Mark Dantonio Addresses the State of Spartan Football as the Season On the Verge of Starting!

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio this week was in Chicago for the B1G Football media days. The official kickoff each year to another season of college

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio this week was in Chicago for the B1G Football media days. The official kickoff each year to another season of college football. Below are his comments as he opened up about the State of State football to media from literally around the world!

Opening Statement:

We're excited about being here today, the start of the 2015 season. Come a long way since coming here in 2007 with a number of things that we've been able to accomplish with the last four bowl victories and two Big Ten Championships and top five pings and things of that nature. With that being said, I think our focus is to always continue to try to reach higher.

Talked to our players last winter as we got together in winter workouts. And the first thing we talked about was just things that I just mentioned here. But, yet, we fell short of our goals. So with that being said, we need to continue to try and improve where we're at, move it forward. I'll take some questions.

Q. Coach, what are your expectations and hopes for Connor Cook's performance this season?

COACH DANTONIO: Well, same thing. You know, I think that Connor has done a remarkable job, extraordinary job throughout his time. Came on the scene in 2013 and capped off the season with an MVP in the Rose Bowl as a sophomore and then MVP in the Big Ten Championship game as well.

This past season did an outstanding job. Very few times was he sacked, not a lot of interceptions. But there's always room for improvement. I think he's come back with the idea that there are things left to prove. And he's going to continue to take his game to a higher level. And that's exciting because I think that the makeup of our football team, I think, in general is, you know, keep trying to strive forward, keep trying to move the process forward, and be as good as you can possibly be.

So high expectations from our staff and from the general public. Very high expectations. Very high expectations from he himself.

Q. Coach, at other conference media days over the past week or so, coaches from other conferences have indicated that they think that programs other conferences or Notre Dame might have an advantage because they play a different number of conference games. In a playoff era, do you think that conference scheduling or out of conference scheduling is something that should be standardized?

COACH DANTONIO: I think it's probably pretty tough to standardize it, but I think we're all looking for an even playing field as we move forward. In everything, whether it's cost of attendance or scholarship numbers or all these different things, I think we look for a level playing field.

But with that being said, you know, I just play them as they come. You know, really, I mean, these contracts with who we're playing are made up probably four, five, six years in advance. And so I'm trying to focus on what we have to deal with and try to move it from there.

Everybody's got their own program to run. So that's what we'll do with ours.

Q. How has Connor Cook handled all the Heisman hype and expectations heading into his senior year?

COACH DANTONIO: We're going to find out a little bit more of that as we move into the season certainly. But at this point, I think that he has people around him that will ground him on a daily basis, whether it's coaches, whether it's our strength staff, whether it's the people on our football team. So I think all of us need to stay grounded and be able to constantly improve daily.

I know he's working extremely hard day to day with our skill players and things of that nature to try to establish himself, further establish himself. So I think he's done a great job with it. But, you know, these things are decided at the end of the season, not at the beginning. So I think that we've constantly talked about that. He'll do a nice job with it.

Q. Mark, you've talked often about your offensive line. And this could be the best one you've had since you've got to Michigan State. Would you talk about the depth of that line and how good it is being able to go forward?

COACH DANTONIO: Coach Staten, our offensive line coach, has done an outstanding job with those guys. We have built this from the ground up as we've moved forward. Guys like Jack Allen, Jack Conklin, Donavon Clark, they're there now for third year starters. Some of them are maybe a fourth year coming in the future. Brian Allen, Kodi Kieler; those are the five guys. We've got other guys that are making their move.

I anticipate us playing eight guys again much like we have. We've got depth in the offensive line position, which is huge in college football. And I believe that you win up front.

Jim Bollman has done an outstanding job as our tight end coach, and he's an offensive line coach in training for a long time standing. So he gives Coach Staten, you know, bounceback things, you know? Ideas to bounce off of him. So he's involved in that as well.

But I think Mark Staten has done a remarkable job with our guys. They believe in him. They believe in the structure there. It's built on toughness. And if you know football, winning and losing, it all starts up front and it's going to start with our offensive line.

Q. How is RJ Williamson adjusting to the transition to free safety? And how do you expect his play to improve?

COACH DANTONIO: RJ will be going into his fourth year as a player back there. So he knows things as well as our coaches really. I mean, we have him out there in summer camp coaching our high school kids and things of that nature that are in our camps, and he does an outstanding job. He's got displays leadership changes every single year.

Kurtis Drummond was our leader last year in the secondary. That changed. That's a free flowing thing at every position. And I think his opportunities to lead are going to be really what set him apart this year. Very good player. Tough. Goes about 210 pounds, hopefully. I think he's 216 right now. Got great ball skills, a lot of experience; I think we're talented at the safety position and our corner position as well.

I think we've got great players in the back end, guys that are just waiting their opportunities. So it's going to be exciting to watch those guys.

Q. Mark, new defensive coordinator this year, pair of coordinators with Mike Tressel and Harlon Barnett. I'm curious, how have your communications with those two coaches changed this year in terms of preparation for the season in terms of meetings? Has it been different with those coaches in anticipation of the changes coming out?

COACH DANTONIO: We really stayed the course with our defense. Those guys have been in that defense and working together for the last 12 years. Ron Burton is the third guy. Brought Mark Snyder on who was our linebacker coach when I was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

So I feel like we have a lot of experience there. We've got a lot of players coming back. We had some bell cows at every single position. So that's exciting to watch as well.

But we're always going to critique everything that we do. Regardless of whatever year it's been, we critique it. We add some things. We subtract some things. And we try to rebuild a little bit differently or keep a lot of things structurally the same. But we're always trying to look to improve and critique what we've done, and that's been the norm.

As far as those two guys, they have a tremendous amount of respect for both of them, the job that they've done. They've both had opportunities to leave and become coordinators or co coordinators or go into the NFL and those type of things, and they've stayed the course. I think they deserve this opportunity.

This is an opportunity for growth, much like from a defensive coordinator becoming a head coach. There's a lot of growth that has to take place. So the same thing happens when you go from position coach to a coordinator position. I think they've done an outstanding job at that thus far.

And the proof is in what the players say. When I have my player meetings with our players throughout May and June, about a half hour each with 100 plus players, you know, that question gets asked. So they have a great deal of respect for both those coaches, and we're going to be fine, and we're going to pick up exactly where we left off.

Q. Coach, a lot of attention has been paid to people like Connor Cook and Shilique Calhoun returning to campus and not leaving for the NFL. Can you talk about what it means to have a player like Jack Conklin back on the O line this year.

COACH DANTONIO: Jack Conklin is an outstanding player. He is a guy, for everybody out there that came there, as a true walk on and was put on scholarship at midyear. So expectations coming in was to see what he could do. And he has excited us from day one when he stepped on the field. So he's a guy that has not only is a great football player but he has great aspirations and very high goals, not just individual goals but team goals as well.

We ask one of our goals of our football program in general is to be givers, not takers. And Jack Conklin is a giver. There's no question in my mind about that. And he sees the big picture. So it's exciting to have him back as well as our other guys. And, you know, Jack Allen as well is an outstanding player that really is the heart and soul I think of our offensive line. So very excited about those opportunities that they have in front of them both individually and collectively as a group and as a team.

Q. Coach, can you talk about the development of Joey (Josiah) Price at the tight end. Had a breakout year for you last year.

COACH DANTONIO: Price is a guy, you know, 2013, much like our tailback situation, we had no identity at tight end. Dion Sims had left early for the draft. And we had young players.

And our tight ends now really are just like our offensive line, are our strength of our football team. We'll go three or four deep in there, and we'll play a lot of guys. And Jim Bollman coaches those guys, and they've become a big part of our offense in so many different ways.

Josiah is an outstanding blocker. He's an outstanding pass catcher. He's got the ability to go vertical down the field. He's got great hands, great confidence. And, again, he's about giving back to other people. He's a tremendous role model for young people.

Q. Can you talk about the rivalry between Michigan State and Ohio State. And, furthermore, what did you think about Ohio State winning the national championship and what effect that might have on the Big Ten.

COACH DANTONIO: First of all, I think it's a rivalry because for me, because I'm from Ohio, we have so many players from Ohio on our football team. I think 27 last year. So it sort of comes with the territory at Michigan State a little bit. So it is for us a rivalry. I have deep respect for what they've done down there. I was a part of that back in the early 2000s. And I respect that tradition very, very much.

The second question was? Second question? Oh, I see Ohio State. They were very, very much like our 2013 team. A lot of things to overcome as the season presented itself. Challenge after challenge as they moved forward. Losing a football game. Close. Quarterback decisions. All those type of things.

And so every time they got hit with adversity, they met that adversity. And I think they grew stronger and stronger as the course of time went. And ultimately they win the national championship because ultimately they're playing their best football in November. And I think that's what happened. And congratulate them for that. Great coaching job.

Q. Yeah, Mark, could you speak to the buzz of what you guys the way y'all had your bowl victory last year, a big comeback, and also following up on the Ohio State thing, what that did for the league as a whole do you think from a national stature standpoint.

COACH DANTONIO: First of all, the bowl game, our bowl game victory was very, very exciting. It showed that we could be mentally tough and continue to push through tough times and be able to come out on the front end at the end of the game. And I think we just kept playing.

And that was the thing that I remember about that game. Even though we were 20 behind, if we could just get 13 behind, we're back in the game. So that's what we were able to do. And I think the buzz behind that sort of catapulted the whole Big Ten forward based on other things that happened. You know, not only Ohio State's victories in bowl games but a lot of the other teams. I think we were I think we won five bowl games, I believe. So that was very exciting for the league.

As far as the national championship, I've said all along that great football is played in the Big Ten Conference, as it is played in all these other conferences. Great football. There's a lot of parity in college football. Things hang by the inches. When people get hot, great things can happen. And I think you saw that last year by the answer to the question prior to.

Good football team, good players, well coached, a lot of confidence, got hot. You know the rest. But I thought it was an outstanding season for them.

Q. Coach, can you compare your defensive line quality and depth to others you've had at Michigan State and even maybe going back to your time as defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

COACH DANTONIO: Yeah, this is our defensive front is maybe as talented a group as we've had since I've been certainly at Michigan State these last nine years. And I would put it very much on par with the defensive line we had at Ohio State.

You know, 2002 season. So, you know, Shilique Calhoun comes back. He's a guy that did not go to the draft primarily because he wanted to graduate, first in his family to graduate. Would have been a high draft pick, first or second round.

You know, Lawrence Thomas is coming into his own. He can play defensive end or inside of free techniques, 290 pounder plus, depending on which biscuits he eats in the morning.

Joel Heath comes back for his third year as a starter.

And Malik McDowell is a guy that's just scratching the surface in terms of how good he can be. Six-six plus, 310 pounds, and can run and do the things he needs to do.

With that being said, we have guys that can play around back there, in and out of there that can make the situation even better.

Montez Sweat, very exciting player. Demetrius Cooper very exciting player. Got guys on the inside like Damon Knox with a lot of experience. So we go deep too. And should be a strength of our football team.

Ron Burton has done an outstanding job as our defensive line coach, getting those guys ready, and they come to play every single practice and they're pushed. Thanks so much. Go Green! Just want to give a shoutout to all our players coming and currently from the City of Chicago. Go Green!