Sports Blog
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Nelson guarantee not going to matter — Pistons to win series
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Dantonio hitting recruiting trail hard
When MSU officials handed Mark Dantonio the keys to their football team in late 2006, they knew that in addition to getting a good coach, they’d be getting a terrific recruiter.
Dantonio hitting recruiting trail hard
When MSU officials handed Mark Dantonio the keys to their football team in late 2006, they knew that in addition to getting a good coach, they’d be getting a terrific recruiter.
But not even they could have seen this coming.
After inking an impressive recruiting class this year, Dantonio is bringing the program to new heights in 2009.
He’s already received verbal commitments from six players — five of whom are currently ranked in the Rivals.com Top-250 — with more than nine months to go before signing day. Only USC, LSU, Texas and Ohio State have received more commitments.
For the sake of comparison — and to appease my competitive spirit — it’s also worth noting that Michigan has received three so far.
It’s impossible to gauge whether these recruits will materialize into
good college football players, but simply being mentioned in the same sentence as those powerhouse schools should be enough to enthuse MSU fans.
The catalyst behind Dantonio’s success has been his ability to develop relationships -– or in some cases, mend ties -– with urban schools in cities like Detroit.
He’s gotten high school coaches to endorse MSU, and the effort has paid dividends across the board, as all six of his commits are from different cities in Michigan.
LB Chris Norman is from Detroit, WR Donald Spencer is from Ypsilanti, OL Blake Treadwell (son of offensive coordinator Don Treadwell) is from East Lansing, QB Andrew Maxwell is from Midland, and RBs Edwin Baker and Larry Caper are from Oak Park and Battle Creek, respectively.
Recruiting in-state talent was something that former coach John L. Smith never took seriously enough. Instead of digging through the rubble under his own two feet, he scoured for diamonds in the rough across all 50 states.
He found a few shiny objects, but most of them turned out to be fool’s gold.
Turns out, Smith was the fool.
You can’t win on a national level if you can’t win the recruiting wars in your own state. For years, U-M monopolized the in-state football talent, and past MSU coaches wouldn’t even put up a fight about it.
But that’s all changing.
Only time will tell whether Dantonio’s recruits turn out to be any good, how many more players he’ll snag, and whether his current commitments even sign come February.
But no matter what happens, Dantonio’s proven that he won’t go down without a fight. Hopefully, it’s a lesson his team takes to heart come fall.
Comments
Go Green!
05/02/08 @ 4:22am
I love what Mark Dantonio has done in his short time here at MSU. I sure hope that he is one of those coaches who wants to be a lifer at the school they are currently at. If all works out, I would love the day when he not only secures in-state players, but starts stealing kids from schools like OSU on a consistant basis (or at least I can dream). This past year, the first bowl game in a few years for us. 3 or 4 years from now, a BCS bowl game? I believe!
Plaxico
05/02/08 @ 9:23am
It’s amazing how far the program has come in one short year after the debacle that was John L Smith. This coach is everything that the last coach wasn’t…tough, credible, and a winner. Finally looks like we’re building a program here.
Tim
05/03/08 @ 4:28pm
It’s news to me that Michigan only has 3 commits. Last I saw, they had 7.
GreenGiant
05/03/08 @ 11:25pm
Tim—-only 3 of michigan’s recruits are ranked in the rivals 250. thats what he meant i think.
Do you really know me?
05/05/08 @ 11:13pm
msu will shock the nation