Michigan State update

The Spartans are scrimmaging Ohio Valley and Albion this weekend, and after that, the coaching staff will make their final round of cuts. The scrimmages take place today in Albion, Mich.

• MSU v. Albion University (D-3), 11:30 a.m.
• MSU v. Ohio Valley University (D-2), appx. 1 p.m.

Following the final round of cuts, there is one more MSU scrimmage in fall ball. The Spartans will travel to Granville, Ohio to take on Denison University (D-3) Oct. 19.

That’s a pretty good mix of Fall Ball competition for an MCLA-1 team. Ohio Valley was far and away the worst team in the NCAA’s Division-2 last year, but as a relatively young program with a new head coach, they should be a bit better. Still, a good chance to evaluate the guys on the tail end of the Spartans’ roster and make those last few tough personnel decisions.

Denison is a top-10 D-3 team – about the same level of competition as top MCLA teams – and Albion is a middle-of-the-pack D-3 team that’s on the rise. Those will both be better tests than OVU, and a couple good chances to play competitive ball in the exhibition season.

There are a couple guys on the OVU roster with Michigan ties:

• OVU Junior midfielder Stan Mackey, from “Heartland” High School in Howell
• OVU freshman attack Donald “Hannibal” Roda from Warren L’Anse Creuse

JuCo defenseman Mike Dyjewski is also originally from L’Anse Creuse, but is listed only on the OVU recruit release, not the official roster. (By the way: my dream job is to be a D-2 sports information director. Attention to detail not required!).

Stay tuned for more from the Spartans at the conclusion of fall ball.