Media Day Notebook: 'We're in shape'
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August 11, 2015
Media Day Notebook: 'We're In Shape'
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - Three days into August camp, Mark Dantonio approves of what he is seeing from a conditioning standpoint from his Michigan State Spartans.
"We look like we're in shape," Dantonio said during Monday's Media Day press conference. "We look like we have explosive players in the back end when you look at their 40 times and their short shuttles and their long jump and their 40 times, their vertical jump. I think my feeling is we have good skill, and we sort of paid the price with our big people. They can run, as well."
Senior linebacker Darien Harris, in one of several publicity photos released by MSU on Monday.
Dantonio is entering his ninth season at Michigan State. He's piloting a program that has finished in the Top 5 in each of the past two seasons - the only team in the nation that can make that claim.
Dantonio feels off-season focus and workouts have been in line with what he saw in 2013 and 2014 that led to Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl wins.
"I think our players worked extremely hard in our bottom line program, which is: Hey, you're getting it done or not getting it done at the end of the day," Dantonio said. "Got a lot of players lifting a lot of heavy weight, a lot of players running extremely well.
"I think we're in a good place."
The physical readiness has been complemented by strong leadership, Dantonio said.
"The leadership has been very good early in this camp from our senior group, and that's always extremely important," Dantonio said. "There's great direction within our program at the ground level, at the player level. When you have that at the player level, that gives you an added advantage in games. Players lead on the field. They have to. They have to get it done on the field."
In terms of conditioning and the emergence of new leaders: "It's been a great summer," Dantonio said.
Drawing A Crowd
More than 70 media members were on hand for Michigan State's Media Day on Monday, easily the biggest gathering of the Dantonio era for the annual event.
There few empty seats in the press room, Monday.
"We're on the move a little bit, and we've got some momentum," Dantonio said. "We were selling hope back then (when I first started), a little bit more of an unknown, and now we're selling the results of what's happened. The bar is set very high. We understand that. That's probably why you're all here.
"I think people look at things and say that they've done this, they've done that, okay, what's the next step? That's where 'Reach Higher' comes into the play."
"Reach Higher" being the mantra Dantonio set down for this team at Big Ten Media Days in late July.
Dantonio says that mantra is subject to readjustment throughout the course of the season.
"That's something that we go into the season with and speak to fall camp about a little bit and our mindset as we move forward, but hings are always changing," Dantonio said. "We come off of one thing and go into another thing. It's sort of what sticks, but initially moving into the season, that's the thought process, that - as I told our football team - we're competing at a very high level. We're already up here. But we need to go a little bit higher to get where we want to be."
Terry, O'Connor Still Waiting
Dantonio was non-committal on stating which reserve quarterback - Damion Terry or Tyler O'Connor - has the inside track toward the No. 2 job this fall, and thereby for the starting job in 2016.
"Right I don't think there is a distinction, but certainly as we move forward in fall camp you try and make those decisions," Dantonio said.
In 2012, junior Andrew Maxwell struggled in his first year as a starting quarterback. Dantonio said he felt Maxwell would have had a better chance to succeed if he had gotten more chances to play as a freshman and sophomore.
Dantonio was asked on Monday if he will look to get O'Connor or Terry on the field more this year in order to take steps toward a similar problem in 2016.
"Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry are both guys that have been on the field a lot for us already," Dantonio said. "They both have a good grasp and knowledge of the offense, and when the time comes, they'll have to assert themselves on the field.
"As far as playing them early, if the opportunity presents itself, we want to play those guys early, much like we did last year. Even in the Penn State game, I wasn't afraid to put Damion in on the 5 yard line. That was his time. But it was a tough situation.
"But I think both those guys have done a nice job so far."
Unready To Anoint
Dantonio was asked on Monday if his linebacking corps is the fastest he has had at Michigan State, and whether his linemen - on both sides of the ball - mark the best the Spartans have been in the trenches during his tenure.
In both instances, Dantonio stopped short of issuing advance credit.
"I think you make those distinctions at the end of the year," Dantonio said. "We've been pretty good on the defensive line here in the past, so I think all the ability is there. We certainly have a lot of good players back and they're very active and we've got some depth there."
The Spartans are led by four seniors on the d-line and a stock-on-the-rise sophomore in Malik McDowell. The seniors include All-America candidate Shilique Calhoun, DE/DT Lawrence Thomas, and DTs Joel Heath and Damon Knox.
On the offensive front, junior left tackle Jack Conklin is an All-America candidate and rated as a potential first-round draft pick next spring if he chooses to leave early for the pros. Senior center Jack Allen was a finalist for the Rimington Award in 2014 and is the only finalist returning to college football this fall. Right tackle Kodi Kieler and offensive guard Donavon Clark are longtime starters and reliable veterans.
"Offensive line wise I think this is the most depth we've had," Dantonio said. "You go back and look at our last two seasons, haven't been sacked too much, ran for about 2,000 yards as a group, and that's sort of been the norm the last couple seasons, and I think now they're getting a little bit more recognition. Good football team in those areas, but I think we'll anoint those people at the end of the season rather than at the beginning. But they have all the makings. They're good players with experience."
As for the linebackers, the Spartans will have an upgrade in the speed department at Mike linebacker with sophomore Riley Bullough. Meanwhile, seniors Ed Davis and Darien Harris are experienced, athletic and ready to play fast.
"Yeah, it's a fast group, and we've got to be able to play sideline to sideline, especially with what teams are doing offensively now," Dantonio said. "But again, I'm not ready to anoint our football team because we've had some great football teams here and we've had some great defenses. That 2013 defense had some guys that could really run, too.
"We'll see how they go, but they're good football players. We have some depth at those positions, and that's what's exciting. That's a positive."
Point After
Dantonio unplugged on … The Allen Brothers:
"They're so ornery. They'll mix it up a little bit, and they compete against each other. Both are very tough, strong, physical type players. Great feet. Athletes."
Media Day Notebook: 'We're In Shape'
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - Three days into August camp, Mark Dantonio approves of what he is seeing from a conditioning standpoint from his Michigan State Spartans.
"We look like we're in shape," Dantonio said during Monday's Media Day press conference. "We look like we have explosive players in the back end when you look at their 40 times and their short shuttles and their long jump and their 40 times, their vertical jump. I think my feeling is we have good skill, and we sort of paid the price with our big people. They can run, as well."
Senior linebacker Darien Harris, in one of several publicity photos released by MSU on Monday.
Dantonio is entering his ninth season at Michigan State. He's piloting a program that has finished in the Top 5 in each of the past two seasons - the only team in the nation that can make that claim.
Dantonio feels off-season focus and workouts have been in line with what he saw in 2013 and 2014 that led to Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl wins.
"I think our players worked extremely hard in our bottom line program, which is: Hey, you're getting it done or not getting it done at the end of the day," Dantonio said. "Got a lot of players lifting a lot of heavy weight, a lot of players running extremely well.
"I think we're in a good place."
The physical readiness has been complemented by strong leadership, Dantonio said.
"The leadership has been very good early in this camp from our senior group, and that's always extremely important," Dantonio said. "There's great direction within our program at the ground level, at the player level. When you have that at the player level, that gives you an added advantage in games. Players lead on the field. They have to. They have to get it done on the field."
In terms of conditioning and the emergence of new leaders: "It's been a great summer," Dantonio said.
Drawing A Crowd
More than 70 media members were on hand for Michigan State's Media Day on Monday, easily the biggest gathering of the Dantonio era for the annual event.
There few empty seats in the press room, Monday.
"We're on the move a little bit, and we've got some momentum," Dantonio said. "We were selling hope back then (when I first started), a little bit more of an unknown, and now we're selling the results of what's happened. The bar is set very high. We understand that. That's probably why you're all here.
"I think people look at things and say that they've done this, they've done that, okay, what's the next step? That's where 'Reach Higher' comes into the play."
"Reach Higher" being the mantra Dantonio set down for this team at Big Ten Media Days in late July.
Dantonio says that mantra is subject to readjustment throughout the course of the season.
"That's something that we go into the season with and speak to fall camp about a little bit and our mindset as we move forward, but hings are always changing," Dantonio said. "We come off of one thing and go into another thing. It's sort of what sticks, but initially moving into the season, that's the thought process, that - as I told our football team - we're competing at a very high level. We're already up here. But we need to go a little bit higher to get where we want to be."
Terry, O'Connor Still Waiting
Dantonio was non-committal on stating which reserve quarterback - Damion Terry or Tyler O'Connor - has the inside track toward the No. 2 job this fall, and thereby for the starting job in 2016.
"Right I don't think there is a distinction, but certainly as we move forward in fall camp you try and make those decisions," Dantonio said.
In 2012, junior Andrew Maxwell struggled in his first year as a starting quarterback. Dantonio said he felt Maxwell would have had a better chance to succeed if he had gotten more chances to play as a freshman and sophomore.
Dantonio was asked on Monday if he will look to get O'Connor or Terry on the field more this year in order to take steps toward a similar problem in 2016.
"Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry are both guys that have been on the field a lot for us already," Dantonio said. "They both have a good grasp and knowledge of the offense, and when the time comes, they'll have to assert themselves on the field.
"As far as playing them early, if the opportunity presents itself, we want to play those guys early, much like we did last year. Even in the Penn State game, I wasn't afraid to put Damion in on the 5 yard line. That was his time. But it was a tough situation.
"But I think both those guys have done a nice job so far."
Unready To Anoint
Dantonio was asked on Monday if his linebacking corps is the fastest he has had at Michigan State, and whether his linemen - on both sides of the ball - mark the best the Spartans have been in the trenches during his tenure.
In both instances, Dantonio stopped short of issuing advance credit.
"I think you make those distinctions at the end of the year," Dantonio said. "We've been pretty good on the defensive line here in the past, so I think all the ability is there. We certainly have a lot of good players back and they're very active and we've got some depth there."
The Spartans are led by four seniors on the d-line and a stock-on-the-rise sophomore in Malik McDowell. The seniors include All-America candidate Shilique Calhoun, DE/DT Lawrence Thomas, and DTs Joel Heath and Damon Knox.
On the offensive front, junior left tackle Jack Conklin is an All-America candidate and rated as a potential first-round draft pick next spring if he chooses to leave early for the pros. Senior center Jack Allen was a finalist for the Rimington Award in 2014 and is the only finalist returning to college football this fall. Right tackle Kodi Kieler and offensive guard Donavon Clark are longtime starters and reliable veterans.
"Offensive line wise I think this is the most depth we've had," Dantonio said. "You go back and look at our last two seasons, haven't been sacked too much, ran for about 2,000 yards as a group, and that's sort of been the norm the last couple seasons, and I think now they're getting a little bit more recognition. Good football team in those areas, but I think we'll anoint those people at the end of the season rather than at the beginning. But they have all the makings. They're good players with experience."
As for the linebackers, the Spartans will have an upgrade in the speed department at Mike linebacker with sophomore Riley Bullough. Meanwhile, seniors Ed Davis and Darien Harris are experienced, athletic and ready to play fast.
"Yeah, it's a fast group, and we've got to be able to play sideline to sideline, especially with what teams are doing offensively now," Dantonio said. "But again, I'm not ready to anoint our football team because we've had some great football teams here and we've had some great defenses. That 2013 defense had some guys that could really run, too.
"We'll see how they go, but they're good football players. We have some depth at those positions, and that's what's exciting. That's a positive."
Point After
Dantonio unplugged on … The Allen Brothers:
"They're so ornery. They'll mix it up a little bit, and they compete against each other. Both are very tough, strong, physical type players. Great feet. Athletes."
