Michigan State needs ‘Mr. Reliable’ to be at his sure-handed best with Washington looming

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State senior Tre Mosley renewed his status as the O.G. of the wide receiver room during the team’s 45-14 victory over Richmond on Saturday. And the Spartans will need Mosley to continue to set the standard for reliability at the wide receiver position in a difficult match-up this weekend against Top 10 Washington at home.

After a modest three-reception, 39-yard contribution in the team’s opening-week victory over CMU, Mosley got back to the business of his old reliable ways with a five-catch, 84-yard performance, which included a touchdown against Richmond

And according to Mosley, that output came from a renewed commitment to making every opportunity to catch the ball count ahead of last weekend’s week. The focus that Mosley and Michigan State wide receivers took in preparation for Richmond will have to be at an even higher level when Michigan State faces a Washington.

That focus matters even more this week for Mosley and Spartan wideouts given the need to block out the distraction created by the suspension of Mel Tucker during an on-going Title IX investigation into sexual harassment claims, while also preparing for a Washington defense that has generated more interceptions than it has given up touchdown passes to this point in the season.

“Last week, myself along with the guys, we had too many costly drops,” Mosley said. “We didn’t want to make those same mistakes (against Richmond) so we had a very big emphasis throughout the week of practice and then coming into the (Richmond) game to not make those same mistakes.’’

Michigan State’s wide receiver group had 12 catches against 17 targets against the Spiders. In the opener one week earlier, the wideouts had 11 receptions on 19 targets. Mosley, who leads Michigan State in targets through two weeks with 11 made good on all five targets against Richmond.

After two games, five Michigan State wide receivers have at least one catch, while three have caught touchdown passes. Mosley is one of three Spartan receivers with five or more catches through two games along with sophomore Jaron Glover and junior Christian Fitzpatrick. Mosley leads Michigan State in catches (8) through two weeks. He is tied for first in touchdown catches, and is second in receiving yards (123) behind Glover.

“It’s more of a focus thing you know, when you do something so much, so often, you can sometimes get complacent or think it’s just going to happen automatically but when you do that that’s when it come back and bite you,’’ Mosley said. “So myself and the rest of the guys that was something we made sure that we just wanted to do simple better; look the ball in, don’t try to run before you catch it. It’s just something we did better (last Saturday).’’

That trend of production will need to continue to rise on Saturday against and throughout the rest of the season.

Still, it’s fair to say that Mosley’s day against Richmond was a welcome sight.

While five receptions wouldn’t normally be considered a banner day, it was the quality of Mosley’s receptions that gives pause for reflection.

Three occurred in the middle of the field, while the other two came one each on the right and left sidelines. Additionally, all five catches resulted in positive and near explosive results.

The first one resulted in an 11-yard touchdown and was the first score of the day for Michigan State, which punted on two straight possessions to open the game.  first score of the day, while the other four resulted in first downs.

All five catches accumulated 11 or more yards, with Mosley’s biggest catch resulting in a 26-yard gain. His yards after the catch totaled 17.

He even had a play of good fortune late in the game when a pass meant for him deflected off the hands of both he and Richmond graduate senior defensive back Aaron Banks, late in the third quarter.

That deflection ended up in the hands of Michigan State teammate Montorie Foster resulting in an eight-yard gain.

During that late third quarter, nine-play drive, that ended with a six-yard Nate Carter touchdown run and put the game out of reach, Mosley caught two passes, totaling 44 of the 70 yards as Michigan State pushed its lead to 38-0.

Mosley’s deflection to Foster also helped Kim set a Michigan State recorded with 15 consecutive completed passes. Kim went 7-for-7 in the third quarter thanks to the head’s up play by Foster.

On a day when freshman wideout Antonio Gates Jr’s first collegiate catch was a touchdown and Boise State transfer Tyneil Hopper caught his first touchdown as a Spartan, Mosley just punched in to work doing his business as usual.

And part of that business was making sure everybody understands that the wide receivers room is going to be ready to compete with a very talented Washington ballclub this weekend.

“First of all, I love seeing all of the guys put their hand in the pot and contribute on offense. That’s good, because it’s a long season and I know we’re gonna need every guy in our room to be able to contribute when a numbers fall,’’ Mosley said. “Going back to the spring and seeing the competition, guys were hungry because they knew that they would have opportunities to share, to get on the field. They just continue to compete with each other because it’s still a dogfight to get on the field with the guys who are in the room. So we just got to continue to get better every week.’’

That means, Mr. Reliable, as Mosley is known to some of his teammates, is not just setting the tone in the wide receivers but in the locker room, as a whole.

“So you know, Tre Mosley and I have been together for a while. We went to high school (West Bloomfield) together. He’s always been a great leader, a guy with great maturity,’’ sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum said with a smile “He’s gonna come to practice and set the example every single day. I really take my notes on him and I helped myself understand, this guy wants it, so I’m going to make sure he gets what he wants because he helps you understand, it takes a village and not just one person.’’

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