Article: Friends in high places; Jeff Smoker spent his summer vacation befriending Charles Rogers. The special bond they now share figures to pay big dividends for Michigan State this season.

Jeff Smoker's people skills are about to pay off.

Michigan State should begin reaping the rewards Saturday afternoon, when the Spartans open the season at home as 37-point favorites against Eastern Michigan.

Smoker's physical skills are legendary. They have helped the 6-3, 214-pound junior from Manheim become one of the best college quarterbacks in the country.

But his people skills, though perhaps every bit as impressive as his skills with a football, are more subtle.

His parents are well aware of them, of course. They raised him, and he turned out pretty much the way they hoped he would.

At the press conference 1when Smoker announced which college had won the rights to his services, his ...

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