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EAST LANSING – Everything old is new again.
A new coach seeking a return to past glory. A new quarterback looking to prove himself. Massive roster turnover with a lot of new faces, from many different places.
And a lot of the same concerns that have been prevalent for Michigan State football since the late 2010s and the end of College Football Hall of Famer Mark Dantonio’s legendary tenure. A golden era Jonathan Smith hopes to return the Spartans to.
Someday. Maybe soon, maybe not.
For now, much like in 2007 when Dantonio took over a program left in tatters (from a different Smith, John L.) and eventually turned it into a multi-time Big Ten champion and national title contender, the building blocks for the new Smith are clear.
The first step to achieving close to what Dantonio did – making a bowl game in all but one of his 13 seasons, winning three Big Ten titles and earning a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff – is to rediscover consistency at the granular level.
“We want to be in a constant state of improvement and build it the right way,” Smith said last week at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis.
MSU opens practice Tuesday morning, one month out from the Friday night Aug. 30 season-opener at home against Florida Atlantic (7 p.m./Big Ten Network). Here are five storylines to follow as the Spartans prepare to see if Smith 2.0 can become extraordinary like Dantonio did.
Regime change
Michigan State’s head coach Jonathan Smith leaves the file after the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
A year ago, Mel Tucker arrived at the start of practice for the 2023 season dealing with questions about his quarterback, offensive line, running game and defense coming off a second season in three years without going to a bowl game.
“Oftentimes,” Tucker said at Big Ten…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-football-5-storylines-100952319.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-07-30 10:09:52
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