Pat Fitzgerald bringing back 'The Spartan Way' will have fans screaming for football

Michigan State football has not been up to standard in the last few years. At one point, the Spartans were a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten, but as of late, the basketball program has certainly been the highlight of the athletic department.

With the hiring of new head coach Pat Fitzgerald, there is hope that the winning ways can return at Michigan State. In an interview on Georgia legend David Pollack's podcast "See Ball Get Ball," Fitzgerald talked about bringing back the physical nature of Michigan State football, or as some would say, the Spartan Way in East Lansing.

"Toughness was born here, physicality was born here in East Lansing," Fitzgerald said. "We've got to get back to that fundamental edge, that mental and emotional edge, and that era of physicality."

The last time Michigan State was truly competitive within the world of college football was back in 2015 when the Spartans were in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. Since then, Michigan State has only finished with 10 wins or more in two seasons.

Fitzgerald once played at Michigan State, and he coached against it when he was at Northwestern, so he knows the type of physicality that the Spartans used to bring to the field, and he plans to bring it back. The Spartan Way is that physicality on the field that fans have been so starved of for quite some time.

Fitzgerald will begin his first season leading the Spartans in September, where he will have a tough test ahead of them in the Big Ten. The conference is not what it used to be back in 2015. The Big Ten has now won three straight National Championships, so it may take time for Fitzgerald to get Michigan State to where he wants it to be.