CHICAGO -- The plank hold is face down, back straight, arms bent, forearms and toes bearing all the weight – a sadistic little test of will.
At Michigan State in the heat of off-season conditioning, plank holds are among the "finishers" of head strength coach Ken Mannie's sessions. And when Connor Cook noticed some teammates who shall remain nameless dropping to their knees too early at the end of one of those sessions, he did what you might expect a fifth-year senior and third-year starting quarterback would do.
It's just that it's not something the Spartans have come to expect Cook to do.