EAST LANSING, Mich. — For most incoming freshmen jumping into a Division I football program, there are plenty of eye-opening moments.
Sometimes it comes in adjusting to a new schedule, and for many it comes the first time they step on the practice field. For those who enroll early, it's often the first day they show up for offseason conditioning. It's typically far more intense than anything the player has experienced to that point.
"You're thrown into the fire pretty much and you don't really know what you're doing," Michigan State freshman quarterback Katin Houser said. "You kind of run around and you just kind of follow the guy around you. ... That moment, I felt like this is my welcome-to-college-football moment."
Added defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren, a fellow early enrollee with the Spartans, "This is as real as it gets."
But while some freshmen might get overwhelmed by the move to a higher level, or, at the very least take some time to adjust, VanSumeren is relishing the work the Spartans are putting in before spring practice, which is set to begin later next month.
"Oh yeah, I've been having a great time, especially like in the workouts and the lifts," VanSumeren said. "It's been great getting to learn from (strength and conditioning) Coach (Jason) Novak and his staff. They've done a great job, and it's been great working with them every single day. They definitely are going to take every single one of us and our games to the next level with what they have us doing in the weight room."
It's not a surprise VanSumeren is jumping right in when it comes to workouts. As Michigan State's highest-rated player in the 2022 recruiting class, the Essexville Garber graduate has a reputation for getting after it in the weight room.
And now that he's at Michigan State, he's bringing with him the same approach.
"Probably the best advice I've gotten, is just take it day by day," VanSumeren said. "Don't look too far ahead because then you'll overwhelm yourself. Just take it day by day, task by task and dominate that task, whether it's a workout, whether it's a class, whether it's a run, or a position workout. Just focus on that and dominate."
Dominate is what Mel Tucker and his staff were expecting when they landed a player ranked the No. 26 defensive lineman in the country who was once committed to Michigan, and held scholarship offers from most of the nation's top programs, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and Penn State.
At 6-foot-3 and 301 pounds, VanSumeren is more equipped to contribute early than many first-year defensive linemen. But the one-time Michigan commit isn't worried about playing time, at least not yet, which is wise considering Michigan State's depth with the likes of Jacob Slade, Simeon Barrow, Dashaun Mallory and Jalen Hunt all returning in 2022.
"I'm not concerned with stuff down the road right now," VanSumeren said. "I'm just trying to take it day by day, compete every single day, and obviously I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the goal, to get into the rotation. So, yeah, that is what I'm working towards, but I'm not looking too far ahead right now."
Whether he finds his way into the playing group or not will be determined over the next few months, and VanSumeren said a shoulder injury suffered in the fall won't be slowing him down.
"No restrictions," he said. "I've been feeling great for a very long time, so I'm doing good."
He's also looking forward to working with the defensive-line coaches, a group that has seen some change since he arrived on campus. Last month, Tucker hired pass-rush specialist Brandon Jordan and soon after longtime defensive line coach Ron Burton left the program. Assistant Kevin Vickerson is still on staff, while Tucker has yet to name a replacement for Burton.
"Coach Burton is a great man and I wish him nothing but the best," VanSumeren said. "I'm really looking forward to being be able to work Coach Jordan, Coach Vick, and it was going to be great to learn from those two guys. I know they have a lot of knowledge and they've been doing this for a very long time. So they can definitely have a lot of things to teach me and I have a lot of things to learn."
He'll be learning them alongside his brother, Ben, a Michigan State linebacker who transferred before last season from Michigan.
The younger VanSumeren is looking forward to playing with his brother, but that wasn't the reason he chose to become a Spartan.
"To be honest, playing with him, it's great and everything and it's going to be fun," Alex VanSumeren said. "But that didn't really influence my decision at all. My influence was based solely on what I wanted to do, and that was to come to Michigan State."
And now that he's here, VanSumeren hopes he's part of the process of Michigan State building of last season's success, something that he expected all along.
"They had been working on instilling that the whole last offseason, so I kind of expected to see it," VanSumeren said. "They had a great year, but it's time to hit the reset button. It's a new year now and it's time to make even more strides than what they did last year."
