"... I couldn’t help but think of how many people had helped me along the way. One of those people I wanted to personally thank for opening doors was Jimmy Raye. This book tells how some of those doors got pushed open. I’m sure you will enjoy reading about the journey!" - Tony DungyMark Dantonio
Michigan State hired the best if not first choice
I knew Mel Tucker spent the past year as Colorado’s football coach. I knew he coached with Nick Saban at Alabama. What I didn’t know until Michigan State hired him in Wednesday's surprise announcement was the Saban coaching tree with a Mel Tucker branch sprouted from Michigan...
A time to say thank you to Mark Dantonio
"Thanks for everything you've done."That's what I told Mark Dantonio in the summer of 2015 when I brought him a copy of "Raye of Light" at the Duffy Daugherty Building. We chatted briefly, and I introduced my daughter. How shortsighted was I not getting a snapshot that...
Spartans found Dantonio as their Destination Man
Duffy is no doubt proud of Mark Dantonio and happy for his school. In fact, the late College Football Hall of Fame coach is bubbling over in green and white.A Michigan State Destination Man, which Duffy Daugherty most certainly was for 19 seasons in East Lansing, emerged as the...
Edwards on Underground Railroad and Sixties
Arizona State coach Herm Edwards offered an observation about young athletes, breaking into his familiar belly laugh that fills a room. They view the 1960s as ancient history, he says.“It’s amazing. They think the ’60s was a long time ago. It wasn’t that long ago. I lived in that...
Narduzzi adds title to home he found at Pitt
Six years ago Pat Narduzzi turned down tripling his salary for a lateral move as a defensive coordinator. Five years ago he declined a chance to become a head coach for the first time. Thanks to his discerning eye, this year, his fourth as Pitt’s head coach, he’s sitting pretty...
Dantonio running his backs in phases
EAST LANSING - Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio breaks each season into phases. Camp prepares his team for the first four games and if the Spartans can win their October dates that sets up playing for the Big Ten title in November.It’s a good design for a measuring...
Dantonio on Red Cedar movie and Raye of Light
Thanks to Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio for highlighting Michigan State's Underground Railroad teams coached by Duffy Daugherty that led the integration of college football.During Dantonio's media conference prior to Saturday's game against Central Michigan at Spartan...
Edwards sighs over lost desert quarterbacks
Herm Edwards recently appeared on a Michigan State-based sports talk radio show. Always engaging, insightful and entertaining, Arizona State's new football coach has been one of my favorites to deal with over the years. We all know him for his memorable lines, most notably this...
Khari Willis adds to Dantonio off field resume
Many numbers describe Mark Dantonio’s success re-awakening a Michigan State football program that once stood game among the college game’s giants in the 1950s and 1960s under Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty. Dantonio's resume is summarized in three paragraphs on MSUSpartans.com...
Spartans are back but surprising school on top
By Tom ShanahanMichigan State is back among the top-ranked football-basketball programs in the 2017-18 school year after a one-year absence, while a couple of football schools from the ACC and SEC jumped onto the list with surprising basketball strength.Clemson -- yes, Clemson!...