Michigan State 2018 recruiting class a return to Mark Dantonio's roots

If the results on the field this fall didn’t convince you, then the results on the recruiting trail should. Mark Dantonio and Michigan State are going to be just fine.

That was clear in October in Ann Arbor, and clear Wednesday morning in East Lansing. Last year’s season was a blip. An outlier.

You want more evidence?

Check out the recruiting class Dantonio just signed. Because it looks an awful lot like the classes he compiled for most of time at Michigan State. And that’s important, as those classes made the Spartans nationally relevant.

Now, this week’s class isn’t stuffed with four-stars as it was in 2016; that class had 10. And it isn’t quite comparable — by the numbers, anyway — to the class of 2015, either; that class had seven or eight four-stars, depending on your preferred recruiting rankings.

Dantonio signed four four-stars Wednesday. Everyone else is a three-star, at least by designation. And while it’s foolhardy to dismiss the rankings system — it’s not a coincidence that Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State show up in the top five every year — it’s possible to find difference-making talent on the margins.

MSU, and Dantonio, have shown that for most of the last decade.

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“The difference between a three-star, four-star, five-star, there's a little extra, a little bit more development,” Dantonio said. “You can't say that Darqueze Dennard wasn't a five-star player — he came here as a two-star. Or Le'Veon Bell isn't a five-star player. You can't say that. Or Kirk Cousins.

“It's up to them what they do when they get here.”

It’s also up to the coaches. It's on them to develop that talent, yes, but also to remember how they built MSU in the first place. If nothing else, that’s what this week is about in East Lansing: Identity, and identifying who wants to play at Michigan State … and why.

Dantonio got lost in the ratings baubles a few years ago and used his on-field success to chase higher-ranked players. That’s understandable. That also led to a cultural shift within the program that was blamed for the 3-9 finish in 2016.

This year’s class reflects a return to the "Spartan Dawg" ethos, at least in the minds of the coaches. And whatever you think about the NCAA’s decision to allow an early signing period, from Dantonio’s perspective, it resulted in a class of kids who want to wear green and white, without hesitation.

“It's a class that's maintained its commitment,” Dantonio said. “With early signing this year, it's a little bit different situation. But I think it benefited Michigan State, and it benefited our class. I think it's important to recognize they believed in us from the start.”

That last sentence is critical, and what the staff strayed from as it rose up the on-field rankings. As Dantonio and Co. sought more speed and size and next-level talent, it sacrificed a certain kind of doggedness and belief.

Obviously, finding big guys with quick feet is crucial in order to compete in the upper rung of the Big Ten — not to mention within the upper echelon of college football. When MSU was finishing in the AP's top six for three straight seasons, it had at least a handful of those players.

Think about offensive tackle Jack Conklin and defensive end Shilique Calhoun and a host of other NFL-ready players. Those types of players were missing this season, especially on the lines; that was apparent in MSU's losses to Notre Dame and Ohio State.

To get past 9-3 again — the Spartans’ record entering the Holiday Bowl next week against Washington State — Dantonio will have to identify and develop that sort of interior presence once more. It’s the hardest thing to do in college football.

MSU may have a few of those pieces on its roster already. It’s too soon, though, to know what this year’s class could produce, especially as ; Dantonio said his program is still looking for a couple of defensive end prospects before February's signing day.

After the resurgence this fall, it’s reasonable to expect him to find them and to expect a future more like the Spartans' peak from 2013-15.

As Dantonio noted: “We've done a nice job developing our players here. It's not just because we're good coaches, but because we've had good players.”

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.