Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Cool as ice

Spartans' success rides with Stanton's 'special' game -- and his health

By Dave Dye / The Detroit News

Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

EAST LANSING -- It's almost as if there are two Michigan State teams.

One, with Drew Stanton healthy, capable of causing some damage.

The other, without a healthy Stanton, could be a complete disaster.

The season is Drew's ... or lose.

Stanton, an often-injured junior quarterback from Farmington Hills Harrison, doesn't agree with the theory that the Spartans will fall apart without him. But, at the same time, he's the type to thrive in the spotlight.

"I want those expectations on me," he said. "That's why I came here. I wanted to be here when this program started to get back on the top of the Big Ten where it should be."

Stanton considers it his job -- if not his calling -- to take them there after seemingly endless years of mediocrity for the Spartans, including a 5-7 record last season.

Most analysts are projecting much of the same this season -- anywhere from a fifth- to eighth-place finish in the Big Ten -- because the defense appears to be vulnerable.

But with Stanton leading a potentially prolific offense, there's always hope.

Even coach John L. Smith has bought into the Stanton-or-bust theory to a degree.

"Everybody knows Drew has to stay healthy for us to have a good year," Smith said.

A year ago at this time, Stanton was still recovering from reconstructive surgery on his right knee after being injured on a special-teams play in the 2003 Alamo Bowl. He then separated his right (throwing) shoulder against Michigan last season and missed part of the Penn State game because of an eye injury.

Nevertheless, Stanton made quite a first impression by reinventing the Spartans' spread offense with his awkward-but-athletic style. Stanton finished with 687 rushing yards and five touchdowns and 1,601 passing yards and eight touchdowns.

Opponents were slow to adjust to the new-look system under Stanton. They rarely used a spy -- a defender whose responsibility is to track the quarterback.

Penn State finally gave Michigan State trouble in the second-to-last game by bringing frequent blitzes to disrupt Stanton's rhythm and stop him before he could get started.

Stanton (6-foot-3, 222 pounds) isn't certain what to expect this season now that defensive coordinators have had months to adjust.

But his objective will remain the same -- find a way to win.

"He does nothing pretty," Smith said. "He doesn't throw it pretty, he doesn't run it pretty. But he competes. That's what makes him special. He competes."

Offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin spent 10 years as an assistant under the late Jack Elway, whose son, John, is a Hall of Famer and former Broncos quarterback. Baldwin said he sees some of the same personality traits in Stanton that he saw in Elway.

"The great ones have it," Baldwin said. "I'm not saying (Stanton) is going to play at that level in pro football, but he's that type of person. It might be rare, but he's got it.

"The team loves him. They know he's their leader. When he's on the field, the leadership and the confidence that they (Stanton's teammates) have, that something good will happen, is just special."

That term -- special -- is starting to be used more and more to describe Stanton.

"I told him at our banquet last year, 'Before you leave here, you're going to probably be a Heisman finalist,'" senior receiver Kyle Brown said. "Just because of how he can throw the ball, run with it and give the defense fits.

"Did you see what (Texas quarterback) Vince Young did against Michigan (in the Rose Bowl)? Drew did that in the first half (against Michigan). Now Vince Young's a Heisman candidate, just off that game."

Stanton's offensive linemen treat him as if he's one of them because they respect his toughness.

They're not alone.

"He seems really tough," Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway said earlier this month at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago. "A couple of times, I teed off on him, but he got right back up and made a big play."

Stanton admits he is a little unorthodox, but he said he thinks that can work in his favor.

"I don't even know what I'm going to be doing," he said of his running moves.

Smith said he thinks it's also more difficult at times to get a solid hit on Stanton than it is with some runners who have a smooth style.

"Ugly and successful is just fine," Smith said.

Stanton's mobility gave Michigan State a completely different look compared to 2003, when it relied mostly on immobile quarterback Jeff Smoker's passing.

Defenses have started to catch up to the spread offense, making athletic quarterbacks such as Stanton a priority, if not a necessity.

"If you have an athletic quarterback, the defense has to account for him," Smith said. "They can't cheat. It really puts some stress on what you are doing defensively. ... We changed a little bit in scheme to make him more of a threat and make them have to account for him."

Stanton had a tendency to take off running whenever his primary receiver wasn't open last season, according to Baldwin. That often put Stanton at risk of an injury.

The plan this year is to stay in the pocket longer and develop more of a vertical passing game. That certainly doesn't mean they'll stop using his natural abilities as a runner, but the coaches do want Stanton to pick his spots and show a little more caution.

"He has much more of an understanding of when to get the ball off," Baldwin said. "If something's covered, he knows where to go to on the second read now.

"Last year, it was, 'Here's my read, I'm gone (running).' That wasn't bad. But we want to take that out of him and let the running backs and those guys do that now."

More importantly, they want to make sure he stays healthy because without Stanton, the Spartans just wouldn't be the same.

You can reach Dave Dye at dave.dye@detnews.com.