Former MSU standout Otis Wiley delighted Spartan fans for four years with his athleticism, intelligence, leadership, and playmaking instincts. When rumors broke that he’d be coming to camp with the Lions, it seemed like a great fit. Unfortunately, the knee injury that truncated his senior season and dropped his draft stock precipitously also held him out of rookie minicamp, and Wiley has an uphill climb to make the roster this season.
Patrick Hayes of the Mlive.com sports blog It’s Just Sports caught up with Wiley at his old high school in Flint. Wiley gave Hayes a few nice quotes about MSU, and his future with the Lions. The future isn’t bright, but it is clear: between fellow rookie Louis Delmas, and veterans Marquand Manuel, Stuart Schweigart, Daniel Bullocks, Lamarcus Hicks, and Tra Battle, Wiley’s going to have to prove he’s better than at least two of them, plus contribute on special teams, in order to have a crack at making the 53-man roster. With luck, he’ll flash enough of his considerable talent to at least warrant a spot on the practice squad; I’d certainly rather have him than a retread like Battle.
Interestingly, that’s another dimension in which the Lions appear to be appealing to their base: stocking the roster with U of M and MSU graduates. The more the Lions can do to get fans emotionally involved with the team, the quicker the scars of 0-16 will heal.
Discuss it here, in The Den!
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