Don't Doubt Dantonio; Recruiting Is the Foundation

As Michigan State builds for the future of its football program, ups and downs are unavoidable. This season has been particularly painful for fans who were

As Michigan State builds for the future of its football program, ups and downs are unavoidable.

This season has been particularly painful for fans who were expecting the program to build on its two-year streak of success, going 7-6 and 9-4 in Coach Mark Dantonio’s first two years. Last year was particularly exciting for long-suffering Spartan fans, with the Green and White compiling a 9-3 regular season record, including a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten, good for second place, not to mention a program shifting victory in Ann Arbor.

But after losing to Central Michigan earlier this season, doom and gloom has been hovering over the program. It shouldn’t. Even with an unacceptable loss to an outstanding MAC team, this program is in strong shape, and you don’t need to look any further than a depth chart and recent recruiting history riddled with young talent making a contribution to a rebuilding Spartan squad.

No fewer than 16 players from Dantonio’s first three classes have become important contributors to this football team. And a few more have chimed in from time to time, players like Chris D. Rucker (class of 2007), Garrett Celek (2007), Johnny Adams (2008) and true freshman Chris Norman (2009), among others, solidifying the Spartan’s depth and practice squads.

When it comes to major contributors, though, Dantonio had the vision to see a diamond in the rough with quarterback Kirk Cousins (2007), an outstanding football player and even better human being. The sophomore captain has displayed an enormous amount of leadership in his couple of years on campus and has weathered the storm of a two-quarterback system with aplomb.

On defense, Cousins counterpart is the magnificent Greg Jones (2007), a once-a-decade kind of player who stepped into the role of starting linebacker as a true freshman and has been making waves ever since. Jones, a captain himself, was not as heavily recruited as some other prospects coming out of high school, but his impact on the defensive side of the football for MSU has been a huge contributing factor to the Spartan’s first two years of success under Dantonio.

But those two names are just the tip of the iceberg, the players on the marquee who get the attention afforded to high profile positions and success in the stat column. More important have been the contributors recruited by Dantonio who have made a less-heralded, but no less important, impact.

Perhaps the biggest surprise this season has been the play of redshirt freshman Jerel Worthy (2008). Paired with another Dantonio recruit, three-year starter Oren Wilson (who played as a true freshman, mind you) Worthy has brought some stability and a bit of hope to a beleaguered MSU D-line. While searching for the right players, Dantonio has shuffled players in and out of the D-line depth chart, looking for massive monsters to stop the run or undersized playmakers with motors that just won’t quit. Many faces have appeared and disappeared from the middle of the D-line, but now that Worthy has found his legs, it appears the Spartans have found another star from a bit of hard work on the recruiting trails. In fact, 2008 appears to be the year of the D-line for Dantonio and staff, having recruited and now utilizing players such as Tyler Hoover (DE) and David Rolf (DE) in addition to Worthy.

Also from 2008, Keshawn Martin was the find-of-the-year. The playmaking WR and kick returner was largely passed up on the recruiting trail by most experts, save for those on the Spartan staff. They said at the time that they were lucky to spot and land Martin, and with his ability to bust long runs, catch bombs and squirt free for huge gains on returns, the Spartans have added an important weapon to their arsenal.

And last season has been the best yet in terms of recruits providing invaluable immediate talent to this program. Running Backs Larry Caper and Edwin Baker spoke of alternating as Spartans throughout their career. They didn’t need to wait; both have beaten out a depth chart full of talented RBs and now they share the pigskin on Saturdays, living tributes to the job Dantonio and staff have done changing the recruiting culture of this program. Again, both players are just as solid off the field as they are on. Both say the right things, both are eager to contribute despite their youth, and both have an intensity and drive that seeps into the program, creating not only great individual performances but contributing to the championship ethos this program is striving to manifest every day.

When the going gets tough, the tough don’t jump ship. Dantonio has instilled an atmosphere of toughness and perseverance in the MSU football program, and recruiting the right kind of players has been a big reason for his success so far. Sure, this season has not been as rosy as the first two, especially with roses on the minds of Spartan faithful after such a strong season last year. But despite the backslide, the fundamentals are strong, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the culture of recruiting at Michigan State. And when William Gholston gets on campus next year, trust me when I say the good times are just getting started.