McKinney anchors Spartan defense
By Ernie Boone

EAST LANSING MI - Brandon McKinney is a seasoned veteran.
He’s started football games against such powers as Notre Dame, Iowa and Penn State, yet he’s feeling like a freshman these days as he prepares to anchor the Michigan State defensive line when the Spartans open the 2004 season at Rutgers Saturday, September 4, at 3:30 p.m. “I just can’t wait to get back in there and play!” said the 300-pound plus tackle. “I feel like a freshman.”

He’s been waiting almost a year to return to the field. MSU had great expectations for the former PrepStar All-American last season, but a stress fracture in his foot sidelined the Dayton, Ohio junior after just one appearance. McKinney is no stranger to the Spartan sidelines. He sat out his freshman year due to academic problems, so the prospect of taking on a big, strong and athletic crew like Rutgers returning veterans is particularly appealing. “They’re athletic and like coach said they’ve got good team speed,” McKinney said. “But I think we can do alright.”

He and his front four teammates have some big shoes to fill. Last year’s Spartan crew finished fourth in the nation in sacks. Gone are starters Greg Taplin and Mathias Askew who combined for 16 sacks, good for 101 yards in losses. “McKinney had a good camp,” said MSU head coach, John L. Smith. “We really have to keep our fingers crossed so that he remains healthy. His foot has been a little sore.”

McKinney is battling to get back into playing shape and has a friendly bet with Smith regarding weight. “He bet that he will get to 180 before I get to 310,” McKinney said. “I’m at 318, I don’t know about him, but he isn’t 180.” Losing weight is key for McKinney. It would take pressure off his foot, and enable him to do a better job clogging up the middle of the line and freeing up outside rushers and linebackers.

Clogging up the middle is a McKinney specialty and with a low center of gravity he’s built well for the task. “Being shorter than most guys, I can be harder to move,” McKinney said. He tries to get penetration, but faced with double teams most of the time, he’s content to occupy the center and create room for others to make crowd pleasing sacks and tackles for losses. And that’s fine with him, as long as he knows that he’s doing his job in the middle and helping to make them possible. “I get pleasure from knowing that I’ve done my job. People who understand the game recognize when I’m getting the job done,” he said.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of McKinney’s work is expected to be Clifford Dukes. The 6-3-258-pound rush end is a pre-season pick to garner the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year award. Dukes, a 6-3 258-pound senior, recorded 57 tackles last season, including seven sacks for 32 yards loss.

McKinney’s running mate at tackle will be 6-4 295-pound senior, Kevin Vickerson. Vickerson posted six tackles for 27 yards loss as a back-up last season, and is looking forward to more work in opponent backfield this year. The crew is confident there won’t be a fall off in production. “We were all a part of what happened last year,” McKinney said. “We have experience and we know what it takes. I expect us to be as good as we were. We were fourth last year, this year we’re going to try to be number one.”

They’ll need to be just as good if the Spartans are going to equal last season’s surprise mark of 8-5 in Smith’s first season at the helm. Quarterback is an even bigger question mark going into the opener, with Senior, Damon Dowdell, and freshman, Stephen Reaves waiting until the last minute to get the nod from Smith to start the opener. The third member of the trio of candidates locked in a dead- heat battle to replace Jeff Smoker as the Spartan signal-caller, sophomore Drew Stanton, will likely sit out the opening contest as with a knee injury that required off-season surgery.

As Smoker’s understudy in 2003, Stanton has the inside track in the competition, but soreness and swelling in the knee during camp prompted Smith to hold him out of the opener. Dowdell, a fifth-year senior, has started six times at MSU, completing 126 of 233 passes for 1,513 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons. He is the most experienced of the group, but is considered a better runner than passer and has struggled with Smith’s pass-happy offense. Reaves, a red-shirt freshman, completed 49 of 90 passes during spring ball for 472 yards and two touchdowns. He is considered the best passer in the group.

“Damon had a great camp,” Smith said. ”Steve made great progress in recent weeks.” With less than a week to get ready for Rutgers, Smith had not made a decision on the starter.

Ernie Boone is one of the founding members of the Michigan Bulletin and the Executive Director at the Black Child and the Family Institute. He serves as the sponsor for the Young Publishers Club working with Charles Scarborough II at BCFI to train and mentor young adults in the pursuit of a career in journalism.

EAST LANSING, MI - Michigan State's 2004 football season opener Sept. 11 vs. Central Michigan is sold out, according to MSU Associate Athletics Director Mark Hollis. It will mark the 34th consecutive sellout in Spartan Stadium - a streak that began with the 1999 season opener Sept. 2 vs. Oregon.

Hollis also reports that Spartan football season-ticket sales have topped the 56,000 mark for the sixth-straight year.

Two different three-game mini-plans - priced at $108 each - remain on sale for the 2004 home schedule. The Green Plan features the Sept. 18 night game vs. Notre Dame plus Big Ten matchups vs. Illinois (Oct. 9) and vs. Wisconsin (Nov. 13). With the announced sellout of the MSU-CMU game, the White Plan now includes Big Ten contests vs. Illinois (Oct. 9), Minnesota (Oct. 16 Homecoming) and vs. Ohio State (Nov. 6).

The MSU Athletics Department Ticket Office, located in Jenison Field House, is open weekdays from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Football tickets also may be purchased online at www.msuspartans.com or by phone at 1-800-GO-STATE or (517) 355-1610.

Michigan State has played before a sellout crowd in 41 of its last 46 home games. The Spartans have ranked among the NCAA's top 20 in attendance each of the last 48 years, including No. 20 in 2003, averaging 72,830 fans per game.

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