Fortener comfortable in secondary

It’s not the way any athlete wants to get on the field.

But when a teammate goes down with an injury and is unable to perform, it provides an opportunity for someone else to step in and prove to teammates, coaches and fans that all is not lost.

So far, junior free safety Danny Fortener has been proving his worth and then some.

“That’s what I have to prove,” said Fortener, who has been the starting free safety on the MSU football team since senior Kendell Davis-Clark separated his shoulder in the season-opener against California.

“(I have to) make some plays and show the coaches that I should be out there, that I can be out there.”

“Kendell’s a great player and you hate to see him go down like that, but I have to step up so the coaches can sleep at night.”

If MSU’s coaches have had any trouble sleeping this season, it hasn’t been because they’re worried about Fortener. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound junior has evolved from a mere fill-in to a playmaker on MSU’s defense. He’s broken up two passes, recovered a fumble, and ranks third on the team with 23 tackles.

Fortener entered the season listed as the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart behind junior Roderick Jenrette.

When Jenrette took an indefinite leave of absence from the team in August, it was natural to think Fortener would slide into the starting role.

Instead, Davis-Clark was moved from starting cornerback to starting free safety, leaving Fortener entrenched as the backup.

When Fortener was finally thrusted into the starting role, some may have doubted he could handle it. Senior safety Otis Wiley wasn’t one of those people.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Wiley said of Fortener’s play. “He knows the defense — he’s been in it since he’s been here — and he has the confidence and he has the strength and speed to be a great safety.”

Even after injuring his shoulder in the second quarter against Cal, Davis-Clark continued to play. Although Fortener made five tackles in limited playing time against the Golden Bears, he said he wasn’t comfortable on the field until the second game of the season against Eastern Michigan.

His comfort level grew through the Florida Atlantic game and into last weekend against Notre Dame, when Fortener had a key pass breakup near the endzone in the third quarter and another pass breakup on Notre Dame’s last play of the game.

“He’s been very, very good and he’s playing at a very high level right now,” MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said.

“We knew coming into the season that we thought we had three or four safeties that could play at a high level and he’s certainly one of them and has done a great job.”

Fortener doesn’t know what will happen when Davis-Clark’s shoulder heals, saying, “That’s up to the coaches.” He’s just focusing on making the most of his current starting role.

“I was just out there having fun,” Fortener said of the games he started.

“That’s what my parents and all my friends say, so I just have to go out there and have fun.”

Published on Thursday, September 25, 2008