Dillon Tatum has perfect leadership mentality for Michigan State football

Big Ten Media Days took place this week in Indianapolis and Michigan State football sent Dillon Tatum, Jack Velling, and Nate Carter along with Jonathan Smith to represent the program.

Smith took center stage with the media, talking about what he expects from this program and what kind of players he is looking to add as he moves forward in his tenure. He spoke confidently about his vision for Michigan State and it felt like he knew that he was taking over a sleeping giant.

While I was excited to hear Smith speak to the Big Ten media for the first time, I was more looking forward to hearing the players speak about the upcoming season and their mindsets.

Hearing Tatum talk was everything I could've hoped for.

When speaking to the media about the state of the program, Tatum was very blunt about his expectations moving forward, stating that he can't let the program go in reverse. The Michigan State he grew up watching won championships and he's trying to get back to that.

It's great to see this self awareness at the player level. Sometimes you'll hear players talk and you would never be able to tell that the program was in a regressed position, but Tatum acknowledged that it's his job to make sure Michigan State gets back to being great again.

This is why he was picked as a media days attendee by Smith. He has clear leadership skills and he's the kind of player who will hold himself and others accountable.

As Tom Izzo always says: a player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team. And it seems like Tatum is assuming that player-coach role.

It sounds like he's been taking Xavier Henderson captain classes this summer.