The last time the Michigan State appeared in the Rose Bowl, current Spartan offensive line coach Mark Staten was a senior in high school and a recruit.

He was in Spartan Stadium when they clinched their spot in the “granddaddy of them all.’

“I was there when they beat Indiana,” Staten said. “I can remember I wanted to be a Spartan. Now I am.”

Staten’ collegiate career took him to Miami of Ohio, where his father was a standout playing for the late Bo Schembechler. The Cincinnati Bengals out of college drafted him, but his National Football League career was cut short by injury.

He turned to coaching. He returned to Miami of Ohio as a graduate assistant and in 2002, headed up the road to Ohio State University where he coached for two years as a graduate assistant along side current Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio.

He was part of the staff when the Buckeyes captured the 2002 National Championship.

When Dantonio headed to Cincinnati in 2004, he brought Staten along with him where he coached tight ends and tackles, as well as served as recruiting coordinator.

He followed Dantonio to East Lansing in 2006 where he remained the tight ends and tackles coach as well as the recruiting coordinator.

Dantonio promoted him to offensive line coach last February.

A youthful offensive line and multiple injuries made his job a difficult one early on, but they jelled as a group and are playing well heading into Saturday night’s title game.

“They grabbed on to the coaching and they started playing for one another,” Staten said. “That’s the biggest thing I think. I have been preaching ‘you are not playing for Mark Staten. You are playing for each other.’ Once they bought into that, they really started playing well.”

While winning the Legends Division was nice, it is just part of the Spartans’ goal for this season.

“At the beginning of the year our goal was to get to Indy (Indianapolis),” he said. “We have achieved that. This is a pretty goal driven group. But that’s just part of our multi-tiered goal. You can’t win the Rose Bowl if you don’t get to Indy and win the Big Ten championship.”

Michigan State has had a season to remember. This is the first time the Spartans have had back-to-back 10 win seasons in school history. That is not lost on Staten, but not because it’s a record — it is because that means the senior class goes out in style.

“These guys bought into what we were telling them when we were recruiting out of trailers,” Staten said. “Playing Saturday night means we get to send the seniors out in style.”

It is also important to Staten he has been able to share the success of the team with family and friends.

“It’s exciting because I get a lot of support from everyone back in Dowagiac. It’s always great to see the Rices (John and Suzy) after a game or Randy (Melvin) and crew. It’s been a lot of run.

“Coming from a smaller community like Dowagiac, it’s neat to be able to share this. I had 14 teammates come to the Indiana game. So it’s not just about me. I am able to share this with so many people.”

One of the people Staten has gotten to share this with a lot is Dowagiac graduate Cody Cox.

“Cody helps me out every game,” Staten said. “He hasn’t been able to get to all the away games, but he charts plays for me and takes notes as I am rambling them off during a series. I then use those comments to talk to the players when they come off the field.

“Cody has been excellent and he’s a great young person.”

Staten and his wife Dana have two sons, Quinn and Maximus.