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Saban vs. Dantonio II Set for Dallas
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Saban vs Dantonio II Set for Dallas
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - When Michigan State trudged down the field for Saturday night's instantly-historic, 22-play touchdown drive to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game, there was a noteworthy, interested observer watching closely, on a television set, during transit somewhere between Atlanta and Tuscaloosa: Mr. Nick Saban.
"I got to see that 22-play drive last night, and it was pretty awesome," Saban said, during Sunday night's Cotton Bowl teleconference, featuring the two head coaches who will square off in the College Football Playoff on Dec. 31 in Dallas.
"I was rooting for the Spartans after being there for 10 years myself and rooting for my former assistant Mark (Dantonio)," said Saban, Alabama's head coach. "And glad they came out on top."
Because of that victory, No. 3-ranked Michigan State (12-1) will face No. 2 Alabama (12-1) in the CFP semifinals on Dec. 31.
No. 1 Clemson (13-0) will play No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) in the other semifinal.
Those match-ups were announced on Sunday.
The winners will face one another in the National Championship Game, on Monday, Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz.
Saban, during his coaching debut at Michigan State in 1995.
Saban served as head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99, leaving prior to the Spartans' Citrus Bowl game in December of 1999 for the head coaching job at LSU.
Saban worked as defensive coordinator forGeorge Perles from 1983-87, constituting his first five years of experience in East Lansing.
When Saban became head coach at Michigan State in 1995, he hired Dantonio to be his defensive backs coach. Dantonio held that post until he left MSU following the 2000 season to become defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
Sunday's teleconference served as a reunion of sorts for the two men, who are similar personality types in terms of their laser-sharp organizational skills and dead seriousness about football. On a personal level, they are different. Dantonio is a calm, listening-ear type of hugger, a giver who motivates by showing players and subordinates he cares. The bombastic Saban motivates as a tyrant, telling players that he'll treat them like men if and when they act like men. Both have been wildly successful.
Saban has won four National Championships at tail-wags-dog Southeastern Conference football factories. Dantonio has won at previously-underachieving Michigan State, a program Saban said on his way out the door "would always be number two" to in-state rival Michigan.
Saban offered Dantonio and all of his MSU assistant coaches jobs at LSU in December of 1999, if they wanted to come with him. None of them did. LSU's charter plane that was scheduled to bring his MSU assistants to Baton Route left the Lansing airport with nothing but pilots and empty passenger seats.
Saban during his last press briefing at MSU, after announcing his departure.
Saban came down with a case of cold feet and called MSU officials during a flight from Lansing to Baton Rouge, inquiring if he could get his MSU job back, shortly after accepting the LSU post. But the door had been closed. Saban landed in LSU and went on to win without his former staff members. But he left bruised feelings behind him in East Lansing.
Dantonio has done well, too. And Dantonio has remained respectful of Saban, restating during Sunday's teleconference that he wouldn't be where he is without Saban.
"The relationship between he and I is one to me as a mentor," Dantonio said. "He's a guy that I've called on occasion when I could help or when he could help me in any way. And I have great respect for him and his family and what he's been able to accomplish."
A Rising Tide
Dantonio is 87-32 in nine seasons at Michigan State. This year, Dantonio became the first coach in Big Ten history to win at least 11 games in five of six seasons. Dantonio is 38-4 in his last 42 games, including six straight post-season wins. He is 7-1 in his last eight games against Top 10 teams.
Saban, during his introductory press conference at LSU, later that day.
Michigan State had failed to earn a bowl bid in five of the previous seven seasons prior to Dantonio's hiring. Dantonio has engineered one of the greatest turnarounds college football has seen in the past 30 years. A National Championship would cement his place in not only MSU history, but college football history.
This year's Cotton Bowl will mark the second time Saban has coached against Dantonio. The two met in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, with Saban's defending National Champions defeating MSU 49-7.
Saban has faced former assistants several times, including last weekends SEC Championship Game against former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, who is now head coach at Florida. But Saban has never faced a former assistant who is as accomplished as Dantonio is now.
"It always makes me proud and happy for the guys that did a great job for us when they were part of our staff and they go on and move on and have success other places," Saban said.
Saban was 34-24-1 in five seasons at Michigan State. He was 0-3 in bowl games, losing by 19, 38 and 28 points in his three postseason appearances as MSU's head coach in the Independence Bowl, Sun Bowl and Aloha Bowl to LSU, Stanford and Washington.
Saban was asked on Sunday evening if Dantonio's level of success could have been attained in East Lansing when Saban was head coach.
"Well, when I was there, it was a difficult time for Michigan State," Saban said. "I took the job and we were on probation and didn't really have the number of scholarships until the last year we were there. And we certainly had a good team that year. Probably not as good as Mark's teams have been the last couple three years.
"But I think he's done a phenomenal job there, and I think as well as anybody could be expected to win the Big Ten championships that he's won. And to have the kind of consistency and performance they've had over the last few years is pretty phenomenal, but not surprising to me. So I think, you know, Mark has exceeded expectations of all of us in terms of what he's done at Michigan State and certainly done a better job than I ever did there. I can tell you that."
Brutally Effective
Saban's Alabama team was brutally effective against Michigan State in 2011. Saban even seemed to attempt to keep the score down with inside running plays in the fourth quarter.
Saban, at bowl practice prior to the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Michigan State.
"I'm not the kind of guy that has to dislike my opponent to play well against him," Saban said. "Sometimes respect is a better word. And when you know somebody is a really good coach and has done a great job for you, it's really easy to respect them. And that's certainly the case in this game."
The two coaches heard each others' voices over the phone during Sunday's teleconference. Although they are friends, they aren't ones to reach out and touch each other with frequent phone calls.
Following the teleconference, Dantonio was asked by local media whether it's a bit of a trip to hear his old boss's grumpy voice on the other end of a telephone.
"Oh, yeah, it takes me back," Dantonio said with a laugh. "I was Nick's secondary coach for five years, so I learned a tremendous amount of football: Organization, preparation. So much of what we do in terms of preparation - in terms of technique and terminology and my mindset as a football coach - has been shaped by the people I've worked for. Certainly Jim Tressel I've talked about a lot, but Nick Saban is probably the guy from a defensive system, and then also from just an overall football system, that has been a mentor."
Saban demands that his players are physical, tough and knowledgeable. Dantonio has instilled the same commandments at modern day Michigan State.
"Those are the three things that he (Saban) constantly preached, the three things that took no ability, and those are the three characteristics that I constantly talk to our players," Dantonio said. "You want to be able to run the ball, power run, you want to be physical, you want to be tough. You need to have great knowledge of what you do."
And, as Saban says, there is often some ugly roadkill along the way.
"There are challenges," Dantonio said. "A lot of what I learned when I was here, and let's not be … it was difficult. It's difficult. You guys know that. But I think my relationship with Coach Saban, with Nick Saban, is excellent. He's truly a mentor of mine. I would not be in this position as a head coach had I not been afforded the opportunity to come to Michigan State by Nick."
Precious few of Saban's former players at Michigan State have kept in touch with him during his coaching stops with LSU, the Miami Dolphins and the University of Alabama. He's not easily-approachable. But Saban is fond of his former assistant.
"I consider Mark a friend," Saban said. "But I think in this profession, we're all sort of bigamists in some degree in terms of we're married and we have children and we have grandchildren, but we're also married to our job. So I know Mark is (married to his job), and I think you have to be to really have success because you have a lot of young men that you've got to provide leadership for. And Mark has certainly done a great job of that.
"And we stay in contact and talk every now and then. But like I am with a lot of the guys, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and consider them friends, but it's not like we talk on the phone every week because I don't think any of us really have time for that. But there's sort of a respect and admiration that you have for colleagues that have done a great job for you and you recognize by how their team plays what a great job they're doing now."
That includes his admiration for Saturday night's epic final drive.
"They certainly were on during that drive because Iowa, I know, has got a really good defensive team, and they're very well-coached," Saban said. "Coach Ferentz does an outstanding job as does Phil Parker, one of our former players (at MSU) as defensive coordinator.
"I think it showed a lot about the grit that Michigan State's team has and the resiliency that they played with on that drive to convert third downs, make plays when they needed to make them.
"They had a big physical back, and they got a physical offensive line. And that's the way we try to play, and that's the way they try to play. And that's the kind of football that a lot of people enjoy watching. So it's going to be a great matchup from that standpoint."
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - When Michigan State trudged down the field for Saturday night's instantly-historic, 22-play touchdown drive to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game, there was a noteworthy, interested observer watching closely, on a television set, during transit somewhere between Atlanta and Tuscaloosa: Mr. Nick Saban.
"I got to see that 22-play drive last night, and it was pretty awesome," Saban said, during Sunday night's Cotton Bowl teleconference, featuring the two head coaches who will square off in the College Football Playoff on Dec. 31 in Dallas.
"I was rooting for the Spartans after being there for 10 years myself and rooting for my former assistant Mark (Dantonio)," said Saban, Alabama's head coach. "And glad they came out on top."
Because of that victory, No. 3-ranked Michigan State (12-1) will face No. 2 Alabama (12-1) in the CFP semifinals on Dec. 31.
No. 1 Clemson (13-0) will play No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) in the other semifinal.
Those match-ups were announced on Sunday.
The winners will face one another in the National Championship Game, on Monday, Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz.
Saban, during his coaching debut at Michigan State in 1995.
Saban served as head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99, leaving prior to the Spartans' Citrus Bowl game in December of 1999 for the head coaching job at LSU.
Saban worked as defensive coordinator forGeorge Perles from 1983-87, constituting his first five years of experience in East Lansing.
When Saban became head coach at Michigan State in 1995, he hired Dantonio to be his defensive backs coach. Dantonio held that post until he left MSU following the 2000 season to become defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
Sunday's teleconference served as a reunion of sorts for the two men, who are similar personality types in terms of their laser-sharp organizational skills and dead seriousness about football. On a personal level, they are different. Dantonio is a calm, listening-ear type of hugger, a giver who motivates by showing players and subordinates he cares. The bombastic Saban motivates as a tyrant, telling players that he'll treat them like men if and when they act like men. Both have been wildly successful.
Saban has won four National Championships at tail-wags-dog Southeastern Conference football factories. Dantonio has won at previously-underachieving Michigan State, a program Saban said on his way out the door "would always be number two" to in-state rival Michigan.
Saban offered Dantonio and all of his MSU assistant coaches jobs at LSU in December of 1999, if they wanted to come with him. None of them did. LSU's charter plane that was scheduled to bring his MSU assistants to Baton Route left the Lansing airport with nothing but pilots and empty passenger seats.
Saban during his last press briefing at MSU, after announcing his departure.
Saban came down with a case of cold feet and called MSU officials during a flight from Lansing to Baton Rouge, inquiring if he could get his MSU job back, shortly after accepting the LSU post. But the door had been closed. Saban landed in LSU and went on to win without his former staff members. But he left bruised feelings behind him in East Lansing.
Dantonio has done well, too. And Dantonio has remained respectful of Saban, restating during Sunday's teleconference that he wouldn't be where he is without Saban.
"The relationship between he and I is one to me as a mentor," Dantonio said. "He's a guy that I've called on occasion when I could help or when he could help me in any way. And I have great respect for him and his family and what he's been able to accomplish."
A Rising Tide
Dantonio is 87-32 in nine seasons at Michigan State. This year, Dantonio became the first coach in Big Ten history to win at least 11 games in five of six seasons. Dantonio is 38-4 in his last 42 games, including six straight post-season wins. He is 7-1 in his last eight games against Top 10 teams.
Saban, during his introductory press conference at LSU, later that day.
Michigan State had failed to earn a bowl bid in five of the previous seven seasons prior to Dantonio's hiring. Dantonio has engineered one of the greatest turnarounds college football has seen in the past 30 years. A National Championship would cement his place in not only MSU history, but college football history.
This year's Cotton Bowl will mark the second time Saban has coached against Dantonio. The two met in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, with Saban's defending National Champions defeating MSU 49-7.
Saban has faced former assistants several times, including last weekends SEC Championship Game against former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, who is now head coach at Florida. But Saban has never faced a former assistant who is as accomplished as Dantonio is now.
"It always makes me proud and happy for the guys that did a great job for us when they were part of our staff and they go on and move on and have success other places," Saban said.
Saban was 34-24-1 in five seasons at Michigan State. He was 0-3 in bowl games, losing by 19, 38 and 28 points in his three postseason appearances as MSU's head coach in the Independence Bowl, Sun Bowl and Aloha Bowl to LSU, Stanford and Washington.
Saban was asked on Sunday evening if Dantonio's level of success could have been attained in East Lansing when Saban was head coach.
"Well, when I was there, it was a difficult time for Michigan State," Saban said. "I took the job and we were on probation and didn't really have the number of scholarships until the last year we were there. And we certainly had a good team that year. Probably not as good as Mark's teams have been the last couple three years.
"But I think he's done a phenomenal job there, and I think as well as anybody could be expected to win the Big Ten championships that he's won. And to have the kind of consistency and performance they've had over the last few years is pretty phenomenal, but not surprising to me. So I think, you know, Mark has exceeded expectations of all of us in terms of what he's done at Michigan State and certainly done a better job than I ever did there. I can tell you that."
Brutally Effective
Saban's Alabama team was brutally effective against Michigan State in 2011. Saban even seemed to attempt to keep the score down with inside running plays in the fourth quarter.
Saban, at bowl practice prior to the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Michigan State.
"I'm not the kind of guy that has to dislike my opponent to play well against him," Saban said. "Sometimes respect is a better word. And when you know somebody is a really good coach and has done a great job for you, it's really easy to respect them. And that's certainly the case in this game."
The two coaches heard each others' voices over the phone during Sunday's teleconference. Although they are friends, they aren't ones to reach out and touch each other with frequent phone calls.
Following the teleconference, Dantonio was asked by local media whether it's a bit of a trip to hear his old boss's grumpy voice on the other end of a telephone.
"Oh, yeah, it takes me back," Dantonio said with a laugh. "I was Nick's secondary coach for five years, so I learned a tremendous amount of football: Organization, preparation. So much of what we do in terms of preparation - in terms of technique and terminology and my mindset as a football coach - has been shaped by the people I've worked for. Certainly Jim Tressel I've talked about a lot, but Nick Saban is probably the guy from a defensive system, and then also from just an overall football system, that has been a mentor."
Saban demands that his players are physical, tough and knowledgeable. Dantonio has instilled the same commandments at modern day Michigan State.
"Those are the three things that he (Saban) constantly preached, the three things that took no ability, and those are the three characteristics that I constantly talk to our players," Dantonio said. "You want to be able to run the ball, power run, you want to be physical, you want to be tough. You need to have great knowledge of what you do."
And, as Saban says, there is often some ugly roadkill along the way.
"There are challenges," Dantonio said. "A lot of what I learned when I was here, and let's not be … it was difficult. It's difficult. You guys know that. But I think my relationship with Coach Saban, with Nick Saban, is excellent. He's truly a mentor of mine. I would not be in this position as a head coach had I not been afforded the opportunity to come to Michigan State by Nick."
Precious few of Saban's former players at Michigan State have kept in touch with him during his coaching stops with LSU, the Miami Dolphins and the University of Alabama. He's not easily-approachable. But Saban is fond of his former assistant.
"I consider Mark a friend," Saban said. "But I think in this profession, we're all sort of bigamists in some degree in terms of we're married and we have children and we have grandchildren, but we're also married to our job. So I know Mark is (married to his job), and I think you have to be to really have success because you have a lot of young men that you've got to provide leadership for. And Mark has certainly done a great job of that.
"And we stay in contact and talk every now and then. But like I am with a lot of the guys, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and consider them friends, but it's not like we talk on the phone every week because I don't think any of us really have time for that. But there's sort of a respect and admiration that you have for colleagues that have done a great job for you and you recognize by how their team plays what a great job they're doing now."
That includes his admiration for Saturday night's epic final drive.
"They certainly were on during that drive because Iowa, I know, has got a really good defensive team, and they're very well-coached," Saban said. "Coach Ferentz does an outstanding job as does Phil Parker, one of our former players (at MSU) as defensive coordinator.
"I think it showed a lot about the grit that Michigan State's team has and the resiliency that they played with on that drive to convert third downs, make plays when they needed to make them.
"They had a big physical back, and they got a physical offensive line. And that's the way we try to play, and that's the way they try to play. And that's the kind of football that a lot of people enjoy watching. So it's going to be a great matchup from that standpoint."
Deep Read: How Desmond King Got Away From MSU
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You've probably heard and read a lot about Desmond King this week.
Below is a bit of a deeper read into MSU's overall recruiting picture at the time they were keeping King on the back burner:
How Desmond King Got Away from MSU
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - So how did Iowa cornerback Desmond King get away from Michigan State?
The All-Big Ten cornerback from Detroit had interest in becoming a Spartan, camped at Michigan State and visited MSU for at least one home football game during his senior year.
But he signed with Iowa in February of 2013, became a starter as a true freshman, third-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore and leads the nation interceptions this season. He is the Big Ten's Defensive Back of the Year, and is a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and Walter Camp Award.
King will lead a tough Iowa secondary when the No. 4 ranked Hawkeyes (12-0) face No. 5 Michigan State (11-1) in the Big Ten Championship Game, Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
"I would say for sure, looking at Iowa's defense, their secondary is their strong suit," said Spartan quarterback Connor Cook.
Spartan head coach Mark Dantoniohas a reputation for turning lightly-recruited prospects into All-Americans and bowl champions. But even Dantonio took a jab at himself during his weekly press conference on Tuesday about overlooking King, who starred at Detroit East English Village High School.
"(From) right here from Detroit, still can't believe he got away," Dantonio said. "But anyway, (he) is an outstanding player, eight interceptions, kick returner, punt returner, has been a very good player for them.
"Great cover guy, great tackler, great ball skills, very confident. You can tell he has football leadership skills on the field, and he's been a mainstay on the back end."
Michigan State's defensive backfield is recovering from a shaky first half of the season, caused in part by injuries. It's possible that MSU's main area of question - defending the deep ball - might not be an issue this season if King had become a Spartan in 2013.
King hasn't been available for teleconferences leading up to Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game, and is never available for Iowa's weekly media access on Tuesdays due to a class conflict. He is available for interviews only after games, often following another stellar performance.
King (5-11, 200) is most-often found as the right cornerback in Iowa's zone coverages. He excels in off coverage with smart feet and a keen ability to break on routes and make plays on the ball. And he plays with physicality.
As a right CB, he will match up with any Spartan receiver that comes to his sideline. He isn't likely to match up man-to-man, all over the field, on Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year, Aaron Burbridge, the way Michigan's Jourdan Lewis did.
Burbridge had a memorable back-and-forth battle with Lewis during Michigan State's 27-23 victory over Michigan on Oct. 13. Burbridge won't see as much of King in this game, but they will cross paths.
Iowa will often come out of its zone and match up in man-to-man on third-down situations. King vs. Burbridge battles might become more common in those situations.
"He's a good player, I'm a good player, we'll go at it this weekend," said Burbridge, whom Iowa's Rivals.com site reports is cousins with King. "He's one of the best corners in this conference. I look forward to the match-up this weekend."
How Did MSU Miss?
What were Spartan recruiters missing when they scouted King? Pretty much the same thing every Big Ten recruiter missed that year, including Iowa, up until the final hour of the 2013 recruiting campaign.
"Every Big Ten team came into our building," Detroit East English Village coach Ron Oden told ESPN.com in October. "But no one wanted to take a chance on a midsize guy. I told them, 'Do you want a 6-foot corner who runs a 4.3, or do you want a football player? Because Desmond King is a football player.'"
King had 12 interceptions as a high school junior. He participated in the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp. He is the type of player who excels when the pads go on, and not necessarily in shorts and shirts camp environments.
"I can't remember whether we had him in camp or not," Dantonio said. "He was one of those guys we had to make a decision on as a junior, coming out of his junior year."
By the time he camped at MSU prior to his senior year, the Spartans had early-spring commitments from Ohio DBs Darian Hicks and Jalyn Powell.
Dantonio warned in those days that college coaches would increase their chances of getting burned by incomplete evaluations due to the increasingly early nature of scholarship offers and commitments. That prophecy is applicable to King's recruitment. His athleticism blossomed as a senior, when many Big Ten programs had already filled their scholarship slots.
Iowa decided not to offer King during the summer and fall. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz admits he thought King was a safety prospect.
So King committed to Ball State in July prior to his senior year.
Then King rushed for 2,368 yards at tailback with 32 touchdowns, and had seven interceptions on defense. His 29 career INTs is a state high school record in Michigan.
"At that time we were sort of filled up in the secondary, but he had an outstanding senior year, and he was right there," Dantonio said. "We were close to offering Desmond."
Michigan State held one scholarship for a pure corner, and had its eye on two CBs in Florida. MSU gained an October official visit from D'Cota Dixon, of New Smyna Beach. Dixon indicated he would wait until signing day to decide. MSU opted to offer another Florida CB in the meantime, Justin Williams. Williams boasted a verified 10.5 in the 100 meters.
MSU kept tabs with King. He took an unofficial visit to MSU for its Senior Day loss to Northwestern in 2012. But he was still committed to Ball State.
MSU offered Williams during his Jan. 17 official visit to MSU. He committed within hours of receiving the offer. That closed the MSU scholarship window for Dixon and King.
Dixon ended up committing to Wisconsin on signing day. He is a regular in the Badgers secondary at safety.
Williams never broke into the two-deep at Michigan State and transferred to Hampton in August.
In December of 2012, Iowa commitment Delano Hill, a defensive back from Detroit Cass Tech, de-committed from the Hawkeyes. He had committed to Iowa in April of his junior year. Prior to that, Hill was hoping for a Spartan offer, and attended several Michigan State junior day events and camps. But he bit on the Iowa offer as a spring commitment.
When Iowa abruptly fired its Detroit recruiter, Erik Campbell, in December of 2012, Hill reopened his recruitment. He soon changed his commitment to Michigan.
With Hill gone, Iowa had an opening. The Hawkeyes brought King in for an official visit during the last week of January, just days before signing day, and offered him a scholarship. He changed his commitment from Ball State to Iowa.
Stopping A Trend
Michigan State's incomplete courtship of King coincided with Michigan State's weakest point of recruiting in the Detroit area of the Dantonio era. In the spring of 2012, when MSU was evaluating King, it had been two years since MSU's primary recruiter in the Motor City, Dan Enos, had left to become head coach at Central Michigan. Enos had experienced more success recruiting Detroit than any Spartan assistant in the 85-scholarship era, dating back to 1993.
Dantonio sought to replace Enos with a committee of recruiters in Detroit. But MSU lost traction in Detroit. In the spring of 2011, Michigan State recruiting had become increasingly sleepy in Southeast Michigan, with former Spartan leans Devin Funchess and Mario Ojemudia surprising MSU coaches by committing to Michigan.
When King hit the recruiting circuit a year later, the Spartans found themselves trailing Michigan for the A-list in-state recruits that year as well, and missed out on offering King and Walled Lake Western DBJoshua Jones, who is on track to become a four-year starter at North Carolina State.
MSU's recruiting class of 2012 (the current true juniors and redshirt sophomores) is likely to yield the fewest starters and All-Big Ten players of any Dantonio recruiting class at Michigan State.
As for King, he followed the example of past MSU stars such as Le'Veon Bell, Kirk Cousins, Joel Foreman and Darqueze Dennard, in earning an 11th-hour scholarship from a Big Ten school and turning it into Cinderella success - but he's doing it for the Hawkeyes, not the Spartans.
King enrolled at Iowa in August of 2013. That same month, Dantonio hired Curtis Blackwell as the program's new director of college advancement, largely for the purpose of keeping a better ear to the ground on recruiting development in the Detroit area.
Below is a bit of a deeper read into MSU's overall recruiting picture at the time they were keeping King on the back burner:
How Desmond King Got Away from MSU
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - So how did Iowa cornerback Desmond King get away from Michigan State?
The All-Big Ten cornerback from Detroit had interest in becoming a Spartan, camped at Michigan State and visited MSU for at least one home football game during his senior year.
But he signed with Iowa in February of 2013, became a starter as a true freshman, third-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore and leads the nation interceptions this season. He is the Big Ten's Defensive Back of the Year, and is a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and Walter Camp Award.
King will lead a tough Iowa secondary when the No. 4 ranked Hawkeyes (12-0) face No. 5 Michigan State (11-1) in the Big Ten Championship Game, Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
"I would say for sure, looking at Iowa's defense, their secondary is their strong suit," said Spartan quarterback Connor Cook.
Spartan head coach Mark Dantoniohas a reputation for turning lightly-recruited prospects into All-Americans and bowl champions. But even Dantonio took a jab at himself during his weekly press conference on Tuesday about overlooking King, who starred at Detroit East English Village High School.
"(From) right here from Detroit, still can't believe he got away," Dantonio said. "But anyway, (he) is an outstanding player, eight interceptions, kick returner, punt returner, has been a very good player for them.
"Great cover guy, great tackler, great ball skills, very confident. You can tell he has football leadership skills on the field, and he's been a mainstay on the back end."
Michigan State's defensive backfield is recovering from a shaky first half of the season, caused in part by injuries. It's possible that MSU's main area of question - defending the deep ball - might not be an issue this season if King had become a Spartan in 2013.
King hasn't been available for teleconferences leading up to Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game, and is never available for Iowa's weekly media access on Tuesdays due to a class conflict. He is available for interviews only after games, often following another stellar performance.
King (5-11, 200) is most-often found as the right cornerback in Iowa's zone coverages. He excels in off coverage with smart feet and a keen ability to break on routes and make plays on the ball. And he plays with physicality.
As a right CB, he will match up with any Spartan receiver that comes to his sideline. He isn't likely to match up man-to-man, all over the field, on Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year, Aaron Burbridge, the way Michigan's Jourdan Lewis did.
Burbridge had a memorable back-and-forth battle with Lewis during Michigan State's 27-23 victory over Michigan on Oct. 13. Burbridge won't see as much of King in this game, but they will cross paths.
Iowa will often come out of its zone and match up in man-to-man on third-down situations. King vs. Burbridge battles might become more common in those situations.
"He's a good player, I'm a good player, we'll go at it this weekend," said Burbridge, whom Iowa's Rivals.com site reports is cousins with King. "He's one of the best corners in this conference. I look forward to the match-up this weekend."
How Did MSU Miss?
What were Spartan recruiters missing when they scouted King? Pretty much the same thing every Big Ten recruiter missed that year, including Iowa, up until the final hour of the 2013 recruiting campaign.
"Every Big Ten team came into our building," Detroit East English Village coach Ron Oden told ESPN.com in October. "But no one wanted to take a chance on a midsize guy. I told them, 'Do you want a 6-foot corner who runs a 4.3, or do you want a football player? Because Desmond King is a football player.'"
King had 12 interceptions as a high school junior. He participated in the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp. He is the type of player who excels when the pads go on, and not necessarily in shorts and shirts camp environments.
"I can't remember whether we had him in camp or not," Dantonio said. "He was one of those guys we had to make a decision on as a junior, coming out of his junior year."
By the time he camped at MSU prior to his senior year, the Spartans had early-spring commitments from Ohio DBs Darian Hicks and Jalyn Powell.
Dantonio warned in those days that college coaches would increase their chances of getting burned by incomplete evaluations due to the increasingly early nature of scholarship offers and commitments. That prophecy is applicable to King's recruitment. His athleticism blossomed as a senior, when many Big Ten programs had already filled their scholarship slots.
Iowa decided not to offer King during the summer and fall. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz admits he thought King was a safety prospect.
So King committed to Ball State in July prior to his senior year.
Then King rushed for 2,368 yards at tailback with 32 touchdowns, and had seven interceptions on defense. His 29 career INTs is a state high school record in Michigan.
"At that time we were sort of filled up in the secondary, but he had an outstanding senior year, and he was right there," Dantonio said. "We were close to offering Desmond."
Michigan State held one scholarship for a pure corner, and had its eye on two CBs in Florida. MSU gained an October official visit from D'Cota Dixon, of New Smyna Beach. Dixon indicated he would wait until signing day to decide. MSU opted to offer another Florida CB in the meantime, Justin Williams. Williams boasted a verified 10.5 in the 100 meters.
MSU kept tabs with King. He took an unofficial visit to MSU for its Senior Day loss to Northwestern in 2012. But he was still committed to Ball State.
MSU offered Williams during his Jan. 17 official visit to MSU. He committed within hours of receiving the offer. That closed the MSU scholarship window for Dixon and King.
Dixon ended up committing to Wisconsin on signing day. He is a regular in the Badgers secondary at safety.
Williams never broke into the two-deep at Michigan State and transferred to Hampton in August.
In December of 2012, Iowa commitment Delano Hill, a defensive back from Detroit Cass Tech, de-committed from the Hawkeyes. He had committed to Iowa in April of his junior year. Prior to that, Hill was hoping for a Spartan offer, and attended several Michigan State junior day events and camps. But he bit on the Iowa offer as a spring commitment.
When Iowa abruptly fired its Detroit recruiter, Erik Campbell, in December of 2012, Hill reopened his recruitment. He soon changed his commitment to Michigan.
With Hill gone, Iowa had an opening. The Hawkeyes brought King in for an official visit during the last week of January, just days before signing day, and offered him a scholarship. He changed his commitment from Ball State to Iowa.
Stopping A Trend
Michigan State's incomplete courtship of King coincided with Michigan State's weakest point of recruiting in the Detroit area of the Dantonio era. In the spring of 2012, when MSU was evaluating King, it had been two years since MSU's primary recruiter in the Motor City, Dan Enos, had left to become head coach at Central Michigan. Enos had experienced more success recruiting Detroit than any Spartan assistant in the 85-scholarship era, dating back to 1993.
Dantonio sought to replace Enos with a committee of recruiters in Detroit. But MSU lost traction in Detroit. In the spring of 2011, Michigan State recruiting had become increasingly sleepy in Southeast Michigan, with former Spartan leans Devin Funchess and Mario Ojemudia surprising MSU coaches by committing to Michigan.
When King hit the recruiting circuit a year later, the Spartans found themselves trailing Michigan for the A-list in-state recruits that year as well, and missed out on offering King and Walled Lake Western DBJoshua Jones, who is on track to become a four-year starter at North Carolina State.
MSU's recruiting class of 2012 (the current true juniors and redshirt sophomores) is likely to yield the fewest starters and All-Big Ten players of any Dantonio recruiting class at Michigan State.
As for King, he followed the example of past MSU stars such as Le'Veon Bell, Kirk Cousins, Joel Foreman and Darqueze Dennard, in earning an 11th-hour scholarship from a Big Ten school and turning it into Cinderella success - but he's doing it for the Hawkeyes, not the Spartans.
King enrolled at Iowa in August of 2013. That same month, Dantonio hired Curtis Blackwell as the program's new director of college advancement, largely for the purpose of keeping a better ear to the ground on recruiting development in the Detroit area.