March is Called the Month of Izzo, but Should Be Called Dantonio’s Time as Well!

March is Called the Month of Izzo, but Should Be Called Dantonio’s Time as Well! The Michigan State football program has been renewed under head coach Mark

March is Called the Month of Izzo, but Should Be Called Dantonio’s Time as Well!

The Michigan State football program has been renewed under head coach Mark Dantonio. Eight straight bowl games, four straight bowl game victories and back to back top five finishes are now the norm. Don’t say that to Dantonio.

He loves the grind of spring. The battle of spring and the effort it takes to be great in the fall is simple. The Spartans effort in spring bears the success or failure of fall. Spring is literally a time that births what next year will be. That is why Dantonio embraces and loves it. Dantonio cherishes it. When he one day leaves coaching Dantonio will miss the teaching time of spring more so than anything. He knows the secrets that great football coaches keep hidden away, you win games in the fall, but the season is won in the spring.

The blue collar head coach doesn’t want anyone to feel entitled because he knows the margin for failure is very small. He wants his team to keep pushing and getting better and that doesn’t come by taking anything for granted.

Dantonio laid out what’s happened since his team last kicked it off in Dallas. “What we've been able to do since our bowl game, since the Cotton Bowl, is obviously hire a new coach, Coach Snyder, revamp things in terms of who is coaching what, different things of that nature, get him on board, critique what we've done.”

He continued, “We've certainly worked extremely hard conditioning our players and gaining strength; player development, physically, player development mentally, as well. And we've trained extremely hard on that.

We've really worked our entire program, including the leadership aspect. I think every time a new season comes around, you've got new leaders that have great years, that have to be able to build a foundation this themselves, as well. So that's been something we've worked on very, very hard.”

So what does the Spartans head man hope to accomplish this spring? It’s simple. “Our goal, in the spring, find the best 11, whether that's the best 11 on punt, kickoff, defense, offense, nickel, different personnel groupings, obviously you want to experiment with positions, player by positions. And also experiment conceptually, as well. Want to go through and maintain our health physically.”

Dantonio is fond of saying the game of football is a game on inches and he is right. Not just on the field, but the 12 inches from the head to the heart. It’s finding the mental attitude necessary to work hard in the off season and keep fighting. His teams have had that as a staple since he arrived and he doesn’t want to lose it.

“I think also our mental health is just as important. You've got to train yourself as champions, you have to expect yourself to do certain things as you move through the process. And it's all part of it. We've got to be able to train mentally, as well. Find the leaders, attack our areas of concern, which we have some, obviously, every football team has those. And reach a little higher as we go. I think we're here to stay. I think that's very important as we move forward here, but continue to reach higher.”

Dantonio does a superior job of reloading. MSU has arrived at a national level now that when college football programs are discussed nationally the Spartans always find a way into the discussion. The Spartans are 16-1 in the Big ten over the last two seasons. That is an astonishing figure, but that is in the past. Dantonio wants this year’s brand of Spartan football to go back to the beginning and find their own identity. If they rest on the past two years, 2015 will be a failure.

“We sort of start at ground zero every year, that's why we take our time to get in spring ball. We want to start at ground zero, see how they're doing, weight, and strength. Critique what we've done, find out are we really playing the best players, based on the season before, critique what we've done, try and work out any issues, kinks, experiment with new things sort of are the goals I've talked about. But we've never been a complacent group of people. 16 1 in the Big 10 the last few years. And go back, we've done some very, very good things. I think we're approaching some very high standards here.”

Just because MSU is now part of the discussion doesn’t make Dantonio happy or content. Like his MSU counterpart Tom Izzo he sees a lot of areas his Spartans need to improve. “There's still room to grow, and I think that's what we're trying to do, continue to grow. We're here to stay. And I think that's something we've got to constantly say to our football team and preach to it, is you're going to be measured on what you do next. And there's basic expectations now from our players who have left, and from I think Spartans in again, that we need to continue to raise our level of play.”

The Spartans enter 2015 in a unique spot. They have yet to bring home a national title, but have done everything else. The margin to improve is so miniscule but the ground they could lose is enormous. That is why the pride of Zanesville, OH., Mark Dantonio, keeps pushing.

What his players know, but most of the fans don’t is that the Spartans head man is driven, hungry and wanting more. He wants the big prize and it starts on the invisible days of spring that most people don’t notice. MSU can’t win a national title over the next 14 remaining practices. But they can lose it. The effort and progress made or lost determine success in the fall.

March is called Izzo time, but based on Dantonio’s track record it’s Dantonio time as well. You just don’t see it until the fall.