DeAnthony Arnett to MSU and Jerel Worthy Rumors
by Pete Rossman on Jan 4, 2012 7:16 PM CST
in Michigan State Spartans Football
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PrintIn the last week Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley has alienated himself to a lot of people -- recruits, undoubtedly some Tennessee fans, and most of the state of Michigan -- by refusing to let DeAnthony Arnett, a wide receiver from Saginaw, to transfer to MSU or Michigan. Dooley wisely relented, but I'm still going to point you to this EDSBS post.
It didn't take long for Arnett to make his decision, as Scout.com's Allen Trieu has reported that Arnett has chosen Michigan State after meeting with Mark Dantonio today on campus. As a true freshman this year Arnett played in all 12 games for the volunteers, starting once and catching 24 passes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns, placing him third on the team in catches and fifth on the team in receiving yards. Arnett was a four-star wide receiver by Rivals; they ranked him the 2nd best player in Michigan (1st was Lawrence Thomas), 12th best wide receiver in the nation, and 84th best player overall. He, as the English say, is good.
Arnett transferred to be closer to his sick father, and thus is eligible for a hardship exemption that will allow him to play immediately. If that occurs he'll join a heated battle to join the two-deep at receiver. The only sure thing I'd say for next year is Bennie Fowler, and after that there's a lot of youth and talent: current redshirt freshmen Keith Mumphery and Tony Lippett were both on the two-deep to end the year, and I'm not including redshirt freshmen-to-be Juwan Caesar and Andre Sims Jr., and top 100 2012 recruit Aaron Burbridge.
Onto Jerel Worthy. While multiple reports have him headed to the NFL Draft, they all seem to head back to one tweet:
ShawnZobel_DHQ Shawn ZobelI've been told that Michigan State DT Jerel Worthy has selected an agent and will be declaring for the 2012#NFLDraft
While this could definitely be the case, this is the only source stating that he's gone. For what's it worth, the same source said Worthy received a second to third round grade from the NFL advisory board. I'd put Jerel leaving for the NFL at an 80% likelihood right now, but I won't move up to 100% until it's confirmed with another source.
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Worthy / DT class coming out this year
I don’t think it’s a strong DT class coming out this year which could swing Worthy to make the jump especially if he is getting a lower grade. Scout’s inc doesn’t have him in their top 32 neither does McShay. Kiper has him at 20 but he is the last person i rely on as the clown once had Mike Williams #1 on his Big Board.
If he isn’t assured to be a first rounder he should come back, but i can’t fault him for leaving. Our defense will be dominant next year and with another off season worth of work he could possibly put together a senior season like Suh or Fairley and then he’ll be a top 15 pick.
If he does leave i think we should switch to a 3-4 next year we are so loaded at LB, White would be a perfect nose in 3-4 and Gohlston / Hoover would be great 3-4 ends. Mix that with Norman and Bullough in the middle with Thomas and Allen on the Outside mix in Tawain Jones, and my mouth is watering. Plus I believe we’d be the only team in the Big Ten running that defense so it would make it tougher for teams to prepare.
Then again if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I’m just thinking outside the box with the loss of Pickleman and Worthy.
Lastly, Arnett couldn’t be coming at a better time if he is eligible next year that would be huge. GO GREEN already excited for next year in the meantime let’s win another B1G title in BBall
I read comments from Narduzzi
RE: running some 3-4 next season. It would be something to see, I think Gholston could line up at OLB as well as DE. Also, don’t forget about Marcus Rush coming back on the DL, he had a monster frosh season, plus Shilique Calhoun will a RS frosh on the line.
We’re starting to really accumulate a lot of talent on the D, especially the front 7. Gonna be fun to watch them again next season.
Let's not brush over the fact that Arnett's father is seriously ill.
It’s great to know that he’s on board, but before we cheer too loudly, let’s remember the circumstances.
yea i agree
I’m glad he’s gonna be a Spartan, but it sounds like he wasn’t unhappy at Tennessee, just has some this major illness in his family. Hard to be to excited
by trivialstuff16 on Jan 4, 2012 7:46 PM CST up reply actions
Agree
That was never my intention. Let’s hope the MSU experience is the best it can be given the circumstances.
What's going on here?
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
by Seer on Jan 4, 2012 9:42 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Dare I say it?
Draymond Green for Tight End!! Anthony Gates Redux!!
Adreian Payne catching jump balls in the endzone!
"And how much are intangibles worth? 10%? 20%?" - kj@theonlycolors
In other news
The Orange Bowl’s current score line: 63-20 in favor of West Virginia with just under six minutes left in the THIRD QUARTER.
How bad is the ACC? Are they the new whipping boys in college football after this bowl fiasco? I mean, Clemson was their conference champ and is now on the losing end of one of the most lopsided beatings in bowl history and their second best team was supposedly Va. Tech who lost the Slop Bucket Bowl last night to Michigan.
Another thought, what does this do to the B1G’s reputation. Already we’re getting flak from various media outlets for our conference’s unimpressive bowl record and I can only assume most fans and pundits will use the transitive property to discredit Michigan’s victory in last night’s BCS bowl more than they already have (granted, they have a point when they say that it was it was an unimpressive win in the most uninspiring BCS pairing ever).
Anyone bashing the Big Ten because of bowl record alone is crazy.
The record of Big XII teams’ opponents (pre-bowl): 7-5 (North Carolina), 7-5 (Cal), 7-5 (Washington), 8-4 (Rutgers), 7-5 (Iowa), 6-6 (NW), 11-1 (Stanford), 10-2 (Arkansas).
Compare to the Big Ten: 7-5 (WMU), 9-3 (Oklahoma), 6-7 (UCLA), 6-6 (A&M), 10-3 (Georgia), 12-1 (Houston), 6-6 (Florida), 10-2 (South Carolina), 11-2 (Oregon), 11-2 (Virginia Tech)
Six bowl opponents with 9+ wins compared to the Big XII’s two. In fact, six bowl opponents who either qualified for the BCS (Oregon, VT) or had an opportunity to do so by winning their final pre-bowl game (Houston, Georgia, Oklahoma, and UCLA – okay, scratch that last one). No, our bowl record isn’t great – but whose would be against that lineup? Giving the Big XII that same lineup (swapping the selection order between the two conferences when they’re playing a Big Ten team – that is, pretending that the Insight was Big XII #5 and Big Ten #4 instead of the reverse), you would have:
OkSt vs. Oregon
K-State vs. VT
Baylor vs. South Carolina
Oklahoma vs. Georgia
Texas vs. Michigan State
A&M vs. Florida
Iowa State vs. Houston
Missouri vs. Ohio State
The Big XII isn’t winning 6 or 7 games with that lineup. They’re probably winning more than the two we did (outside of Illinois and Purdue, since the Big XII doesn’t have all 10 teams eligible), to be sure (I’d figure 4 or so), but not six. Similarly, put us up against the Big XII lineup (assuming same order of selection):
Wisconsin vs. Stanford
Michigan vs. Arkansas
Nebraska vs. Washington
Michigan State vs. Texas
Iowa vs. Cal
Ohio State vs. Missouri
Penn State vs. Rutgers
Northwestern vs. North Carolina
No way does the Big Ten go 2-6 against that lineup (I’d guess 4-4).
The reality is, we play up (or at least even) in bowl games. The Big XII and Pac-12 generally don’t (which is part of why they usually have great bowl records). We’re at best the third-best conference this year (behind the Big XII and SEC; Pac-12 is arguable, depending on how much you value the extra strength at the top vs. the mid-level depth), but the relative difficulty of our schedule causes the bowl records to greatly exaggerate the distance between us and everyone else.
I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left-hand side.
Bradley-Terry rankings for college football and basketball: because there aren't enough computer rankings already.
Not to mention, the Big Ten EXCEEDED bowl expectations
The point favorites for the Big Ten match-ups were:
Houston 6.5
Georgia 2.5
S. Carolina 3
Florida 2.5
Oregon 4.5
Oklahoma 14
Texas A&M 9.5
Michigan 3
Illinois 3
Purdue 1.5
Source: vegasinsider.com
We won every single game we were favored in, plus one more. So really, we should get praised for this. But we won’t because of straight numbers.
Beating low expectations isn't necessarily a plus.
Low expectations can mean either 1) you’re playing way up, or 2) you’re not very good. I think it’s a little of both in the Big Ten’s case, maybe slightly more so #1.
I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left-hand side.
Bradley-Terry rankings for college football and basketball: because there aren't enough computer rankings already.
We've taken a lot of crap this season from the rest of the B1G.
Our losses to ND and NU-L didn’t help. Every time we mentioned the ridiculousness of a system that could reward a team we beat and didn’t play for the B1G title or the fact that UW cheated to win, we were called whiners. Or if we mentioned the fact that we got shafted last year and this year by politics.
We were the underdogs to a good SEC team on their “turf” and won.
NU-L, OSU (with the remnants of the TAT5 back – how is it the the kids most responsible for the “scandal” at OSU got to play in two bowl games?) lost to the SEC. PSU got beat by a CUSA team. UW lost to Oregon (I’ve argued all season that we are the equal of UW this season – Good coaching could have won that game).
We didn’t have low expectations and met most of them this season. We’re it not for some bad acting we could have met them all.
Congrats on a great career Worthy
and good luck in the NFL if you’re truly leaving.
Getting Arnett is huge, especially if he can play next year. Even with out him I really like the talent and potential at WR, but it’s almost all unproven and young. Arnett + Fowler would at least give us a couple guys who’ve made plays at the college level. Maxwell has to be happy.
Looks like we find out on Worthy in a little more than an hour
As with most others I think he’s probably gone, and can’t really blame him. Looks like while he’s not a sure first rounder he won’t fall past the second. That’s probably good enough to get him to leave.
Thin DT Class Too
I think that has a lot to do with it too.
Some MSU players already at the Worthy Presser
Bennie Fowler, and Draymond and Payne from the bball team.
For some reason having fellow athletes being there makes me drop my certainty that he is leaving from about 90 percent to abouy 75. Maybe I’m just thinking of Izzo coming back with all the players in attendance.
It’s pretty cool that the basketball guys showed up too.
Tony Lippett, and Jairius Jones also there per Rexrode
by trivialstuff16 on Jan 5, 2012 1:03 PM CST up reply actions
not surpring
“Worthy big grin. Thanks teammates, family, even media members. Says it’s been tough couple weeks. Finally … confirms he’s going pro.”
Good for him
I wish him the best. He’s worked very hard to put himself in this position, and I don’t blame him one bit for making this choice. He did a great job on the field in East Lansing and made us proud, I’m certain he will at the pros too.
BONUS – Every time he takes the field, he’ll have that tat of Sparty lording over a vanquished Wolverine! Here’s hoping he can repeatedly smash it into the mouths of Taylor Lewand, David Molk, et al., and remind those 4 time losers what happened to them in college when they took on the Spartans!!!!
And he paid for it!
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Jan 5, 2012 1:17 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Worthy to NFL - it's official.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/#!/SpartanKC
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood luccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccck, Worthy. Hope he gets drafted high.
Yes of course.
Wish Jerel the best in his future. Would love to see him end up with my Bears!
https://twitter.com/#!/SpartanKC
No, no, no! Not the bears!
I’m hoping he ends up on my Vikes! Could see some pretty immediate playing time there.
Happy for Worthy
But in much more irritating news:
Rexrode Tweet:
Dantonio wouldn’t answer question about Pat Narduzzi being in Texas today: “We’re here to talk about Jerel Worthy.”
Two years ago it was "Narduzzi must go"
Now what? He’s the star of the show? The program is bigger than any one coach or player.
The Spartans will be fine. Believe in Dantonio.
Well
There is some truth to that. For sure a large part of the increased success of the defense has been because of the steady upgrade in talent. But Narduzzi has had a role in accumulating all of that talent.
I think there is a perception problem as well. It’s one thing to lose a coordinator to go take a shot at becoming a head coach. It’s something else to lose one to middling Big 12/now SEC team, to be a Coordinator there. Don’t know what it means for MSU in terms of attracting coaching talent if they aren’t willing to pay to keep guys.
by trivialstuff16 on Jan 5, 2012 3:12 PM CST up reply actions
Great point RE: jobs
I totally get it if he has dreams of being a HC & bolts MSU for that position somewhere, but it will sting real bad if he takes off for the same position at another school, especially one that is lower in national cache than MSU.
Frankly, I’m just hoping that this is how Narduzzi is negotiating his pay raise.
Texas for the time being is not lower in National cache than MSU.
There less than a decade removed from a National Championship.
This may just be an opportunity for Narduzzi to establish his market value. As Dantonio has remarked, the assistants are due for a raise. Maybe this sets the bar on what the raise should be. We’ve got the money that’s for sure.
The job is at Texas A&M not University of Texas
the tweet I quoted originally didn’t make that clear.
Yes, Football is huge in the State of Texas, and A&M has a fine tradition, but they have been mediocre of late and just hired a new coach. Win totals last 5 years: 7,9,6,4,7
by trivialstuff16 on Jan 5, 2012 3:36 PM CST up reply actions
He's interviewing with Texas A&M
not Texas. I would kind of get it moving to Texas, ’Bama, etc, but A&M is definitely lower on the food chain.
Sumlin, I think.
Houston coach.
I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left-hand side.
Bradley-Terry rankings for college football and basketball: because there aren't enough computer rankings already.
Money
I guess we know where that $1mm check from Izzo earmarked for the FB program will be going!!!
Let’s hope we don’t need Magic’s cash to keep all the assistants, too. That new scoreboard sounded sweet, would love to come out of this with all of our coaches AND a pimped out scoreboard & sound system.
I get the feeling Nardz will get the big head and think he's all that.
Throwing money at money hardly ever works out well. The guy comes back slightly soiled and he loses some of his drive to be there. Think Izzo last year. Tom recovered nicely but then again he is the program. A DC in FB will never be the show. Dantonio is the show. If at this point he is ‘thinking about it", as Head Coach I’d be looking real hard and talking to people.
by jumpinjohnnyg on Jan 6, 2012 3:43 PM CST up reply actions
If we do lose 'Duzzi
Who is in line to replace him?
Harlon Barnett did a great job as secondary coach this season, and is an MSU blue blood (went to school here, coached under Saban at LSU & Dantonio at Cincinatti, came to MSU with Coach D).
Ted Gill obviously did a helluva job with the D-Line, and also came over from Cincinatti with Coach D, where he was D-line coach. Plus, he has experience at coordinator at Ball State, Okie State & in the CFL.
Mike Tressel‘s blood is pretty blue, and again, he came over from Cincy with Coach D, but he doesn’t have nearly the experience the other two do.
I’m not sure about people pre-Dantonio era, nor about peeps at other schools that we could poach (and I’m pretty sure alum Pat Shurmur won’t give up his gig as the Cleveland Browns HC for this DC job). Anybody have thoughts on people outside of the program?
Norm Parker is available.
/jk
I think Dantonio would probably promote from within, but I heard a rumor that there are 2 other D assistants with offers from A&M, so that might whittle the selection down some.
https://twitter.com/#!/SpartanKC
Oho that's great
Aggies trying to poach our entire staff. What did MSU ever do to piss them off? Is there a secret U-M connection down there??
Well, I guess this is the price of success. . .
It indeed is the price of success.
Successful coordinators are usually hot commodities, it’s just frustrating that this would be a lateral move, rather than an HC position for Narduzzi.
The good news is that Dantonio is a defensive guy, and has his fingerprints all over this defense. I have full confidence in Coach D’s ability to find a suitable replacement for Narduzzi if he leaves (but I sure hope he stays!)
https://twitter.com/#!/SpartanKC
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