Go right through for MSU, watch the recruits keep growing....

Go right through for MSU, watch the recruits keep growing....   That's how Mark Dantonio's first full recruiting season at MSU has gone. This staff hasÂ

Go right through for MSU, watch the recruits keep growing.... 

  

That's how Mark Dantonio's first full recruiting season at MSU has gone. This staff has given Spartan fans attitude towards recruiting again after years of JLS going after less heralded JUCO players, failing to make them better and failing to recruit in the Detroit area. JLS pulled in recruits from New Jersey, Kansas, California, North Dakota and Arizona but seemed to ignore his home state, specifically the metro Detroit area. 

  

But fast forward to the 2009 recruiting class. Dantonio and his staff have already landed 14 recruits, with NINE of them coming from Michigan and four from the metro Detroit area. Dantonio has said many times how important it is to recruit Michigan and Detroit but talk is one thing, this staff is actually walking the walk and in doing so they're positioning MSU to be a force for years in the Big Ten. 

  

The football cliche says that the game is won in the trenches, which means the O-line and the D-line are going to have to play a huge role for the team to have success. This staff understands that and as a result have gone out and grabbed one of the best offensive tackles in the country, 2 of the best centers, and a budding guard prospect from right down the street in Lansing. And they may not be done, keep your eye out for possibly one more elite offensive lineman to join this 2009 class. This staff is building depth on the offensive line, something that couldn't really be done with continuous JUCO recruits: Junior College transfers are supposed to be a temporary solution to an immediate problem, not a long term solution. The 2008 class featured 5 offensive linemen and the '09 class already features that many, although one of them may move to DT.   

  

MSU's class for next year is already solid. Adding a kid like TE Dion Simms or LB Jelani Jenkins could make it a top 5 class though. I think this staff still has a few surprises left up their sleeves for the 2009 class but we'll have to wait and see. With camp opening on Sunday we'll finally get a look at the '08 class, although I can tell you now that DB Johnny Adams and DE Tyler Hoover will be on the field for the Spartans on Aug. 30 against Cal. It's just a matter of which one of their fellow classmates shines through too. Because as we all know, a solid 2008 season on the field will mean great things toward recruiting off of it.