MSU football defense needs to (and should) SHINE in week one; A deeper look at FAU football

who has to look stronger on Friday the offense or the defense and hey who's going to be the MVP of the defense in week one well let's find out you are locked on Spartans your daily podcast on the Michigan State Spartans part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-we free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV just visit fanduel.com locked on to get started Spartan friends Spartan family locked on Spartan's listeners thank you so much for burning up some of your game week with us here at lockdown Spartans your team in green and white five days a week right here on the lockdown podcast Network please rate review subscribe comment below how you are feeling about the upcoming season and any questions reach out to us locked on Spartans gmail.com and that's actually where we're going to start this show right here in the mailbag but first I'll tease the second and thir third segment too Frank Fort he hosts a show called inside the alboro down there in boa Ron at FAU talks with Tom Herman every single week he joins us for the end of the show so yes we're gonna start getting an inside look at FAU football but again before that let's go swimming in this mailbag again lockdown Spartans gmail.com or reach out on Twitter she had underscore Sports just like Luke did let's go would you rather the offense look really good but the defense look poor or vice versa now we're going to look at this through the lens of just week one who would we rather see have a good performance in week one right off the bat for me it's an easy answer I'm GNA go with the defense here I would rather the defense look really good to start the season and that is for two reasons one well just because of who FAU is as a team more specifically as an offense and number two it could foreshadow how things will go for Michigan State both in the near and distant future this season now FAU really quick and we're going to get into this a lot with Frank Fort here in a hot second but they are returning two starters to the offensive side of the ball they are replacing four offensive linemen they have a new quarterback in the mix by and large it is a new Run game a new receiver core to there's a lot of new moving parts so it's not just hey Will a big 10 defense should stop an offense from the athletic or the American Athletic Conference Ju Just as a baseline like a a defense that's as established as Michigan state is right now with their crop of returners versus an offense that is replacing nine faces that should be a battle that you just win straight up okay but also what could this mean for the future for Michigan State if they look good or if they look shaky because guys I look cam fer that's Fu's quarterback he's a dual threat guy here in a few weeks on the road Chestnut Hill against Boston College Tommy ctios that is a dual threat quarterback also why Dylan Gabriel he's got some dual threat is to him you're GNA see dual threat quarterbacks in college football if you could Ace the first test keep him at Bay limit what he could do with his legs okay I I'm gonna leave that game feeling a little better of what you can do against teams again like Boston College Ohio State oreg you get the point here guys you want to look good right off the bat against an offense replacing that much and have you know a tricky athletic quarterback so you also want to stop the run like we said four new offensive lineman for FAU they got a new stable of running backs that Frank Fort later on he's gonna be very high on them but they're not really proven just yet you guys got to be the bullies here establish do dominance early on and for the offensive side of the ball of course we want to see them go strong I just didn't pick them because I I'll allow them to be uh a little yeah to start the season we'll have a little patience with them just because well like FAU like we're replacing a quarterback two and a few other moving parts so it could be a work in progress here again should be able to perform on Friday and we'll throw this in too fau's defense is nothing to shake a stick at like they're a pretty solid defense over there down at Boer Ron so that's where we're going to go with Michigan State's defense has to perform well early on now Alex writes in what position group do you think will show the most growth in relation to last year I think the offense as a whole will just improve here and there like I think the running back room is going to get a lift here with the new offensive coordinator you added two great linemen Tanner Miller Luke Newman I think quarterback is gonna see their stock rise tight end's gonna get better but we're going to go back to the defensive side of the ball for the position group that will drastically improve the most I think it's secondary and I get that it's a lot of returning faces right guys like hey Dylan Tatum Malik Spencer all right Dylan Tatum we presume he will start at safety Malik Spencer maybe safety maybe nickel we'll wait and see all right at quarterback you have Chuck Brantley you have chance Rucker right but what they did in the portal window specifically the spring window they added nikai Martinez okay we think that he's going to be a starting safety just like he was for every game at Central Florida last year that experience raises the floor of this unit you got Ed Woods cornerback from Arizona State okay he's going to be a starter that's going to ra the floor you got Legend Cavazos a guy that's played here and there between his time at Ohio State and North Carolina all over the secondary so that's a versatile player that's going to be coming off the bench for you so as good as you felt about Michigan State secondary even before the spring portal cycle they even added some more to provide experience and depth so look you're G to need a pass rush like you are going to need some help from other units on this defense for the secondary to fully Blossom but this is the other part twoo of hey how can they be the highest performer in relation from last year it's because of secondary it's uh it's been tough sleding the last few year so they also have the most room for growths so it's it's kind of you know a mixture of we feel good about the guys in that room and can't really get any worse than it was last year right guys so again um you can say that for a few position groups we just named some on the offense but for this year I think it's going to be the secondary coming up and hopefully we see that immediately in week one now Owen writes in who is the MVP of the defense in game one if he had to choose one guy o that is tough um because I just can't answer questions simply like you I know you said one guy but I had got two written down in front of me like Jaylen Thompson or Chris Bogle regardless of who it is I think it's gonna be some at that defensive end or Edge Rush position here perhaps an Avery dun to throw another name out there or quindarius dun again but look when you look at FAU replacing four linemen I'll say it again they're two tackles don't necessarily inspire me one guy's a transfer from Florida State who started the year for the seminal as their third string tackle last year all right their other tackle on the other side is a guy that played sparingly in 10 games for the owls last season sure can development happen do they find a diamond in the rough out of FSU perhaps I guess but I expect Michigan State if they're ever going to have a good pass rush this season it's got to be right off the bat while they are breaking in two new tackles maybe it doesn't mean that a ton of sacks will happen because again Camp faner pretty athletic quarterback he's a dual threat in every sense of the word but can you pressure him can you make him Scamper out of the pockets early can you make him never feel truly settled I think this is a game that you do it Jaylen Thompson he ended his true freshman season really well last year right like that was as strong of a November as you could hope for from a true freshman Chris Bogle we all know the story with transfers from Florida a few years ago former top 100 recruit but just has never gotten it going but when you hear guys talk at practice whether it's spring camp or fall Camp no one was more optimistic about what they can do in a new scheme than Chris Bogle it seemed like so can he have a Renaissance in his career and show us right off the bat well if you're going to do it again it's going to be against two unproven tackles at a group of five levels so that's not to say that you know sewn in the second won't have an interception or that the linebackers won't shine early I fully expect that I mean the linebackers is an a group that you do not have to worry about but I think for Michigan State to find an MVP not only do I think it's going to come from the defensive ends I think it kind of has to come from the defensive ends make cam fancher's life miserable on Friday in East Lancing you're primed to do it with the situation both with Florida Atlantic and also just the guys you got there at defensive end all right we will be back guys in a hot segment but first need to talk your ears off about Five Hour Energy hey you might want to pop a few of these guys for Friday let's say your tailgating throughout the whole afternoon and oh my goodness it's 6:30 and oh man it's uh it's getting to be a little groggy out here guys shoot back a Five Hour Energy it will keep you alert it will keep you on your feet on third downs and you are going to digest every play of Michigan State football with some energy and hey best of all no sugar right like this isn't nonsense that you're putting in it's no sugar it's convenient it's portable it's a perfect pickme up for getting stuff done so hey maybe even tuck one in your pocket for halftime of this game I've gotten sleepy during halftime I'm not going to lie I mean hopefully it's going to be different because we're not being led to sleep by Jay Johnson's offense it's better days here in East laning but nevertheless half times can get a little sleepy go ahead and use a 5H Hour Energy they have flavors Galore like watermelon tropical burst grape Berry there is a flavor for everyone so try them out you could also build your own 12pack your own 24 pack over at 5our energy.com so if you go to 5our energy.com that is the number 5our energy.com and get some 5our Energy Products today go ahead and use promo code locked on CFB all one word locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions this code is not good on subscription orders so go to 5our energy.com today and before we are joined by Frank uh Frank Fort of inside the ellisboro folks thank you very much for making lockdown Spartans your first listen of the day now go make lockdown college football your second listen our host Spencer mcclaflin he's going to bring you up to speed on all the top story lines and matchups for week one again it's locked on college football part of the locked on podcast Network hailing in from the sunny shores of boka ratton guys it's Frank Fort he is the host of inside the owls Boro he's talking with Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman every week he's bringing everyone up to speed on the owls but before that Frank Happy game week are we feeling the energy down there like you are up here yeah I think so I think everybody's anxious to get started I mean we got our appetite wed it as it were in in week one with uh you know that crazy Georgia Tech Florida State game yeah and then you know SMU uh had a tougher time than expected yeah so I I you know anybody who covers college football you go through spring practice and then it's that long summer and you can't wait to get started and you know everybody's optimistic in week one you know we don't know what right we don't know what the team's got as I said to coach Herman in our our TV show this week as long as you've been in the business is there always that sense of I think this is is what we're going to be I hope this is what we're going to be yeah but until the ball goes into play and that game one you just don't know with a 100 percent certainty maybe the only exception would you know be Nick Sabin in his you know when Alabama was as good as they were or you know back in the day I used to do Miami's TV show that okay stretch where they won 34 straight uh games between 1999 and 2001 you know they they pretty much went into the season know they're they're going to compete for the national championship so with that said when you are talking to coach Herman down there whether it's for your show whether it's off camera like what what kind of demeanor is he going into the season with because like Michigan State like we have 60-ish new players on the team this year down there at FAU I think it's around 50 or something like that nevertheless like is he confident going into the season or just what's the vibe that he's given off yeah I think I think he's he's cautiously confident is the way I would put uh again half our roster is new between freshman and transfers they changed about 50% of the players on the team and after you go four and eight in his first year and he had a bit of a rebuilding job to do after the uh the previous coaching staff uh you know it was still a little bit disappointing that they weren't better offensively uh because when you look at their defense last year in at least most of the conference games and in the Illinois game which you know you guys are obviously familiar with Illinois went champagne and lost 23- 17 so uh in most games the defense played well enough to win they didn't play a lot of complimentary football like when the defense didn't have a good game the offense did have a good game but you know VI and vice versa so uh I think he's he's cautiously confident again he said you know I've not seen these guys in a Florida Atlantic Uniform a lot yeah so we you don't know how they're going to respond and a lot of the transfers came from quote smaller schools or you know back in the day onea which I think they should go back to calling it division one and one I agree but that's that's a different topic um you know so we we've got some guys from places like Maine and Shippensburg State who were you know really good in their conferences now we're going to see if they can make the jump uh to to D1 but I think I think he's pretty confident that his defense is going to be of salty and offensively there's a lot of new faces there's only two starters back from last year so again you think you know what they're going to look like and what their strengths are but until they they take that first snap um we'll see let's start with that offensive side of the ball because just like you said replacing I damn near everyone on that side of the ball quarterback though starting right there transfer from Marshall cam fer any idea how he's been so far because just like Michigan State I believe based on everything I've read two scrimmages have happened out at Florida Atlantic any idea how he's looked or how that transition's going over so far yeah I mean he is he is a true dual threat guy he he's very fast he's very Elusive and the run will be part of what he brings to the table um you know his record at Marshall tells you that you know he he played behind an injured offensive line last year yeah and he he did turn the ball over uh probably more than they would have liked um so you know he is such a good athlete though you have to live with a little bit of that and uh I think he has a chance to be a productive quarterback when you look at his best game I believe in the last two years when he was a starter at Marshall came against North Carolina state which has pretty good defense yeah uh and he torched him pretty good so the ability is there and again it's the but to me and I have no you know uh claim on this saying this but but I say it all the time and I'm not the first one in 150 years of college football one thing hasn't changed the game's won and lost at the line of scrimmage so we'll we'll see how the offensive line holds up four new starters only the center Federico Moran has returns uh they think they have talent there they think they have guys that that are going to hold up pretty well but again until all five of them play together in a game then you just don't know for sure you went right into the next conversation topic because I was going to bring up four new starters in that offensive line is that safe to say the biggest concern on offense or is there even something else on the offense that you're not entirely sure about whether it's the Run game the pass game or anything you could think of yeah I think they're pretty confident in their run game they like their running back room a lot transfer from Florida State CJ Campbell and then the number two back from last year Zuber Moy who unfortunately missed the last nine games of the Season he's back and he's looked very very good in Camp they got a couple of young guys particularly a guy named Jamari sanss who's got really nice size really Breakaway speed catches the ball really well out of the back field as does CJ Campbell the Florida state transfer sure um you know the offensive line you've got some veteran guys there a guy who's been here for a while at left tackle but it's first time starting another Florida State transfer Dy Richardson at right tackle and you know you've got two guards that have been in the program and now just this year uh they've gone far enough in their development that they're cons considered starters so and I think they've got a couple of backups that they're comfortable with so I I think think the o line will be okay again going into a road game in the Big 10 right you know and and the Big 10 is known for for Stout defenses as again I keep referring to that Illinois game last year which was a very tight game and uh you know they did pretty well against Illinois so again we'll see I think both these teams have a lot of questions that need being answered the one area that that also to look at is you know you lose who in in the transfer portal the top receiver uh not only in our conference but in in the country in lante Wester who went out to Colorado and I think we're deeper at wide receiver We're Not Gon and Coach Herman has said this on the record We're not gonna have a guy catch a 100 Balls Like lante did those targets and those catches are going to go somewhere it's just going to be spread around to a bunch of different guys and I think I don't know that anybody's really separated themselves from the pack but I think they're going to play six or seven wide reers and see who's on that day little more to come with Frank fori inside the owb but first lock on Spartans fans I want to take 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locked on Spartans fans use promo code locked on CFB all caps all one word inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program make sure to take full advantage of this perk as it will get your team off to a strong start to download the game just visit ultimate-fx today gotcha and just a flip sides of the ball here because like you said defense strong year last year they're going to be salty using your words which I absolutely love that for a defensive adjective right there so that tip to you where where is the absolute backbone of this defense so we come from the secondary here linebackers right the front or like what is the absolute strength of this defense I don't know that one group is is that much better than another they brought in a bunch of people our defensive line looks different it now looks like as opposed to let's say three years ago it looks a lot more like a division one front group that'll help yeah and and they went out and targeted in the transfer portal longer taller Corners okay you're gonna see a guy named bugs Brown uh his first name is kazir everybody calls him bugs he loved Bugs Bunny as a kid so everybody called him that and he's he's a 62 63 Corner who is going to start you're going to see a lot of him another guy named Cameron Goggins who came from Junior College again 6-2 quarterback you know you looked at fa the past couple years the corners were 59 so yeah you know they they targeted those type of guys a guy you may be familiar with in the secondary is Philip Dunham who's a South Florida kid played at Indiana the last two years and had three picks and I think nine breakups last year with the hooer so he transferred back to be closer to home uh and he's he's going to be one the safeties along with one of the captains Jaden Williams so uh they've gotten longer in the secondary they've gotten bigger up front not much change in the linebacker room which was pretty solid last year with a couple of guys named Jackson Ambush who was the leading tackler and Desmond tisdol who was the second leading tackler Ambush came from a small School Albany in New York state and absolutely showed that he was ready for D1 football and chisel came from Auburn and he worked his way in uh last year when one of the other starters kind of fell out of favor and Cho wound up being the second leading tackler so I think they're they're pretty they're pretty solid in their Lineback room and again I wouldn't put any one of those three position groups uh way ahead of the other I think it's pretty balanced now there is one name that stuck out uh and that's because Bruce Felman mentioned him on the freaks list uh you know that's just his way of saying that yeah this guy is a workaholic he's just an athletic freak pretty self-explanatory there but nevertheless Day Day Hill cornerback like point blank is this kid so good that he could take away a whole side of the field not not just in group of five football but get he's he's a really good cover Corner he's not one of those long Corners he's he's in the 510 range he jumps out of the building and and he's had as good a camp this is my ninth year here he's had as good a camp as I've seen a corner have here I have not seen a corner at this school have his hands on the football whether it's breaking the play up or making an interception as much as he has in this Camp so he looks like he's primed for a really good year he's got a lot of experience uh he played at Central Michigan again another Florida kid who transferred back home uh started here or was at least a rotational starter the last two years and uh he he looks like he's poised to have a very good year I I don't know if I would go as far to as to say he could take away uh one side of the field not knowing what your receivers look like there at Michigan State right in our in our conference I would be you know pretty confident saying that he's a lock down guy um but obviously this game has its challenges for everybody that's going to wear a Florida Atlantic Uniform and what Big 10 base confer or what Big 10 podcast would I be without mentioning kicking you know what what is the kicking situation down at FAU you guys pretty solid with your kicker you guys breaking someone in new what what's going on down there yeah um there their starting kicker last year uh got hurt okay uh a again guy named Lan Lupo did most of the place kicking and the punting got they they are kickoff specialist Carter Davis is back and they they had a big competition during training camp I don't know that coach Herman's decided on a starter yet I will tell you the last scrimmage the second scrimmage they tried F they tried five field goals all of them were over 50 yards and they made all five I don't like hearing that okay so I don't know that he's come to a decision on that we may not know till we get on playe on on Thursday who the starting kicker is lup's probably going to be the punter although we have one of those uh many there now Australian kids Nick sammon who's also in the mix at punter and both of them have looked very good in Camp but uh who who Who's Gonna Be The Place kicker I'm not sure and I'm not sure coach Herman knows right now and it's not because they don't like their kickers it's because they're they've all been pretty good in Camp that's a rare problem in college football to have that you have two good place kickers and you got to pick two the two of them so that's that's good for you guys down there um one one big thing I've been working on personally this offseason Frank is just not letting college sports affect my life but I gotta say through through this conversation um like I think I'm gonna lose some sleep here in the next few days I'm trying I'm really trying hard to like go into Friday even killed you know hey Michigan State should win it's gonna be okay but I should be losing sleep here the next few nights is is is this to be correct or are you thinking MSU still pulls this out no again I think unless you're one of those top five teams in the country yeah right there's a lot of uncertainty going in and particularly in in the the current makeup of college football where there's so many guys transferring in and out of programs yeah and you know when you bring guys in you hope they're going to be the right fit you hope they're G they're going to fit your system uh you know you do your due diligence you do your homework on guys and you think yeah this is going to be a good fit um but again you know on like I said on the offensive side of the ball we return to starters and that's probably a good thing because the offense in all honesty wasn't very good last year yeah you know outside of two or three games um so you know change can be good sometimes and can hopefully it's going to be very good um but again we'll see I think I think cam brings a lot to the table in terms of being a dual threat guy which really wasn't our identity with the quarterbacks we had last year uh although we did have sort of a red zone specialist and Michael Johnson who W up scoring eight or nine touchdowns as a running quarterback uh but he transferred out um so you know again we'll uh we'll see how it plays out but I I think losing sleep I wouldn't lose sleep but there there is that uncertainty there I think for almost all fans in college football that you know we think our team's going to be this but we don't know that with a great degree of certainty so many unknowns uh all I do know is that I will wake up Friday in a good mood but yeah like the first time that camper breaks out for a scramble I I'm going to pass out right there on the floor or uh the first time uh DD um Hill or D Hill I'm sorry BS ball out I I I will collapse um so but you know on our end you know we you know Aiden Charles I correct me if I'm wrong he didn't get a ton of playing time at Ohio State or uh Oregon state did he not a ton less than a 100 snaps so yeah so again you know there's there's there's some history there you know but you know do we match up with him you know we'll see I love it well hey you know what speaking of loving it I love what you're doing down there in Boone inside the owls burough you talking to Tom Herman this week do you still got a game week show coming up down there uh yes it'll be on uh it'll be on Thursday let me double check the times here uh Bley Sports Florida which if you have satellite is 654 okay okay so it'll be on uh let's see Thursday at 2 and 7 pm and Friday at 8 am and 5:00 pm that's eastern time can you let Tom know that I'd really appreciate it if like he just took a dive this week and still try that just make my life and all the Spartan fans lives a lot better uh this upcoming fall so I will say one thing that I think one thing that that coach Herman has going for him is he's brought back his entire staff with one exception okay there was a defensive pass game coordinator who went to Mississippi State and uh we didn't actually replace that position we we hired one of our analysts a very young coach who now coaches the edge rushers okay but the coordinators are the same and it's it's the first time Florida Atlantics had the same defensive coordinator in consecutive years I think dating back to 2016 which was my first year here w wow yeah they have had something they've had a lot of different defensive coordinators and and not because necessarily uh they were bad Chris kein was here with his brother Lane for one year did tremendous job and then got a job in the NFL so you know it's it's not always been because of uh underperforming it's it's sometimes they get better jobs man well Frank cannot thank you enough for all your Insight your knowledge hope you enjoy the buildup to game day and Beyond best of luck in the upcoming season for your owls yeah looking looking forward I have not visited Spartan Stadium before I've been to the big house okay in my career I've been in over 50 College stadiums so I'm I'm just going to add to the list coming up on Friday night doesn't rain bring us nice weather this sign behind me it gives the game day forecast it's very nice team tier.com by the way for anyone out there that wants one all that is showing is just rain and rain and R I think it's like 80% chance right now so yeah really hoping it's not rain but um rain here because I'll be on the sideline yeah well good luck hopefully you stay dry uh but even if it rains it always feels like it's 85 and sunny in Spartan Stadium much like it does all the time down a Boer rone so again Frank can't thank you enough best of luck this upcoming season hope you enjoy the upcoming season and guys you already know we will be back tomorrow the day after that the day after that it's lock on sparts we do this five days a week here love you all go green