Dantonio seeks to restore team glory

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Tweet Chicago — First-year head football coach Mark Dantonio wants to bring respect back to the MSU football program. And he said it starts with the first play of the first game of the season.

"There's going to be growing pains as we move forward - I understand that," Dantonio said Tuesday at the Big Ten media conference at Chicago's Hyatt Regency. "But we need to play with three things: great effort, great toughness and we need to know what to do, and we need to do those fast."

Last season, MSU finished tied for the last spot in the Big Ten Conference at 1-7 under coach John L. Smith, but the team is taking on a new attitude this year.

"Our attitude at MSU right now is, 'We will measure up,'" Dantonio said. "I believe we need to win back the respect of our fans at this point. It will be about how we handle adversity in adverse situations."

His indicator of how well the team measures up will be how it competes with preseason Big Ten favorite Michigan.

"We compete with them daily, whether it's recruiting - whatever it is - whether it's a guy on the street - that's a natural thing," Dantonio said. "I know quite frankly … if we can play with Michigan, we can play with anybody."

The football team will see a considerable amount of roster restructuring, as Dantonio has promised players would have to compete for their positions and some starters will not be returning.

Brian Hoyer, a junior who replaces Drew Stanton at starting quarterback, already has started showing strong potential, Dantonio said.

Throughout the spring, Hoyer has demonstrated a great feel at the line of scrimmage and a presence in the huddle, Dantonio said. He also has shown his strong arm, good decision making down the field and an ability to escape tacklers.

Last season, Hoyer completed 82 of 144 passes for 863 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. When Stanton was out with a concussion, he recorded his first career start against Penn State in the last game of the season.

Expect new faces in another position - wide receiver. The trio of Matt Trannon, Kerry Reed and Jerramy Scott - who combined for 376 career receptions, 4,685 yards and 28 touchdowns - have graduated.

"We have guys that can play that position, but we'll see how it all shakes out," Dantonio said. "One thing I've tried to do since coming in here is allow there to be a level playing field, everybody having to play for positions."

Terry Love, a senior who had 18 receptions for 234 yards last season, is the likely starter. Sophomore T.J. Williams, who ranked fourth on the team in receptions last year, also is a candidate.

At running back, the Spartans will have a one-two punch of speedy junior Javon Ringer and the powerful 6-foot, 260-pound senior Jehuu Caulcrick.

On the other side of the ball, Dantonio said he will not accept softness from his defense.

"Where I've been, where I've come from we've played well on defense, and I expect that to continue," he said. "We have an outstanding defensive coordinator, and our players believe in what we're doing right now."

Jon Schultz can be reached at schul320@msu.edu.

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