Michigan State Football: 3 predictions for the July 28 reveal

3. Mark Dantonio statue

Despite a bitter ending to the Mark Dantonio era, he is still heralded as a top two coach in Michigan State football history along with the legend Duffy Daugherty.

In his 13 seasons, he has the most wins by a football coach (114), three Big Ten Titles, three trips to the Big Ten title game, a College Football Playoff appearance, and countless on-field memorable plays and games. All of this at a time when John L. Smith left a lot of us feeling hopeless, dejected, laughing at our own failures, and the toilet bowl of the Big Ten.

Dantonio took ‘Same Old Spartans’ and turned them into a powerhouse that when in peak form (2013-2015), won 75 percent of their games against ranked opponents and 75 percent of their games against the AP Top 10.

While he was never the master recruiter, he was always looking for the right kids, not the best ones. Yes, there were a few promising yet troubled kids that he took a chance on and failed, but for every Messiah deWeaver, there were more two-star Le’Veon Bells and walk-on Kenny Wilikeses that he got to buy in to the Spartan Way and got them to the next level. He played the underdog card to perfection and made sure that Michigan never felt like big brother, going 8-3 from 2007-2017 (thanks, Mike Hart).

He is Michigan State’s most decorated coach and one of the best coaches in all of college football during his tenure and has earned a permanent place outside of Spartan Stadium.