Mark Dantonio likes Michigan State football's depth at wide receiver

EAST LANSING — There was not one standout wide receiver during Michigan State’s spring game, though there was a notable sit-out in returning starter Felton Davis III.

And that’s OK with coach Mark Dantonio. He liked the steady play he saw from his pass catchers Saturday in the Spartans’ 86-play scrimmage.

“I think that what we've found is that we've got depth at wide receiver,” Dantonio said after the offense rallied for a 32-30 win over the defense — in a scoring system that challenged the play-makers with the ball to put up points.

Four Spartan quarterbacks combined to go 22 of 46 for 306 yards, spreading their completions among 10 different players. That included six receivers combining for 15 catches and 226 yards between them.

If there was one wideout who took a step forward, it was Cam Chambers. The 6-2, 215-pound sophomore had five second-half catches for a team-high 50 yards from backup QBs Rocky Lombardi and Theo Day.

Dantonio said it was “good to see” the former 4-star recruit Chambers emerging with his opportunity to play the X, Z and F receiver in the spring.

“I’ve been able to bounce around and go out there and show everything I can do,” Chambers said last week. “This spring, I’ve been able to do all three. I think it’s pretty much having an understanding of the offense, and my coaches and quarterbacks trust me.”

Wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel said last week Chambers has blossomed this spring.

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“I think the biggest thing with Cam is maybe I got off of him a little bit,” Samuel said. “And I just said, ‘Hey, dude, I trust you. Go play. Relax, go play. You don’t have to worry about impressing me.’ Sometimes as a coach, you gotta realize, hey, back off a guy and let him go, and then they’ll grow and start to make more plays.”

Returning starter Darrell Stewart Jr. continued his progression from a strong 2017. The 6-2, 214-pound junior led MSU with 69 receiving yards, with touchdowns from Brian Lewerke and Lombardi among his four catches.

Stewart said the versatility both he and Chambers possess, knowing all three receiver positions in MSU’s offense, will be beneficial this fall when the season starts Aug. 31 against Utah State.

“It definitely helps us,” Stewart said. “You can see that no matter who you bring out, you can switch and manipulate any position you want to, and everything will still flourish.”

With Davis not dressed for undisclosed reasons — he was in uniform working the kids clinic earlier in the day, though — MSU played 10 receivers Saturday. Chambers started in Davis’ place along with Stewart and sophomore Cody White, who caught two passes for 25 yards.

Samuel said White’s inquisitiveness to learn the ins and outs of the Spartans’ playbook going into his debut last fall allowed him to flourish into a Big Ten Network All-Freshman Team selection and set an MSU true freshman record with 490 receiving yards on 35 catches.

“I mean, he was third-degreeing me. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a guy that was questioning me so much about the offense,” Samuel said of White. “He was trying to internalize it, he was trying to understand the subtle nuances from conversation. … Then it was based off of experiences, getting on the field and seeing leverage and seeing all these things.

“Once that started to get comfortable, it was like whoosh. That doesn’t happen very often.”

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The transfers of Trishton Jackson and Hunter Rison opened opportunities for young wideouts to see more playing time in the second group. That included sophomore Laress Nelson and two redshirt freshmen in C.J. Hayes and converted cornerback Emmanuel Flowers. The 6-1, 206-pound Hayes, a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class, caught two Lombardi passes in the second half for 39 yards.

Down the depth chart, redshirt freshman Jahz Watts caught one pass in front of true freshman cornerback Kalon Gervin and used his speed to turn it into an 11-yard gain. And a 32-yard catch by junior Nick Krumm, mostly a special teams player, from fourth-string QB Mickey Macius was the day’s longest passing play.

“Coach (Samuel) always puts us in positions where you take one guy out, and it puts the freshmen and the younger guys into the fire to make decisions,” Stewart said. “When you practice like that, you’re ready for situations like this.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.