Dantonio out to prove he’s a problem-solver
If Mark Dantonio is gritting his teeth, blame intense determination, not his reputation for scowling.
Dantonio enters his 11th season as Michigan State’s head football coach set on proving that 2016 was an anomaly for the Spartans in what had otherwise been a near-decade of success under him.
“I think you find greatness because of what you’ve endured,” Dantonio said.
Michigan State is coming off a 3-9 season and subsequent months of the program being tarnished by players’ off-field legal troubles.
All the negativity has left the Spartans to now be widely considered the fourth-best team in the Big Ten East division, behind Ohio State, Michigan and defending league champion Penn State.
Just two years ago, Dantonio produced a Big Ten championship, a College Football Playoff berth and a 12-2 record for Michigan State.
And when the Spartans won their first two games in 2016, they moved up to No. 8 in the national polls, and they were riding a wave of 42 victories in a span of 47 games.
However, Michigan State proceeded to lose nine of its last 10 games, despite leading in all the defeats, including a 17-16 loss to Ohio State.
The Spartans’ 1-8 mark in Big Ten play and their worst overall record in 34 years were followed by offseason scandals.
In January, Michigan State was rocked by an allegation of a sexual assault, and five months later, arrest warrants were issued for players Donnie Corley, Josh King and Demetric Vance. They were then dismissed from the team by the university.
Before those dismissals, a Title IX investigation led to Michigan State defensive lineman Auston Robertson being removed from the team on April 21 because of a separate incident. Robertson faces two charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Michigan State officials voiced public support for Dantonio earlier this year, and no one is questioning his job security. He’s 90-42 at Michigan State with three Big Ten championships, and since 2013, the Spartans have won the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl.
Still, the past year left Dantonio at the Big Ten media days in July vowing positive changes, just as he did when he took over in 2007 after Michigan State had suffered three-straight losing seasons.
“I hope we understand nothing is given to us,” said Dantonio, a former OSU defensive coordinator who grew up in Zanesville.
One certainty is inexperience. Michigan State has lost 12 players to dismissal, transfer or the NFL since last season ended. The Spartans have 35 first-year players and only 12 seniors heading into Saturday’s season opener at home against Bowling Green.
“Sometimes you’re measured a little bit by how you handle the problems, not just in all the good times,” Dantonio said. “We’ve had some good times, and those are easy to stand up there and sing the fight song and put a hat on.
“(It is) not as easy when you are going through these type of things. But at the end of the day, that’s why I was hired. I was hired to solve problems, and that’s what we’re going to do.”