This could go in one of two ways. Michigan State could fall behind in the Big Ten East arms race against Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, who swept the Spartans for the first time since John L. Smith’s last season in ’06. Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh and James Franklin aren’t slowing down on the recruiting path either.Or, the Spartans could tap back into that chip-on-the-shoulder mentality with which Dantonio first rebuilt this program.
Source: Sporting News
After just one season of varsity football, Davion Williams drew scholarship offers from more than a dozen universities, including Michigan State. So, the 2018 three-star cornerback from Belleville High School participated in the Spartans’ invite-only camp in June and committed to Michigan State before even leaving East Lansing. For all the twists and turns that come in recruiting, securing a verbal pledge from Williams was a clean process for coach Mark Dantonio.
Source: MLive.com
“I think the first day of practice, everybody comes out here and puts their best foot forward, as we always do,” Dantonio said. “A lot of retention, as there always is. But [it’s] tough to judge people when you’re in shorts and things of that nature. I thought we did a lot of things out there, and we came back healthy.”
Source: Land of 10
Take a glance at the various predictions you can find this time of year and very few will mention Michigan State as a team that has what it takes to win the Big Ten – or even the East Division, for that matter. Actually, scratch that. Nowhere is Michigan State mentioned as a team to beat in one of the toughest divisions in college football. It’s not a shock.
Source: Detroit News
Four games. That’s the extent of Brian Lewerke’s college football resume. Despite the limited experience, the Michigan State redshirt sophomore quarterback continues to draw lofty praise from his head coach. “Brian Lewerke really compares very favorably with Kirk Cousins in a lot of ways, and really Connor Cook,” Mark Dantonio said on Monday during Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
Source: MLive
In one year new coach Mark Dantonio reignited MSU football and its biggest rivalry Despite coming off of a 3-9 season, Michigan State is in a much different position than the program was 10 years ago. At this time in 2007, Mark Dantonio had just been named the team’s head coach and was preparing for his first season.
Source: The Only Colors
“His toughness aspect has got to come,” Dantonio said on Monday at Big Ten media days. “You can’t be a wideout, mentality-wise. He has a skill set that is up here. So when you have that kind of skillset, everything needs to come with you to be a complete player.”
Source: MLive
Dantonio has repeatedly described last season in the same way, as an anomaly. And, there is evidence to back him up. In 2007 he took over a program coming off three straight losing seasons and has posted a combined record of 90-42. He has had just two losing seasons in that time, a trio of Big Ten titles, a Rose Bowl victory and went 36-5 in the three years combined prior to last.
Source: MLive
Big Ten Media Days are complete and Michigan State is just five days away from opening fall camp. The Spartans and coach Mark Dantonio are in a much different position than a year ago when they were coming off a Big Ten title and trip to the College Football Playoff. They’re now looking to rebound from a 3-9 record and tumultuous offseason in which four players were kicked off the team and are facing criminal sexual conduct charges.
Source: MLive
“Everybody wants to write their own ending to their own story,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re able to or not, but everybody wants to. My focus when I came here was that I wanted to re-establish Michigan State football, leave a legacy and leave it in a good place. That’s what I wanted to do and that’s my intent and that’s what I’ll do.”
Source: MLive
An updated 2017 roster released by the school on Monday lists only 11 seniors. That’s the smallest senior class in Mark Dantonio’s 11 seasons at Michigan State.
Source: MLive
“We don’t want a team with five leaders talking,” Frey said. “We want a team where nobody is afraid to stand up and say their mind. We want everybody to have their own voice and speak their own mind.” MSU is trying to fix a mind-set.“We are working on bringing back the Spartan Dawg mentality,” Frey said. “There has been a lot of people who have talked recently. There have been freshmen who stand up and say something.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
After the 2016 season, a class of 14 players looked like the maximum. Then came the mass exodus of players with remaining eligibility, either by dismissal, transfer or early departure to the NFL. The room in Michigan State’s 2018 class continued to grow. Now that the Spartans’ current roster looks set, Dantonio comfortably projected that the 2018 class will “probably be around 20 or 21” players when National Signing Day comes around.
Source: Land of 10
There were no promises coming from Mark Dantonio on Monday, no guarantees about what might transpire over the next few months. The Michigan State coach took the podium at Big Ten media days ready to deal with plenty of questions, and few were about the wild success he has brought to East Lansing since taking over in 2007. Instead, the focus during nearly two hours of questioning was about a dismal 3-9 record in 2016 and the miserable offseason that followed.
Source: Detroit News
While the 2016 season was his worst, this isn’t the first time Dantonio has had to rebuild the program on the fly amid shaky play and off-the-field issues. In 2009, Michigan State finished a game below .500 and Dantonio suspended nine players for their participation in an on-campus brawl. The next two seasons the Spartans won 11 games each.
Source: The Only Colors
For nearly a decade, the Spartans were the pie in the face of conventional thought, the little green engine that couldn’t, surely. And did. And did. And did. And did. And did. But now? Now the Big Ten’s plucky Rodney Dangerfields are the league’s biggest stinking enigma. Wobbles happen. Twelve wins and a league title in 2015 to nine losses and chaos last fall was Wile E. Coyote wobbling off a cliff.
Source: Land of 10
Dantonio’s on the hot seat for good reason this year. After compiling a plethora of great victories in the past couple of years, he failed to produce a victory in the biggest of games this past season. The Spartans seem to have found their quarterback for this season in Brian Lewerke, a player who Dantonio said was the clear starter at the beginning of the off-season. Dantonio will have his team ready to outperform the bizarre 2016 campaign.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Phil Steele says Dantonio is one of 13 FBS coaches on the hot season: “Coming off a playoff berth and five double-digit-win seasons the previous six years, Dantonio rated about a zero on my hot seat list last season. Michigan State stumbled to 3-9 last year, and this offseason, multiple Spartans players have been charged with sexual assault. His inclusion on this list will surprise many, but keep an eye on what happens during 2017, and don’t be surprised if there’s a change at the end of the year.”
Source: Detroit News