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The last three Big Ten spring games were held over the weekend, and it's our job to recap them all.  Defending league champion Michigan State played before 35,000 fans at Spartan Stadium, falling short of Mark Dantonio's request for a crowd of 50,000 but having a fun day nonetheless. The White team defeated the Green squad 20-13, and you can find coverage of the event here, here, here and here.
Star of the game: Sophomore tight end Josiah Price had five catches for 81 yards, including the game-winning 2-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left to go. "Josiah Price has taken big steps forward this spring," Dantonio said. "He's blocking much better. He's a big-time catch guy. The more you throw the ball to him, the more excited you get, the more confidence he gets." How it went down: Balance was a key word for the spring game, as -- unlike the past two years -- the offense was good enough to go toe to toe with the Spartans' defense. Starting quarterback Connor Cook threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns but was also picked off twice. Backup Tyler O'Connor was intercepted three times. Safeties Kurtis Drummond and Demetrious Cox and cornerbacks Darian Hicks, Ezra Robinson and Jermaine Edmondson all came up with interceptions. That gives the Spartans confidence that their "No-Fly Zone" will remain in effect even without Darqueze Dennard and Isaiah Lewis. The spring game also saw the unveiling of redshirt freshman Damion Terry, who scored on a 23-yard toss sweep on the White's first offensive play of the game. Terry later got banged up on a hit from Demetrius Cooper. "We see certain people using two quarterbacks in systems," Dantonio said. "We experimented a little bit with those things and put a package together, so there are different things that we do." Dantonio also found room for some fun during the scrimmage. The Green team pulled off a double pass where R.J. Shelton threw back to O'Connor, then threw 29 yards to Tony Lippett. And the team's mascot, Sparty, got his traditional carry. After being leveled by the defense the past two seasons, Sparty scored this time around. See? More balance. Just don't expect more from Sparty in the fall. "Sparty will probably redshirt," Dantonio said.
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