Michigan State will be tougher under Dantonio
Published 7:34 pm Wednesday, August 8, 2007
By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – One thing is for sure, the Michigan State Spartans are going to be a team this season.
They will also be tougher.
Michigan State coaches and players met with the media on Tuesday to discuss their feelings on the upcoming season.
First year head coach Mark Dantonio said that after four days of getting back into the football mode, that the team would strap it up and "see exactly who can play…"
"We will do a lot of live work and probably have one, two full scrimmages and come back with a rehearsal-type scrimmage which won't be as thorough as a full scrimmage, but a rehearsal type," Dantonio said.
Dantonio said that there is a list of 17 things that the Spartans must do to be successful.
At the top of the list is putting the team first. The second thing is to share. He wants his younger players and older players to communicate to better help make sure everyone is on the same page.
He also wants his team to be focused and pay attention to details.
He also believes that the team should elect its captains. The coaches will have one vote and he will have a vote, but the selection will be up to the players.
"I believe that your captains have to be elected from within," he said. "But I also feel like our captains have to prove themselves and the time to prove themselves is through summer camp. So we give them opportunities throughout camp to speak to our players in different formats and allow them to go in front of our players and speak and carry themselves as a leader."
Dantonio was asked if his staff, which includes former Dowagiac and Miami of Ohio standout Mark Staten, would be laying the foundation of what they are trying to accomplish during the opening days of preseason drills.
The former University of Cincinnati head coach said that they would always be doing that.
"I think certainly we tried to do that when we first got here and went into workouts in spring practice, but we're heading towards games now," he said. "I think it's important to be consistent, and just because we're coming toward games does not mean that we're going to take an eye off the discipline that's going to need to get done here or the way that we're going to do things. There's going to be consequences when we don't get things done where we can do them, where we have choices."
The Spartans found out in a hurry that it won't be business as usual with Dantonio and his staff. They found out they are going to have to work to be successful.
"I think Ken Mannie does a great job doing that. We're certainly prompted by what we expect. You know, there's no easy road to success. I think you have to work and you have to understand there's a work ethic there, and anything really worth its salt, I would think, comes after a long amount of work, success, failure, et cetera. You know, that's what we try and teach our guys," Dantonio commented.
Those who don't live up to the expectations of the program will be "weeded out."
"Well, the winning number is 17, okay," Dantonio said. "Pull the weeds. It's a privilege to be here, it's not a right to be here. Our guys need to understand that. They need to understand that. So when I say pull the weeds, it's basically not separating the strong from the weak, it's separating the people that really don't respect what we're trying to do, our workplace, or are going in a more individualistic way.
"I hope we don't have to do that," he continued. "We have to, I guess, try to send some messages, but we have not done that as a whole, cut somebody off like that completely, and I don't want to do that. I want everyone to be included."
Dantonio and his staff will have their work cut out for them as they switch from a spread formation into a "smash-mouth" offense.
He doesn't think it will be an issue.
"Well, I think that first of all, offenses everywhere across America – they have a certain aspect of spread offense in their philosophy, which we do, as well," he said. "So there is that in every single offense. If you look across the board, there is that spread in there. There's also that aspect that Northwestern brings to the table where they're running from the gun, and they're running certain gap plays with that. So there's that, also.
"I think what we have to try and sort of set into motion is more of a power-running game, as well, because that will just complement the entire offense. It doesn't mean we're going to be aweless over here. I do think it's important – football is a tough game. The guys that I've worked for, the Earl Bruces of the world and Jim Young, at a young age I'm talking about, it's a tough game. They've taught me that."
The Spartan staff has had to evaluate all the personnel and replace some talented players who graduated.
The biggest of those is quarterback, where Brian Hoyer is poised to replace standout Drew Stanton.
Dantonio said he has been impressed with Hoyer from the beginning.
"I think Brian came in with a great spring the very first day, and throughout winter conditioning and then spring practice, he's got – a lot of these questions I continue to answer the same way," Dantonio said. "He's got a presence in the huddle. He's very confident in the huddle. He's got a quiet leadership about him. He's not afraid to say something to people. He's got a great grasp of the offense. He's intelligent. He makes good decisions at the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. He's got a strong arm. He's got enough mobility to get out of problems. He's got experience from this past season, so he's been in games and he's thrown the ball numerous times.
"So I think all those things are very, very positive. If you had to rank where my biggest concerns would be as a football team, it would not be at quarterback, not at the starting quarterback. My biggest concern would probably be the back-up situation at quarterback and how that's going to play out. But it's not in terms of who is the starting quarterback. I think he's solid."
The Spartans will kick off the Dantonio era at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 1 when it hosts the University of Alabama-Birmingham.