Western Michigan
WHAT: Brown & Gold game
WHEN: Noon, Saturday, April 17
WHERE: Waldo Stadium, Kalamazoo
ADMISSION: Donation of canned goods
HIGHLIGHTS: Bronco Insider at WMUBroncos.com
LAST YEAR: 5-7, 4-4 MAC West
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
1) Finding replacements — The Broncos have to find a way to replace not only record-setting quarterback Tim Hiller, who broke or tied all of Western's passing records, but his backfield mate, Brandon West, a back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher. So far, it looks like sophomore Alex Carder has the leg up to replace Hiller, while Aaron Winchester is the favorite to replace West. The offense wasn't the problem for the Broncos last year, and those two — or whomever else steps in — need to keep it that way.
2) Shore up the defense — Just one year into his five-year contract extension, WMU coach Bill Cubit had to clean house on the defensive side of the ball after the Broncos ranked 101st in the country. Coordinator Steve Morrison and his staff were fired, replaced by Hofstra DC Dave Cohen, whose troops had performed admirably in a 24-10 loss to Western at Waldo last year. The all-new defensive staff also includes former Spartan DB Amp Campbell. The staff will have to craft a new defensive mentality for a group of players who were demoralized by last season's end. It should help that the Broncos welcome in their most heralded group of DB recruits since the E.J. Biggers/Louis Delmas class in 2005.
3) Find balance again — Just once in the Cubit era (2007), the Broncos failed to have a 1,000-yard rusher. West topped the plateau last year, but the coach admitted that the Broncos were a little too pass-happy last year, relying too much on the likely NFL-bound arm of Hiller. Look for the Broncos to go back to basics this year.

Central Michigan
WHAT: Spring game
WHEN: 5 p.m., Saturday, April 17
WHERE: Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Mount Pleasant
ADMISSION: Free
LAST YEAR: 12-2, 8-0 MAC West, GMAC Bowl champs, No. 23 in AP poll
LIVE BLOG: Morning Sun coverage here.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
1) Finding replacements — Dan LeFevour, Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson were three of the most accomplished offensive players in Mid-American Conference history, and all three are now gone. Of the players in line to replace LeFevour, only sophomore Ryan Radcliff has attempted a pass for CMU. Considering the Chippewas' conversion to a more pro-style offense under new coach Dan Enos, replacing the two record-setting wideouts may be a bit simpler. Kito Poblah and Cody Wilson (Rochester Adams) are the top two returning pass-catchers.
2) Adjusting to a new system — Even with a subtle tweak, going from a more pass-happy to a more option-oriented attack, the Chippewas have been primarily a spread team through their last two coaches. Players insist that the plays under Enos are largely the same — just with different terminology — but there's still the matter of making the transition to a more power run game, with linemen in three-point stances, and the quarterback under center. Tight end David Blackburn was on the field about 20 percent of the time last year, but will be on close to 80 percent of the snaps under Enos.
3) Overcoming youth on defense — With the offense in transition, it'll be up to the defense to keep the Chippewas in games. Led by star linebackers Nick Bellore and Matt Berning, the defense still has a solid core of last year's championship unit. The challenge will be mixing in the younger players on the line and in the secondary without much of a drop off. The backfield lost four key contributors, while there is just one senior and one junior among the defensive linemen.

Eastern Michigan
WHAT: Spring game
WHEN: 2 p.m., Sunday, April 18
WHERE: Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti
ADMISSION: Free
LAST YEAR: 0-12, 0-8 MAC West
RADIO: WTKA-AM (1050).
THINGS TO WATCH:
1) Getting back to competitive — The Eagles won Jeff Genyk's last game as coach two seasons ago, but dropped all 12 of their games last year, under first-year coach Ron English. There were some near-misses — like a last-second loss to Northwestern on a late field goal — but the Eagles lost seven games by more than three touchdowns, and gave up 459 points. Even English admitted that the Eagles didn't play very hard last year.
2) Shoring up the defense — The Eagles did rank tops in the nation in one statistical category — pass defense — but that was only because they couldn't stop anybody's run game, giving up 277 yards per game on the ground. Just one season into his tenure, the defensive-minded English turned over seven bodies on his staff, including most of the defensive crew. Phil Snow is the new defensive coordinator.
3) Older and wiser — The Eagles were simply undermanned at times last year, when they had to use 25 first-time players, including nine true freshmen. One of the youngsters thrown into the fire was quarterback Alex Gillett, who started three times after senior Andy Schmitt went down with a knee injury. He comes into the spring in a battle with giant-sized redshirt freshman Devontae Payne.

When asked at his introductory news conference if he'd bring along any Michigan State recruits — likely by an overzealous (or hopeful) Central Michigan fan — new Chippewa head coach Dan Enos ripped off a quick response: "I don't recruit other people's commits."

He did, however, qualify that he "had a good idea where all the uncommitted players were."

After only three full weeks on the job Enos has proven that to be more than true.

While coaches at programs like MSU, where Enos helped assemble a star-studded list of commitments, and U-M, where Rich Rodriguez is recruiting for his life, the last 48 hours before Signing Day are just for polishing a largely settled assemblage of talent, and maybe adding a cherry on top, it's different for a guy like Enos. Battling attrition the whole way — CMU's top-ranked recruit, Montague QB Cody Kater, decommitted, along with Southfield WR Montrel Robinson and Ohio ATH Dwight Macon — Enos has more than held the ship together for this year's recruiting. He's scrapped to find adequate replacements for those players who were headed there more for the coach than the school (and now are gone), plus added a few cherry pick-ups of his own.

Since taking the reins of the CMU program on Jan. 12, Enos has picked up five new commitments, three of them in the last five days. Novi Detroit Catholic Central ILB Michael Kinville — a tackling machine who anchored the Shamrocks' state-championship defense — signed on last Thursday, followed by speedy Grand Rapids JC cornerback Anthony Hollis on Sunday, and Lancaster (Pa.) Catholic QB Kyle Smith on Monday. While Kater led Montague to two state titles, the pro-style Smith hails from the cradle of QBs — Western Pennsylvania — and finished as the state's career record-holder for pass yards and TDs, ahead of the state's luminary alumni like Joe Montana. (Not a bad addition, when you're trying to replace a record-setting QB like Dan LeFevour, who's on his way to the NFL after finishing as the Offensive MVP in the Senior Bowl over the weekend).

Those three added to a pair of earlier commits brought in by Enos: Inkster WR Deon Butler (who joins teammate Johnathan Taylor in heading to Mount Pleasant) and safety Avery Cunningham of Winton Woods HS in Cincinnati.

The quintet of new additions gives CMU 20 potential signees, heading into Wednesday's Signing Day festivities.

Enos' old employer, Michigan State, had been stuck on 20 since adding two-star DB Darqueze Dennard from Georgia midweek last week, but tacked on one more Monday, getting a commitment from Kinville's Shamrock teammate Niko Palazeti, Catholic Central's battering-ram running back.

Michigan has been quiet for a week, as well, holding out hope of adding one or more of three four-star defensive backs to a class that already has 26 bodies in it. U-M is waiting for last-minute decisions from S Sean Parker, CB Rashad Knight and S Demar Dorsey to round out a class that started with skill-position players on offense, and has finished strong with defensive quality and quantity.

UPDATE: Knight chose Rutgers over Michigan early Tuesday morning.

Eastern Michigan added a third OL to its still-small class of reported commits, nabbing Lincoln Hansen from Cornhusker country in Omaha, Neb., on Monday.

For those interested in all things recruiting — and that's probably you, if you've gotten this far in this post — the Big Ten Network will be airing a 90-minute show, starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Check The Oakland Press print edition on Thursday for a full list of all the local signees, as well as who officially signed on with each of Michigan's five Division I-A programs, and check back on this blog for full analysis in the days to follow.

Blair White may have had his future all mapped out, finishing his undergraduate degree from Michigan State last spring, then gaining acceptance to Wayne State's School of Dentistry, whenever he's ready to go.

But for the former walk-on Spartan wideout, that could be much later, rather than sooner, if he keeps impressing NFL scouts.

Hot on the heels of leading MSU with a Big Ten-leading nine TDs, and in receptions (70), receiving yards (990) this fall, the Saginaw native was the only player with local ties invited to the East-West Shrine all-star game over the weekend.

"The daily schedule has been pretty intense. Many fans have the wrong impression about all-star games. They think that we have a lot of time to chill and relax, and that's simply not the case. It's a job interview. ... My approach has been pretty simple. I've been focused on going my hardest every day in practice while trying to put my best foot forward in everything that I've been asked to do," White told msuspartans.com after Thursday's practice session.

"I have no idea how many opportunities I might have to catch the football on Saturday because there are so many different factors that I can't control. What will we see from the West defense? How will the score impact play calling? That's why I have focused on performing well in each and every practice session. I also have to make the most of the opportunities that I do get on game day to make plays."

Turns out the East team had installed the same "Throw It To Blair, Whether He's Open Or Not" play that MSU relied on so heavily this fall. White led all pass-catchers in the game with seven grabs for 93 yards in the East's come-from-behind, 13-10 win.

As far as job interviews go, it seems that White did pretty well. A good showing at the NFL Combine in late February could cement White as a middle-round draft pick, especially if he runs a 40-yard dash in the 4.55- to 4.6-second range, like BYU's Austin Collie did last year. Despite a record-setting career for the Cougars, Collie skipped his senior season, ran a 4.55 in the 40 at the Combine, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round. Collie caught seven passes for 123 yards and a TD in the Colts' 30-17 win in the AFC Championship game Sunday.

White has the skill-set to be the same type of player — good route runner, great hands, good strength, adequate quickness and speed to get open.

With junior linebacker Greg Jones choosing to stay at MSU for his senior season, White has the potential to be the first Spartan selected, and could possibly be the second local player drafted in what's shaping up to be one of the worst local draft classes in years. Three other draftable players — U-M's Brandon Graham and Zoltan Mesko, and CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour — will all be at this week's Senior Bowl, where they'll get their own time in front of scouts, but it's hard to project many other players with Michigan ties going in the NFL draft.

Those four players — White, Graham, Mesko and LeFevour — have all been invited to the NFL Combine, along with U-M running back Brandon Minor, MSU kicker Brett Swenson, Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller, and a pair of prospects from Division II schools in Michigan: Hillsdale OT Jared Veldheer and Wayne State RB Joique Bell. Central Michigan WR/KR Antonio Brown, an early entrant into the draft, will also likely be a mid- to late-round selection.

MOUNT PLEASANT
It’s certainly an odd twist on the whole “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” theme.

If you take a fan vote on the most embarrassing losses in Michigan State football history, you can bet the three losses to their upstart neighbor to the north, Central Michigan, have a fair chance of finishing atop the leaderboard.

A former quarterback for the Spartans, and the last man to lead MSU to a share of a Big Ten title, Dan Enos was on the sidelines for all three.

As a graduate assistant, just a year removed from playing, Enos watched CMU leave Spartan Stadium with a 20-3 win in the 2001 home opener, then follow it up with a humiliating, 24-20 win the next year.

This year, the Chippewas came to East Lansing, and left with a last-second, 29-27 victory just hours after Enos’ boss, Mark Dantonio, was given a contract extension.

Awkward.

As it probably will be when Enos, the man tabbed Tuesday to take over as the head coach of CMU’s football team, leads the Chippewas against his alma mater in the “Celebrate the State” series of games, including a home-and-home the next two seasons.

“Thanks for reminding me of that day in East Lansing. That was a long day. As my wife told me last night, after we graciously accepted this offer, things happen for a reason. Maybe they needed that win, so Coach (Butch Jones) could get another job, and I could get an opportunity to come here,” Enos joked at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “I know how grouchy I was for the next four, five or six weeks after that, so if it did help, I don’t know.”

It certainly set the two teams on different paths.

While CMU went on to claim its third Mid-American Conference title in four years and its first-ever Top 25 ranking, a thrilling GMAC Bowl win giving the program it’s first-ever 12-win season, MSU limped to a controversy-ridden 6-7 finish.

And you could argue that the Spartans’ losses didn’t end with the Alamo Bowl, especially given the news this week that they’re losing their best recruiter.

Much has been made of MSU’s ability to win the in-state recruiting battles with the University of Michigan of late, and much of that credit goes to Enos. Just a position coach for the Spartans — in charge of running backs for the last three seasons — Enos’ value wasn’t necessarily in how he was coaching, but rather what players he was getting to coach.

Last year, he landed four-star backs Larry Caper and Edwin Baker (Oak Park), and four-star tight end Dion Sims (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) among others. This year, Enos helped land one of the state’s top two quarterbacks, Joe Boisture of Saline.

And THAT, my friends, is why Enos was the hire over current (or, I guess, former) CMU offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, and Illinois DBs coach Curt Mallory.
It won’t be X’s and O’s that keep CMU on top of the MAC and in the discussion as a potential BCS buster, it’ll be Dions and Joes.

Enos has proven he can deliver on February’s signing day, making his contribution every bit as valuable than input he might add to the play-calling in September.

Questions came up at Tuesday’s press conference about Enos’ resume, and why a position coach was qualified to make the jump to head coach (nevermind that Jones was the wide receivers coach at West Virginia when he was tabbed to succeed Brian Kelly at CMU three years ago), and I’m sure those questions will continue.

But it speaks volumes about Enos’ value that Spartans fans today seem more angry to lose him than CMU fans seemed happy to gain him.

He’s not a big name, but he is a salesman.

And that fit is why he fits perfectly into the “right person, right time” philosophy of hiring employed by CMU athletic director Dave Heeke — the man behind who put a stories-high billboard of Joey Harrington in New York City for a Heisman campaign, and CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour on a similarly-gargantuan billboard outside Ford Field in Detroit.

At this point, to complete the transition from Kelly to Jones to Enos, the Chippewas need another salesman, like they two they had before.

When Kelly — the snake-oil salesman — came in to Mount Pleasant in 2004, he sold a dream of what could be, in an effort to change a culture of losing. Jones came in and sold solidity and stability.

Now — if CMU wants to truly be mentioned in the same vein as the Boise States, TCUs and Utahs of the world — Enos has to sell another level of athlete on coming to what — a fact’s a fact — is not exactly the most metropolitan of areas. He’s got to continue to sell the idea to players across Southeast Michigan — as Kelly and Jones both did — that going out of state isn’t necessarily their best option, if they’re not going to end up at MSU or U-M, as well as sell Florida kids that snow isn’t scary.
He also has to sell the fans that the world isn’t going to end without the record-setting LeFevour, who is finally graduating. As Enos himself mentioned, the most successful programs in the MAC have been the ones with the best quarterback — be it Chad Pennington or Byron Leftwich, Ben Roethlisberger or Nate Davis. Problem is, most of those programs haven’t sustained it after the QB left.

Without Davis, Ball State went 2-10 last season — not a real hard thing to figure out why former coach Brady Hoke bailed before the season, making a lateral move to a job at San Diego State.

Lots of wags have insinuated that’s why Jones left CMU now, too — get out while the getting’s good.

It remains to be seen how well they’ll replace LeFevour, but least Enos doesn’t seem like he’s going to scrap what’s worked for CMU.

“We will adapt to the personnel that we’re dealing with, and build offensive and defensive schemes around who we have. We are not going to come in with our egos so big that we’re going to tell someone ‘You don’t fit our system,’ ” said Enos, promising the wide-open, exciting offense Heeke noted has become CMU’s brand. “I’m a quarterback, so I like to throw the ball. When I was at Michigan State, I had to hand it off way too much. I think that demented me for life, so as a coach, I like to throw it.”

That should sell plenty of tickets, too.