A Look at How the 2010 Recruiting Class Numbers Work Out

Let the speculation begin. How many scholarships will Mark Dantonio have to hand out for the 2010 class? Some have said 16, some 18 and some more. These are

Let the speculation begin. How many scholarships will Mark Dantonio have to hand out for the 2010 class? Some have said 16, some 18 and some more. These are all good numbers, but there are a lot of variables that need to be looked at to make an informed guestimate.

 

Mark Dantonio has several options to use his 2010 available scholarships for. Photo Courtesy of Bill Marklevits

With the Spartans presently sitting at 15 commitments for the 2010 class, people are well aware of other prospects on the radar. Here is a list of ways this class can fill out other than just with the known prospects that are yet uncommitted.

 

Outgoing Transfers/Dismissals

You can look at the sure number of openings and make a guess, but that doesn’t take into account how many MORE players will be dismissed or will leave on their own either by quitting football altogether, transferring, or simply being told you are done at MSU.

 

As of the writing of this article, four scholarships have opened for players who at the start of the season at least had a chance of returning in 2010. With those four scholarships, certainly the number coming available for the 2010 class has grown.

 

Spartan Nation knows of at least two more players who at some time since the season started in August have mentioned transferring. Either could go or not, but it would not be smart to eliminate the potential others who haven’t hinted at it yet either. 

 

There are still lingering potential disciplinary issues hanging that if fully investigated and found to be troublesome could lead to more dismissals. Mark Dantonio has taken the public criticism by making young men in trouble pay a huge price via discipline to get back into the program. Some didn’t think he should. Will he stick to his original plan of second chances or will he take the more publicly called for “Quick dismissal” approach? That remains to be seen, but I, for one, would expect him to have to make it again this off-season.

 

Another thing that you have to take into consideration is young men who have done nothing wrong legally, but simply haven’t worked hard or don’t have the talent to play at this level. Coach Dantonio and the coaches spend a lot of time evaluating players, not just incoming recruits, but young men on the roster. Sometimes they just miss on a player and make a mistake. Sometimes they select a player with a lot of talent, but for whatever reason they don’t work hard at this level or just don’t pan out.

 

Without naming names, there are some young men on this team who simply don’t have the work ethic to get better, and to be frank, have been a huge disappointment. A young man who comes here and works hard that doesn’t pan out has nothing to be worried about. Those men who put the effort required in will get the respect they have earned. 

 

This staff is very honest with their players and will tell them what their playing prospects are. If a young man has done all he can do and loves the game of football, he may very well go somewhere else in search of the elusive playing time.

 

One thing that will make a staff frustrated more than anything else are those that have the talent and the physical attributes and not the heart. Never discount this staff informing them that their days could be numbered. Young men who won’t work hard in the weight room, conditioning, and practice need to be concerned about their future.

 

Incoming Transfers

Spartan Nation is aware of at least one current division one player at a position of need that has contacted Spartan football about the possibility of transferring to MSU. Similar to TE Brian Linthicum who contacted MSU about coming North, others who have been recruited by Dantonio in the past and had MSU close to the top of their list, certainly can look back at MSU if unhappy where they chose. I am certainly not saying if those transfers will happen or not, the coaches will weigh how much time a recruit will have left and whether or not that is more valuable than a new freshman.

 

Junior College

John L. Smith made a living by doing this and MSU WILL NOT go back that route again under Mark Dantonio. He will, however, in trying to balance out classes, look for an immediate impact player who could come in. Each year classes ideally will be freshman only, but like his friend Bob Stoops at OU, Dantonio would go this route if a player could immediately contribute and it would bring a balance to the classes.

 

Coaching Carousel

Everyone knows that the coaching carousel really takes off this time of year. Spartan fans are also very well informed about players that are on the radar already as uncommitted players. With the carousel well on the way, the Spartan staff has an excellent idea of players they wanted that committed to other schools. 

 

Look for the Spartans to take a long hard look at players who are currently committed to other schools should their coach take a new job or be dismissed. Look what they did with Greg Jones. When Minnesota foolishly fired Glen Mason, they swooped in and Greg Jones came to MSU.

 

Any commits based on this scenario would count against the 2010 class, but they are players that some fans may not be thinking about presently.

 

Walk On Scholarships

Coach Dantonio admires greatly what Tom Osbourne did at Nebraska. Not only the toughness angle, but that under his tutelage, Nebraska had the greatest walk on program in college football.

 

Dantonio is not afraid to play walk ons and is not afraid to reward them. I look for at least two of the additionally opened up scholarships to be rewarded to current walk ons D.J. Young and Johnathan Strayhorn. That doesn’t rule out other walk ons who have played, practiced well, and look to be part of the ongoing solution rather than problem as worthy of such a reward either.

 

Dantonio likes the grit and toughness that walk ons display, and he also is enamored with players who have the work ethic to fight their way up the ladder. Blair White is a classic example of the walk on poster boy, and he will certainly look at this group before additional offers are made to freshman outside of what they see as the ideal number.

 

Unforeseen Help

SpartanNation.com once reported how the Spartans could take more recruits than what others were reporting as a “hard” number for a particular past class. What others didn’t know was that a family in a very good financial position had agreed that if the coaches found a proven can’t miss prospect, that they would gray shirt their son.

 

That meant his parents would have paid his way until the next recruiting class in which the Spartans would reward him then. You can never forget the unforeseen things that can go into a class. The Spartans couldn’t land that “can’t miss prospect” so the player took the scholarship, but you never know when those opportunities come to fruition.

 

Final Assessment

So as you can see it is easy for anyone to throw a number out when speaking of how many scholarship the staff will reward to incoming freshman. It also isn’t an exact science. It is fun to watch how the entire thing unfolds each season.

 

After a disappointing season, once the bowl game is over it can seem like an eternity until spring ball. After the bowl, recruiting can be like Christmas to a college football fan. The above scenarios can help you navigate through the recruiting season.  

 

One thing is certain; SpartanNation.com will be there through the entire recruiting season giving you great information.