little bit more football knowledge at the linebacker position right now.”
Tressel also said Grayson Miller, a converted safety, “is all in” with the move to weak-side linebacker, where fellow senior Andrew Dowell returns as the starter.
“He told me he would much rather bang his head against a 300-pound man than have to run with a 4.4 guy in the vertical,” Tressel said of Miller.
Casey Harrison contributed to this report.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.