Michigan State Football: The chip on the shoulder is growing — again
By Stephen Robb
Michigan State football had a horrendous 2016 season, but that has led to a growing chip-on-shoulder attitude this fall.
What is the Mark Dantonio way? It is a mentality that has become the proverbial chip, which rests on his shoulder. It consists of not just all the disrespect or overlooking that has plagued Dantonio and Co. during their rise to prominence by other teams or media members, but it also consists of a hard-working, nose-to-the-grind-stone mentality that preaches competing on every play of a game.
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True, many young players got into games and there were injuries on both sides of the ball as well as attrition going into the 2016 campaign. However, the attitude was off almost from the kickoff of the Furman game. Most chalked that game up to player transition into new roles but MSU did not appear as if it wanted to be there. This plagues many top-10 teams, however, the Spartans seemingly could never get going and the season spiraled out of control.
Fans rarely witnessed “the chip” in games last season because, as Dantonio put it during Big Ten media days, “Some players felt like they were born on third base.” He seemed to be alluding to players arriving on campus and enjoying all the success the Spartans had achieved through hard work and then taking it for granted.
It also could be a reference to the type of player MSU had recruited who might feel entitled to that success. Either way, the mentality in East Lansing has a different vibe coming out of it this season.
It will be interesting to observe this team with the renewed attitude. Hopefully it will translate into more wins this upcoming season. I observed the passion and desire in Brian Allen, Chris Frey and Gerald Holmes’ eyes as they spoke about the upcoming season during media days. It was not the typical cliche coach-speak, but rather the players actually meant it.
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There are many question marks surrounding this team that will be answered come September, however, there is no question concerning desire or leadership heading into the new year. The Spartans are hungry and that’s not going to be good for the rest of the Big Ten.