Dantonio Quietly Building; Stays Usual Course

You'll have to excuse Mark Dantonio if he shys away from the spotlight; it's just not his style. He prefers the calm and quiet and that's just how he's building Michigan State. While you won't find Dantonio as a regular on the front pages or on national magazine covers he is making waves to be noticed. Dantonio has silently built MSU's best football recruiting class in recent memory and it is expected to expand. The 2016 class is heading for a consensus top ten finish with a chance to crack the top five; up there with the likes of Alabama and Ohio State. It's new territory for the Spartans, but do not expect the new position to be fumbled. Nor can it be labeled as a fluke.

First things first, Dantonio knows what he is doing when it comes to selling Michigan State as the place elite athletes want to spent their next four years. With 53 victories in the past five years, two Big Ten titles, four straight bowl victories which include wins over Georgia, TCU, Stanford in the Rose Bowl and Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, and two straight top five finishes, Dantonio has amassed the winningest five year stretch in school history. The program sells itself at home, nationally, and in the region. Michigan State for the first time in a long time is competing for recruits with Alabama and is luring Ohio natives away from Ohio State. With Dantonio selling winning and results the five-star highly touted recruits are signing at an ever faster pace. While this may be new territory for the Spartans, Dantonio handles it with a confident business like swagger that sets Michigan State apart. Dantonio has a long history of recruiting players with chips on their shoulders, ones who have been spurned by the big names or whose talents have undervalued. With five stars wanting to play for MSU, Dantonio has had to be cautious with who he offers scholarships. 

Dantonio and his staff have developed the three stars such as Kirk Cousins, and Le'veon Bell into five stars and they now have the chance to develop the five stars into their full potential. Dantonio has gone about recruiting the way he always has. He goes after the guys with character, the ones who have the chips on their shoulder, and want to prove something on a national stage. It's no different with the new five stars. Just as you won't find Dantonio out in the news for some crazy antics, you won't find any of these recruits creating waves that have negative impacts on the program. This is a reflection of the kind of program Dantonio has been trying to build since his beginning with Michigan State. Dantonio knows how to build and his plan is starting to come to full fruition. He has repeatedly said he is trying to bring Michigan State into national prominence and he has done it his way. There is no flashy touting of tradition or the best facilities, the one thing he sells is results. The program again speaks for itself. 

There are no signs that Dantonio is slowing dow either. A common question often raised is how the SPartans will fare without defensive coordinator and now Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi. Again, Dantonio knows exactly what he is doing. If the prgram was to fall into dismay and be battered without it's defensive captain, Dantonio could've easily gone to the athletic department and asked for money. He has earned the right and proved his football smarts and leaderships over and over again. If Narduzzi leaving would be detrimental, Dantonio would not have allowed him to leave. If Dantonio is not worried, Spartan fans should not be as well. This again speaks to Dantonio's program. Promotion within is a sustainable way to insure success for the future and Dantonio is going along as planned. Any notion that the Spartans will crumble or fall is laughable and can be countered by where the program stands currently. It will continue to go up as long as Dantonio goes about his business as he always does; building quietly on the foundation he set long ago.