MSU football: Dave Warner embraces new challenge

Dave Warner remembers not doing a very good job in the first couple of games he called plays at Kansas.

An he considered it a work in progress when he called plays at Bucknell and UConn.

Warner knows his promotion to co-offensive coordinator at Michigan State will bring much more pressure and more public scrutiny than any of those previous stints. And after those past experiences, he’s ready for the challenge.

“I can see right here and now that this is the big spotlight,” Warner said. “Obviously there are a lot of eyes on us. This will be a little bit more pressure packed. I am sure that everybody is going to have their opinion. That is part of the fun. That is part of the pressure.”

Warner desired to get back into a coordinator position and had no pause about accepting the position even as he noticed all the heat Dan Roushar took last season.

“Certainly my positions as a coordinator in the past are nowhere close to the one I have right now, though and I will be in the big spotlight” Warner said. “It’s a challenge you know. But it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time and the opportunity is here and I’m certainly anxious. I’m anxious to be here and confident to go out these next couple month and down the road and hopefully make us a good offense.”

Warner will share offensive coordinator duties with recent addition Jim Bollman but isn’t sure how duties will be split to this point. The two have known each other since 1985 and Warner believes it will be a good working relationship.

“How all that breaks down into duties, that’s something we’re gonna work through,” Warner said. “It’s a day-to-day process for us.”

Part of the challenges Warner faces will be finding replacements for running back Le’Veon Bell and Dion Sims, who both departed for the NFL draft. He called that duo MSU’s offense last fall.

“We have some young guys that have a chance of coming in and doing some good things,” Warner said. “Nick Hill’s certainly a guy that’s shown he can do some good things when he’s been in there. Jeremy Langford has bounced around a little bit and sort of settled at running back. He’s shown some good flashes. It’s going to be very important for us to find an answer to that.

“Tight end is the same deal. Dion Sims was a go-to guy for us. Who’s going to replace him? We don’t know. We don’t know. But spring practices are here for us, that’s when we need to find out. We have one tight end coming in as a freshman Dylan Chmura, who’s a big kid and hopefully he’s able to come in and show some things. It’s always tough to do. The running back position is sometimes easier to come in and use your athletic ability to play right away. The closer you get to the line of scrimmage, the harder it is to play right away I think. But it will give him some opportunity, that’s for sure.”

MSU also announced today that its season opener against Western Michigan has been moved from Saturday, Aug. 31 to Friday, Aug. 30. TV coverage and a kickoff time will be announced later.