Chris Norman Was A Leader, Long Before A Captain!

Chris Norman enters his senior season at Michigan State hoping to punch a ticket to Pasadena this holiday season. Norman has been on the field playing for the Spartans getting meaningful snaps from the beginning. Arguably, Norman is MSU’s best coverage linebacker often negating underneath routes for the Spartans on passing downs and he wraps up and tackles well in run support.

This season, Norman will be supporting his Spartans from a position of leadership. Elected captain by his teammates, Norman leads by example at the same time providing a voice as the lone senior of the group. You get the idea that Chris is comfortable in his role as a captain largely because he is comfortable being exactly who he is… the consummate teammate.

Chris shared with us how special the captain’s role is to him and the sense of responsibility that comes with the job. “The biggest thing is sacrifice. I want to give myself to my teammates. That’s why when you get in a position like this, that’s something you have to do.”

Norman is always humble and makes himself available. He doesn’t receive the hype that others get on the Spartan defense largely because he plays his role and does it extremely well within the MSU scheme. Norman isn’t constantly blitzing off the edge like Denicos Allen. He doesn’t roam the middle like Max. What Norman does as well as anyone on the Spartan defense is do his job with a blue collar mentality celebrating the team’s success rather than his own. It is easy to like Chris Norman. It is easy to understand why he was selected to help lead this Spartan team.

Norman was asked about those that manned a captain’s position before him. He immediately cited former three-time captain Kirk Cousins. “You have to be selfless, especially when I think of a guy like Kirk (Cousins). Like I said earlier, he gave so much of himself to the team. He gave us effort. He gave his hard work. He was doing stuff when nobody else was looking. He was always there. I learned a lot from him.”

With so many stars on the MSU defense, you get the idea that Norman is more than happy to lead this team setting the tone with a team-first mentality. You’ll probably never see Norman peaking at a stat sheet riding the highs and lows of his own performance. As long as MSU wins and does it with hard work and a family first attitude, Norman will be happy.

Norman knows that a captain’s job extends beyond the football field. He spoke about this with the maturity of a man much older than he.  “Now you’re in a position to influence people. That can last for a really long time. It is going to outlast football. I think it is a really big opportunity that has to be treated correctly.”  This is what Spartan Football is all about. It is about boys becoming men, better citizens, and true leaders that look for opportunities to make those around them better people. Chris Norman is an example of these qualities. We proudly call Chris one of ours. Chris Norman is one helluva Spartan!!