Mark Dantonio stays humble amidst historic honors in 2024

Michigan State football may not have had the result it wanted on the gridiron last weekend as it fell soundly 38-7 to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Still, there was plenty of joy outside of the game.

Former Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio took his place amongst elite company on Saturday night as his name was added to the Spartan Ring of Honor, alongside the likes of Bubba Smith, Lorenzo White, and Kirk Gibson.

Dantonio who has always been pretty stoic during honorable moments, certainly looked like he was taking it all in while on the field during the second quarter when he was officially recognized with his College Football Hall of Fame plaque.

Saturday night's honors certainly weren't the only highlight for Dantonio this past weekend, as he gather with over 400 others to a private event on Friday evening to celebrate his outstanding achievements.

Hundreds of his former players were in attendance, and plenty spoke very highly and very thankful for everything Dantonio did for them. Some historic faces from the Dantonio era included, the likes of Riley Bullough, Connor Cook, Darien Harris among others.

In a video shared via Michigan State Athletics, Bullough can be seen speaking about Dantonio and what he truly meant to everyone that played for him and Michigan State.

As for where Dantonio's mindset was during all the reflective moments, he was as humble as ever, giving all his praise to everyone who played for him. They are the reason he is where he is today. That's a true coach right there, and can you expect anything less from Dantonio?

Dantonio spoke about how a piece of everyone's Spartan legacy is in his name being up in Spartan Stadium, with Chris Solari from the Detroit Free Press.

"I hope every one of these players that are here, and everybody that really worked with us closely, sees a little bit of their name up on that award, because I think these are program awards," Dantonio said. "I think these are things that, you don't get there without a lot of people. And everybody's got to be pulling in the right direction and doing their job and be excellent at their job. So when we came here, we wanted to build a legacy. And I think that's what we did as a program."

It was an outstanding moment to be a part of Saturday, and for someone who was able to grow up and see everything Mark Dantonio did for Michigan State hit home big-time on Saturday night. He always had his famous line about completing circles, and I think my Spartan circle was completed on Saturday night getting to see Coach's name go up in Spartan Stadium.