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Michigan State Football: Don’t expect depth chart surprises, says Dantonio

By Connor Muldowney

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans walks onto the field between plays during the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans walks onto the field between plays during the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio admitted there probably won’t be many surprises when the first depth chart is released.

With fall camp finally here and the first day of pads taking place on Friday afternoon, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio will get a better idea of who the No. 1s across the depth chart will be.

Must Read: MSU Football: Top 5 position battles to watch this fall

Following Friday’s practice, however, the 11th-year head coach was asked if there would be any big surprises on the depth chart come the initial release, and he had this to say:

It’s too early to even ask this type of question, so Dantonio’s response shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. The pads just went on Friday and it takes weeks to evaluate a team for surprises and top players. The head coach is just trying to avoid any unnecessary speculation, but he also knows who his go-to guys will be.

Dantonio has evaluated the team all offseason, watching 2016 film, and he knows who he expects to see at the top spot in each position group. Barring some crazy breakout stars, the Spartans will start off just as he believed they would.

This isn’t to say that Michigan State isn’t deep enough to have guys rise up, but Dantonio is going to stick with his plan until someone truly rises in the ranks and steals a starting job.

Next: MSU Recruiting: 5 bold predictions for August

There are plenty of breakout candidates for 2017, but for now, the head coach is fine with just watching practice and having the young guys battle it out for snaps. Will there be any surprises? Time will tell.

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