Stanton may borrow a page from PSU’s ‘06 campaign

By John Onan  |   Monday, February 27, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Michigan State Spartans
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After an injury-plagued sophomore year, Michigan State Spartans quarterback Drew Stanton started 2005 strong, sputtered towards the finish line, but managed to rank eighth in the nation among quarterbacks in passing efficiency by connecting on nearly 67% of his throws for 3077 yards and 22 touchdowns while adding 338 yards and four scores on the ground.

A gritty competitor, Stanton was running neck and neck with Penn State senior Michael Robinson for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year before he and the Spartans faltered in November with losses to Purdue, Minnesota, and the Robinson's Nittany Lions. In a conference filled with talented field generals returning to school in 2006, including Ohio State's Troy Smith and Iowa's Drew Tate, Stanton may prove to be the best of the bunch.

However, Smith and Tate can boast something that Stanton can't as of yet, they have led their squads to winning seasons and bowl births. The leader of the Spartans offense has a lot left to prove before his college career is done, and Stanton along with his Michigan State teammates could look to Robinson and Penn State football in general as motivation for the upcoming season.

Joe Paterno's club entered the season off back-to-back losing campaigns; just like John L. Smith's Spartans will this upcoming season. Not much was expected of the Nittany Lions in 2005, but they nearly finished undefeated and ended up claiming a share of the conference crown to go along with a victory in the Orange Bowl over Florida State.

Robinson endured many of the same criticisms as Stanton will encounter when training camp begins this spring. Pundits will talk about his potential and in the same breath bring up his sometimes inconsistent play and decision making skills. But Robinson got into the best shape of his college career and proved himself to be one of the elite quarterbacks in the country, and that is the task facing Stanton this off-season.

Stanton has all the tools to be a starter in the NFL as soon as 2007. He has the perfect frame at six-foot-three 230 pounds and can hurt the opposition with both his arm and his mobility. If he can put it all his skills together into one complete package, Michigan State could accomplish in 2006 what the Nittany Lions pulled off in 2005.
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