Michigan State's Big Ten Media Days Wrap-Up
by Pete Rossman on Jul 28, 2011 6:06 PM CDT
in Michigan State Spartans Football
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PrintEvery Big Ten media day seems like an exercise in futility -- print, visual, and electronic journalists do their best to get information that'll pique the readers' interest, and the coaches do their best to be as vanilla as possible. Mark Dantonio is on his fifth year at the job in East Lansing, and he runs his press conferences much like he runs his team. 95% of the game is vanilla, but once or twice he'll pick a trick play or make a comment that'll send the crowd cheering or the journalists...well, not cheering, but I'm sure typing hurriedly has its own joie de vivre.
Such was the case in Chicago today, with the standard platitudes:
On the offensive side of the ball, we have to limit our turnovers and have to have the ability to run the ball to be multi-dimensional.
Semi-pertinent player information:
We have numbers on the offensive line and more guys that bench press 400 pounds and vertical jump 30 inches than we've ever had across the board.
Along with general vagaries (on the offensive line):
We have athletic guys up front. I can go on and name all the rest of them, but we've got some athletic guys up front. What we need to find is a blend of experience. I have a good sense we'll be fine on the offensive line, that we can make it work and be very good. That's where I'm at with it.
Yup, just another boring media day. Surely the last question about Jim Tressel won't have anything controversial:
Every person he's (Tressel's) come in contact with as a player and a coach, he's made a positive impact on their lives. To me, it's tragic. He becomes a tragic hero in my respect, in my view.
And uh...yeah. I understand why Mark Dantonio would make such a comment, he's known Tressel since 1983 and obviously sees the now deposed coach as a mentor. However, what happened to Tressel was not tragic unless you consider hubris to be a particularly sad way to leave a job. Tressel lied to the NCAA about players committing violations. He could've suspended said players, suffer a couple 7-5/8-4 seasons, then continue on with ten-win campaigns in near perpetuity. However, for whatever reason, Tressel chose the path of deception, and the result is months of free time. If I'm measuring tragic coach firings on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being how Mike Leach was done at Texas Tech, Jim Tressel is the one.
Enough ranting. On to actual news!
- Zach Heuter is taking a medical disqualification. If the offensive lineman wanted to return he would've needed to have his fifth surgery on a shoulder, and I can't fault him for wanting to have use of said shoulder throughout his life. The OL depth won't be taking too much of a hit because...
- Henry Conway has been cleared for practice! He had a nagging neck injury, but now he's the third string right tackle behind Skyler Burkland (nee Schofner) and Zach Hueter.
- The depth chart was released today as well, and there are no huge surprises (note -- incoming freshmen are not included). The coaching staff still loves the word "or", as it was used to describe the situation at one defensive (William Gholston OR Denzel Drone), center (Travis Jackson OR Blake Treadwell), nose tackle (Anthony Rashad White OR Kevin Pickelman) wide receiver (B.J. Cunningham OR Keith Nichol; Keshawn Martin OR Bennie Fowler), and lastly, tight end (Garrett Celek OR Brian Linthicum OR Dion Sims).
- Other possible points of interest? Dan France is your starting right tackle as of now, the center situation with Jackson and Treadwell (failing winning the starting position, Treadwell is listed as the second-string right guard behind Chris McDonald), and Denicos Allen has the SAM linebacker spot ahead of Jeremy Gainer.
- Good news! Backup strong safety Jairus Jones is progressing faster than expected from an Achilles injury suffered in April and could see playing time in October. BAD NEWS. Antonio Jeremiah is still suffering with a knee injury and could miss out on the 2011 season.
- Lastly, MSU picked up a pair of commitments today from four-star wide receiver Aaron Burbridge and three-star defensive back Jermaine Edmondson. More on them in the coming days, but these are two great recruits; Edmondson was offered by Nebraska, and Burbridge is a top-five player in the state of Michigan, with offers from Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame.
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How about the friendly jab at Lynn Henning? Something about us “limping to wins” or something like that. Henning has been MSU friendly in the past but Izzo pointed out last summer that the guy doesn’t come around anymore. I thought it was funny.
Not that it matters, but I think Dantonio’s use of the word “tragic” can apply to the Tressel situation. It CAN apply, though it may not necessarily apply (For those who’ll say I’m sticking up for Tress). Simply because he did it himself. He didn’t have to, but he did anyway. He has all the ability, seemingly, to have been able to have success without resorting to such measures. In a way, it is tragic because it so easily could have been avoided.
Anyway, I thought Dantonio looked like his “old self”. I thought that after the heart attack he, understandably, appeared a little subdued and it may hinder him from going full steam ahead. But I think his present appearance and work on the recruiting trail shows that he’s doing fine.
Good point about the use of "tragic"
It certainly can be interpreted that way. As for Henning, I didn’t know he made that comment, the transcript doesn’t list who ask the question. At any rate, Henning couldn’t have been reamed any worse than he did than at the press conference where Izzo announced he was staying at MSU. Good lord Izzo set him on fire.
by Pete Rossman on Jul 28, 2011 7:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Coach is an aristotelian, obviously
The Greeks knew tragedy, and a powerful man brought low by his fatal character flaw is the very definition of tragic. All that soppy hand-wringing stuff is an Oprah definition.
Tressel
I’m not sure how you can compare Tressel to that goofball Mike Leach. Tressel made mistakes, but he made an impact on his players’ lives and he’s a good person. Mike Leach’s players all hated him and so did his employer. To this day no one will rehire the guy.
There are alot of comparisons that might apply to Tressel, but Mike Leach isn’t one of them.
But Craig James...
…hates Leach, so he can’t be all bad.
by witless chum on Jul 28, 2011 7:21 PM CDT up reply actions
I think "everyone" is an exaggeration
Graham Harrell liked him, as did other Texas Tech players. I know Leach rubbed some of his players the wrong way, but to say they all hated him is untrue.
by Pete Rossman on Jul 28, 2011 7:21 PM CDT up reply actions
If for some reason MSU were to need a new coach
Leach would be one of the few non-pro style coaches in the country who I would not object having come to MSU.
Fortunately, I don’t think we need to worry about such things.
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
Leach wouldn't do well in the Big 10
Leach’s offense did ok in the Big 12 because it could outscore all the other spread-passing offenses in the conference. But when he had to go against quality rushing teams with big lines his teams never could stop them.
The better teams in the Big 10 would run all over Leach-coached teams. He doesn’t focus on recruiting lineman or defense, just skill positions. And since his spread is so one dimensional he was never able to make adjustments when it failed (as it did quite often).
Leach could run up big scores against bad teams, but aside from the one good season he had in 2008 it usually got run over by really good teams. And even in 2008 that team got destroyed by 49 points against Oklahoma.
But Leach’s biggest liability is in recruiting. Since he left Tech has had Top 15 recruiting classes, but he was known to sit on his rearend when it came to recruiting. His offense created alot of attention, but his teams on average were no better than his predecessors and his W/L record was puffed up by all the I-AA teams he scheduled.
May be somewhat comparable to Bobby Knight
Though Leach was never as good of a coach, strictly speaking in terms of the respective games, as was Knight. Leach’s side of the story has come out recently and it seems, from the small amount I’ve seen, to have some validity. He was/is a difficult person by most accounts. But it does seem that he was constantly putting up with BS from James and his daddy. Leach’s account of what happened doesn’t seem farfetched (I think there’s some deposition from the James kid that show things did not go down as was being reported at the time), but having ESPN coming down on a smaller school like Texas Tech, combined with Leach’s difficult nature seemed to make it a rather easy takeover.
by Conor Boyle on Jul 28, 2011 10:17 PM CDT up reply actions
"Everyone" is pretty close
I graduated from Tech and a number of the players were in my fraternity. Harrell, Crabtree, and a couple of the other “star” players liked him. 99% of the others couldn’t stand him. One of them apparently even got dressed down for praying when an opposing player was hurt.
I liked watching his offense, but almost everyone who had to deal with him on a daily basis hated his guts. And other schools that interviewed him such as Miami and Washington all dropped him from consideration as soon as they had the opportunity to speak with him.
Apparently the reason he was fired had very little to do with Craig James and everything to do with how Leach handled the situation after it was brought to light.
Maybe they...
…have a pretty good education in the classics at South Carolina? Tressel being brought down by his own hubris is very similar to something that might happen to a hero of a Shakespeare tragedy.
Here’s the full quote:
bq. Very heart wrenching for me and my family because we’re close to Coach Tres. He’s had a lot to do with my life as a mentor really since 1983, and that’s a long time. That’s a tough situation.
As I mentioned out there, he’s done a lot of good for college football. Every person he’s come in contact with as a player and a coach, he’s made a positive impact on their lives. To me, it’s tragic. He becomes a tragic hero in my respect, in my view. Usually tragic heroes have the ability to rise above it all in the end and that’s what I’ll look for in the end.
Well, that hurts my “He was comparing Tressel to Othello” theory, given that tragic heroes tend to die, not rise above anything. By my version of reality is more fun.
I don't think tragedy productions are musical
It could maybe be on broadway. Who’d play him? Without too much thought I’d say Alec Baldwin could do a good job. Or maybe Kevin Spacey. Super cheesey version could have George Clooney, that’d be funny.
If they did a production about Izzo I think Joe Pesci could pul it off.
by Conor Boyle on Jul 28, 2011 10:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Offensive Line
This quote “I have a good sense we’ll be fine on the offensive line, that we can make it work and be very good. That’s where I’m at with it.”
isnt that great news? thats supposed to be a big ? for us. i like to hear that, even if its coach speak.
It's definitely better than the alternative
“Our line is a wreck. I hope our quarterback maxed out his life insurance, because he might need it this season”.
It’s good to hear, but it’s a bit vague. I’ve suffered through enough poor MSU seasons (although none under Dantonio) where I have a bit of skepticism about these sort of things.
by Pete Rossman on Jul 28, 2011 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Coach speak isn't that far off from lawyer speak
I think the difference between CAN and WILL be good is huge. I’ll be nervous until I see the O-line match up against a real live BCS d-line
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
when a coach says "we'll be fine..."
that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. “we can make it work” is even less committal. from a coach talking to the media, i need to hear something more along the lines of “all the work we’ve done on o-line is really paying off, these guys are gonna have a bang up season” to really have any confidence inspired.
then again, dantonio does seem particularly averse to hyperbole. he tends to call things like, having the best quarterback in the big 10 a “positive”. as in, you know, at least it’s not negative!
anyway, one thing is for sure: o-line has been a focus for us as a team in the off season. we’ve moved talent over from defense, drilled those guys, and we’ve got captain kirk behind them giving them guidance, leadership, and support. if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t sound like much more could be done.
You have to get the decoder ring
Converting coachspeak is always tricky, but Dantonio is almost effusive there. What you really don’t want to hear is something like, “This will be a great opportunity for upperclassmen like Joe Doaks and John Smallberries and Pete Rossman to claim starting positions. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them on the practice field and in the weight room these past three years, and I have every confidence in them.” Because they’re scrubs, obviously, and the cupboard is otherwise bare.
And in case you didn't know
I am DEFINITELY behind Joe Doaks and John Smallberries. I’ve got good hustle though.
by Pete Rossman on Jul 28, 2011 8:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Three deep, baby
We expect you to see some reps on the scout team, at least for the week of Youngstown State.
Keep working though, or John Bigbute and John Ya-Ya might come up from the frosh team.
Dantonio and Cousins on UM rivalry
From BT Media Days 2011
Randy Walker was a tragedy
Jim Tressel losing his job for lying is most certainly not. I’d call it a black comedy.
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