The question seemed simple, only to realize Michigan State football players are mirroring their button-lipped coaches.
“If you had to pick one teammate,” they were asked over the past few weeks, “who do you think is primed for a big season?”
Tight end Brennan Parachek’s answer sums up the consensus response: “I think there’s gonna be a lot of surprises on the team. I think there’s a lot of great players, and I think they’re gonna show you come Week 1.”
As did Chrishon McCray’s assessment of a fellow wide receiver ready to break out: “I think you’re gonna be surprised by everyone in the room.”
Everyone thinks everyone is doing great, of course. It’s August and the season has yet to kick off. Whether guys are being sheepish talking to reporters or following
marching orders to not divulge secret weapons – particularly with a coaching change and the constant churn on college rosters – is left for interpretation.
But listen closely enough and there were tidbits and nuggets to direct attention to a few players who might be off the radar and primed to ascend for the Spartans as they prepare for their opener against Toledo on Friday, Sept. 4 (8 p.m., FS1).
Here are five MSU players who could break out and become household names this season.
WR Rodney Bullard (sixth-year senior)
QB Alessio Milivojevic: “Rod is an amazing player. He’s made a lot of great plays throughout the spring, throughout the fall and in the summer. … He’s a difference-maker.”
S Nikai Martinez: “He’s definitely a big, key piece to our offense and just kind of the X-factor that you don’t really think about. I tell you, he shows up. He’s helped me get better each and every day. Even throughout the offseason, me and him got working.”
WR Charles Taplin (redshirt freshman)
WR coach Courtney Hawkins: “Tap, one of the faster guys on the team. He’s flashed during fall camp. He’s gained some weight since he’s gotten here, so I think right now he’s physically, mentally and emotionally ready to contribute. And we’ll see what that looks like in these next few weeks. … He looks like a Big Ten wideout, and I’m excited to see what he brings to the table.”
RB Marvis Parrish (sophomore transfer)
RB Cam Edwards: “Marv is a really good player, man. I really like the way he’s developing and everything. I’m just trying to show him the tools and everything. Like, I’m only here for five more months, so I want to give him as many tools that I have. But I think the program here is gonna have a great running back.”
Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan: “Marv Parrish has been fantastic. Really good in blitz pickup, and so he’s growing and getting better every day.”
TE Jayden Savoury (redshirt freshman)
Sheridan: “Jayden certainly has been somebody that’s been just continuing to get better. I think we all saw some of the movement and body control ability in the spring. What I’ve been proud of him is I think he’s playing more physical.”
Parachek: “Jayden’s a great player. He’s super-athletic, can pretty much do it all.”
LB Caleb Wheatland/Dion Crawford (senior transfers)
LB Jordan Hall: “It’s a different beast out there. That’s why you don’t see a lot of true freshmen playing, because they don’t have that in-game experience of being in the fog of war. It eases my tension, I guess, of knowing that I have some guys out there that I can trust in Wheat and Dion who have had game experience.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi: “I like [Crawford]. He’s a mean SOB, and I say that with all endearment. We like guys like that. He’s physical, he plays downhill, he will hit you. On the football field, he’s got a few loose wires – in a good way. So I think when our fans get a chance to watch him play, they’re gonna love how he plays. He can play off the ball, and he’s a really good blitzer. We can walk him up on the edge and send him off the edge, because he has played off the edge. Sometimes when guys go from [defensive line to linebacker], they struggle with recognition of plays; he does not.”
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Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football players, coaches pick 5 candidates to break out
