FanPost

Why Curtis Blackwell is to blame for where we are now

I hope to make the point by showing that Blackwell recruited terribly and now that he's gone, we can get back to Dantonio's recruits and begin playing well again.

Curtis, if you're reading this, please don't sue me.

Recent Football History

2007 - Dantonio hired. I couldn't find coaching rankings.

2008 - I couldn't find coaching rankings.

2009 - I couldn't find coaching rankings.

2010 - Dantonio is listed as the 47th best coach in college football

2011 - Dantonio is listed as the 19th best coach in college football

2012 - Dantonio is listed as the 20th best coach in college football

2013 - Curtis Blackwell is hired to help with mentoring and recruiting. Coach D listed as the 26th best coach in college football.

2014 - Coach D listed as the 8th best coach in college football.

Before the 2015 season, coach D was listed as the 6th best coach in college football. December 31, 2015 at 7:59pm was the apex of the last 50 years of MSU football. MSU is about to kickoff versus Alabama for the college football playoffs, and Coach D has had nothing of an upward trajectory since the days of John L. Smith and Bobby Williams. The defense is incredible and the the offense sets programatic records. Everyone loves Coach D and his staff. Notice that the Blackwelll-led recruiting efforts are not really impacting the game yet. He would be responsible for the freshmen and sophomores, but not the impact players - juniors and seniors.

The 2016 season started with Coach D listed as the 4th best coach in college football. The season was an abject failure in every possible way. Do you fire the coach who brought you to the CFP the year before? Fire his assistants? Of course not. Nobody would do that. The recruiting class that is supposed to be the fruit of all the success the year before is an absolute disaster. Blackwell's 2013 class are the Juniors on this team.

In 2017, with Coach D listed as the 13th best coach in NCAA Football, MSU rebounds to go 10-3 and absolutely dismantle Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. Along the way, Coach D is credited with outcoaching the opponents to beat PSU after hours of delay and UM, also in the rain. Yes, they lost to ND by 20 points, NU in 3 OTs, and OSU by 45, but you can't win them all. Think back on those games. Were they lost by coaching decisions or players? I remember big gaps in talent level. Do you fire the coach who just went 10-3? Fire his assistants? Of course not. Nobody would do that. Some hits and some misses in the recruiting class. This is the first year, we're supposed to reap the "rewards" of hiring Blackwell. Instead, Blackwell's contract is not renewed. The damage is done, there is less talent than when Dantonio managed the recruiting himself.

Before the 2018 season, 7th best coach in all of football. During the season, however, the offense is terrible. Defense is amazing. 7-6 record. . At this point fans ARE talking about firing Coach D, the same guy who went 10-3 the year before and went to the CFP three years prior. MSU has some promising talent, especially on the defensive side, but not where it was three years prior. Dantonio stays loyal to his guys and shuffles it all around. Too early to tell about the recruiting class, but there seems to be some talent.

2019 - After last season's disappointment and reshuffling, Athlon dropped Dantonio all the way down to... 13th. The season? Despair. Again, the damage is done with the recruiting, led by Curtis Blackwell. People want to fire Coach D, but he can't make the O line block or the WRs catch balls (30+ drops). Can't help that Blackwell's 2016 recruiting class should be his juniors and seniors are now off the team. Dantonio calls O line best O line recruiting class ever and based on last night, he might have some talent there.

Take a minute to consider the upward trajectory of MSU players in the NFL drafted before Blackwell and those drafted in 2017, 2018 and 2019, including 2018, when it was possible that MSU would not have a player drafted for the first time in 77 years.

Moving Forward

The talent level is where it is. It's going to take another two years until we're done with the Curtis Blackwell recruiting classes are done. I don't care who is coaching this team next year - McVey, Saban, bring Vince Lombardi back from the dead. It doesn't matter. We will not be good. The talent just isn't there. Unless you think, as Matt Sheehen said, losing our best defensive players will make us better.

I highly doubt Dantonio gets fired, not after being the winningest coach who brought us the best years of football we've had in the last 50 years.

It's possible Dantonio resigns and we get a new coach. Do you think we're getting a top-notch coach? Even if we do, it's we might get a Saban who jumps to a bigger program. Mullen did it from Mississippi to UF. It's also possible (likely?) the the guy we hire is a bad coach. Look again at that list of top coaches. I don't see anyone in the top 20 who would even possibly consider jumping to MSU. After 21, you're looking at guys like Pat Fitzgerald. Who would you rather have Fitzgerald or Dantonio?

The third possible solution is Dantonio stays and recruits like he did before. Brings the program back. Coaches up the three-stars to being solid contributors and outplay four-stars in other programs. Who knows... without Blackwell recruiting for him, he just might. Yes, it's frustrating the 2019 coaching staff is largely the same as 2018. It's also largely the same as the record-setting 2015 coaching staff. This is what I'm hoping for.

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.