'Why did you start coaching?'

Today we look at Mark Dantonio and the MSU football program, which has stayed away from issues since trouble that ended the Perles era.

    Also today:

    MSU boosters have less interaction with players than they used to have.

    But coaches also have less access and want that to change.

    Supporters say Jim Tressel's trouble doesn't reflect on Dantonio.

    And 7 on 7 football is the latest concern.

    Here's the full Q&A with Dantonio:

    Q: How difficult is it to keep an eye on everything in a program of this size?
    A: “Extremely, extremely difficult. You can only control people when they’re here to the best of your ability. It comes down to selection, it comes down to choices you make as people when you recruit individuals. And you have limited opportunities to meet people as you go through the process of recruiting. There’s just limited opportunities. I mean, you do the best you can. We talk all the time about how the choices you make will define you and how the price of responsibility is greatness, as Winston Churchill would say. So it’s difficult on the coaches’ end.
    “And then you look at the players’ perspective. I think for the most part people know right from wrong. Does that stop them from doing wrong all the time? Not necessarily. We can see that. But there is gray area out there. There is some gray area, some temptation out there. And there’s always someone, it seems, who wants to get involved with your program. And in some ways they’re looking to help, possibly, and they get them into a problem. In other ways they’re looking to establish some time of rapport with them, whether they’re an agent or a runner for an agent. They have motives, underlying motives. It becomes, everybody’s chasing their tails half the time. So it’s a difficult situation to monitor.
    “I think we do an excellent job here, good job here in terms of looking at all the different problems. Trying to stay current with the rules, the new rules that come out, the rules that are changed and everything else.
    “An underlying message here is coaches basically want to try to protect their players. They want to protect their players. I talk about that all the time with our guys, my job here is to try to shield and protect them from problems, to the best of my ability. Now does that happen? As you can see, it doesn’t happen. You can see that, all you have to do is look at the past. Doesn’t happen here, doesn’t happen anywhere. There’s a whole world out there that’s ready to pounce on them. It’s difficult. They’re trying to be normal 18-to-22-year-old people, put into the general public’s view more times now than ever, maybe in the history of college sports. Just basically because of media.
    “It used to be if you didn’t make the one paper in town, you were sort of somebody that was under the radar. That’s not the case anymore.”

    Q: You mentioned runners, can you recall any specific experiences with them?
    A: “I don’t see that. We try and make sure we know who’s in the building and all that kind of stuff. It’s sort of a lockdown, someone’s in the building we don’t recognize and the flag goes up. But again, they’re only in this building so often. Everybody is chasing the dream. And I think it’s so very easy for people to come up and tell people what they want to hear. The next thing you know that becomes a priority and education becomes secondary.
    “There are so many, what scope do we want to go down? Do we want to talk about agents? Do we want to talk about recruiting? Do we want to talk about selling things? What area do you want to go? There’s a very, very broad area of restrictions and that’s what makes it difficult.”

    Q: Philosophically, what do you think about players selling things? The NCAA brings in a lot of money, the players see that, can they be blamed for selling something they think they own?
    A: “Philosophically, for me, if I give you something and you walk out of here with it, it’s your property. That’s what I would say. What you do with it is your gain or loss. Does that make it right? It ends up these awards become bigger and bigger so maybe people can sell them. But the intent for a Big Ten championship ring is not to sell them. That’s a lifetime achievement type thing. And if people want to sell that because they’re so desperate or it doesn’t have significance to them, I guess that’s their prerogative. I would think that in a court of law, they would have arguments there.
    “It would be a violation, it would get that individual in a problem. But that’s been happening, rings have been sold probably in America since they’ve been given out I think. You always hear about someone selling a Super Bowl ring or this or that. I understand the problem, I understand why they have that as a rule, but I don’t know how you are able to govern that rule in its entirety.”

       Q: What about more money for players? Jim Delany is talking cost of attendance, what about the argument for more money?
    A: “Do the big schools just get paid? I don’t know if it can be spread around. I’m not qualified to answer those things, but I do think this: General human nature is to always want more. If they get this, they want that. Well, if I’m gonna pay a guy $5,000, (he says) ‘Do I still get my Pell grant?’ I don’t think that’s gonna stop them from selling the ring, if that’s what you’re asking.
    “I can tell you this, I think every program has a system of education in place for its student athletes. Whether it’s people coming in to see them and visit with them. Having former players come in to talk to them. Having agent awareness. Having FBI people come in and talking, gambling, the whole deal. But in the end, people are gonna make their own decisions. In the end, if a guy wants to buy, cheat and steal, that’s what he’s gonna do. That’s what I feel.
    “You recruit the young man and you try to protect him. Our goals here are very simple. Have a lifelong relationship with the young man, that’s No. 1. If we’ve done that I feel like we’ve done a good job. And so we will try to go to the nth degree to try and do that. Helping him become a self-sufficient man in society to the best we can, so that he is self-sufficient when he leaves here, and gets his degree. And we’ll impact the community and we’ll win as a result of that, not at the expense of that. That’s my goal. That’s my dream, our dream. But are we having problems there as we move forward? You know we are. You’ve written about it, it’s well-documented. But we’re doing the best we can to try and protect our player, this individual, this person we serve as a mentor for. We’re trying to protect them. That’s difficult sometimes because you’re trying to shield them from all the different problems that come their way, or you’re trying to shield them from the press. Trying to shield them from headlines. You know what I’m talking about.
    “And you know, the higher a person is, the farther the fall. The higher a person is, the more success they have, the more people, when they do fall they become a tragic hero.”

    Q: I feel like you’re talking about some specifically related stuff here.
    A: “Well, you know, it’s specifically related here, too. I mean, you don’t think people would like to see Kirk Cousins fall? If they could pick one, which one would they pick? A very good player, when something happens to them, it’s gonna be bigger. That’s the human element we deal with. It’s been like that forever, probably. But media exposure is so great. And when they’re coming in the door, they’ve already had it. That’s what’s really different, because they’ve already been recruited with that level of media exposure. Not as much (as when they get here), but it’s crazy.”

    Q: Are you concerned about 7 on 7 football?   
    A: “Yeah, I’m concerned. I think the Michigan group does a good job. I think both Michigan teams in state, from what I’ve heard from other people, they do a good job. I talk to the kids and I talk to the coaches or parents, how they go about their business, from what I’ve heard they’ve done a good job. But what stops, like AAU basketball, basically an agent running (a team)? What stops an agent from getting involved in these teams? Because then they develop a personal relationship with (players) and they have a relationship and it goes into college.
    “Potential. It will grow. I can’t think the high school coaches are crazy about it. But then I hear about a guy who doesn’t run track, doesn’t play basketball and it gives him something to do throughout the spring.”
   

    Q: There’s a perception that the Big Ten is cleaner than the SEC. Do you think the Big Ten is a “clean” league? Do you have a sense for other coaches out there, shady things that might be going on? What’s your concern level on that?
    A: “It’s about selection. You try to recruit players that are like-minded to the best of your ability. If people have their hand out, they’ll find it. People that have their hand out, they’re gonna find it, I’d imagine. From a booster, something. Because there are too many people that are involved in a young person’s life. There are too many people that are at home. You know, the coaches have no knowledge of who these people are. You do the best you can.
    “The SEC and Big Ten Conference? I don’t know. You go see a kid 2,000 miles away and you think every single college coach is gonna not talk to the kid? I mean I think we’re being naïve. I mean, you’re gonna get in a car, get on a plane and fly 2,000 miles form somewhere to some place – I don’t care where you’re going – and you’re gonna come face to face with someone and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And that’s all you should be doing. I would push for a contact period in the month of May, but that’s just me. Coaches have argued about that and talked about that on a continuous basis.
    “Because some of the things are ridiculous. Most children are making their decisions where to go to college their junior year. Well, we ask all these recruits, we technically say to them, ‘No coach can come talk with you until December of your senior year, in your school.’ But it’s a rule. And you’re supposed to follow that rule. And we do. I told our coaches, ‘Don’t violate that rule. Don’t violate it.’ You can talk to them if they come on campus. But when you go 2,000 miles, you know. You can see them in person.
    “You want to make good decisions as a coaching staff, you want to get to know who you’re dealing with, so that if you bring the person here they can represent Michigan State University in a positive way. We have very limited contact.
    “But I think recruiting is … if you want to find a way you can find a way. If you want to get a story you can get a story, right? You have resources. I think everybody has resources, I don’t care what profession you’re in. Find a way, figure out a way. They say there’s no telephone calls? For sure, I know that some coaches have gone to 7-11, get a phone, throw-away phone, there’s no record of it, make the call. Right? I’m sure they did. We don’t. But I’m sure people do it, I’ve heard of it.”

    Q: How important is it that you have a clean program?
    A: “It’s very important. I’ve already told you our goals. The challenge is to win over there and everybody is irritated if you don’t win. But at the end of the day, can you look at yourself in the mirror and say you’re doing it to the best of your ability, the right way?
    "That’s what I try to do. And hold our coaches accountable the same way. But it’s the same thing there. I’m accountable for every single coach, but if our coach goes out and breaks a rule. I mean I don’t want them to, but does the head coach suffer the consequences too? Obviously, yeah.
    “We want to do things the right way here, but also want to win. What I try to continuously say, I guess to myself, is that coaching is teaching in the purest sense. I know we’re at a high-profile program, I know all that, but why did you get into coaching? Why did you start coaching? And I try and always sort of leave it with that. Why did we start coaching? To be around young people, try to make a difference in their lives. To try and be involved in a game you love, it’s a competitive game and you love it and there’s a lot of different things there that go with that. But at the same time it’s about being a difference maker in someone’s life.
    “Hopefully we do that. I know there are some people, maybe we don’t. I’m not naïve to the process. Also not naïve to the emphasis put on winning.”

    Q: Right, there’s negative attention now on NCAA trouble in college sports and we’re talking about it right now, but most of the year, it’s about the pressure to get the best players and win games, right?
    A: “Everything else goes away with winning. It all goes away. It’s all about winning. I just get to a point, I always try to say, ‘Hey, it’s about coaching, it’s about why you started to do this. Don’t get too frustrated.’ You know, I’ve been under pressure here, we’ve been under pressure. Losing close games, that kind of stuff. But the difference between winning and losing is very small. So it can flip on you. We’ve run away with very few, but we’ve gotten beaten by a lot very few (times). But those seem to stick out in your mind.”

    Q: When a kid or a parent or a high school coach has a hand out, how do you react? Stop recruiting that kid right away?
    A: “Believe it or not, no one has ever come up to me and said, ‘Coach what are you gonna do for me?’ Hasn’t happened. No one has ever come to me and said, ‘Coach, it’s gonna take this amount of money.’ One time, one time, I was in a staff room and I was an assistant and a coach said, ‘Tell you right now, Coach, it’s gonna cost X amount of money – a lot of money – to get him up here for camp, it’s gonna cost X amount of money to get him on a visit, it’s gonna cost X amount of money to get him here.’ And the response from the head coach was ‘Quit recruiting the guy.’
    “I really do believe, for the most part, that coaches, while they want to be innovative – which is good, when I was at the Nike seminar, the Nike trip, I took away from it, ‘Innovate or die in everything that you do,’ always be on the cutting edge. You want to do this? Find a way where it’s legal to do that. But I just don’t believe there are many coaches out there that really walk around with a shopping bag full of cash. Maybe I’m naïve. I think there are people who do it. I watched the SMU thing.”

    Q: It seems there’s more cheating in basketball than football, just because one or two players can turn around a program in basketball. Do you agree with that?
    A: “I don’t know. I know that we’ve recruited some very high-profile players here. Very high profile. And they’ve never come in with their hand out. It was never about that, never was. And I don’t think they were hearing that from other people, either. A couple guys had boosters (from other schools) call them. How the boosters got their numbers, I don’t know. But they never had a coach – and they would have told me – do that.”

    Q: What is the concern level with boosters getting involved before a player arrives?
    A: “If they’re from that particular state where that university is from, there are naturally gonna be more alums in that city. And they’re gonna know the kid, or they’re gonna know the kid as they grow up. I think for the most part, people try to help the young man, and not realizing at times they may be in violation. But like I said, I’m the head coach. They’re not coming to the President of the United States, they go to other people. When there’s a problem, they’re not going to the top guy, they’re trying to circumvent the situation. I don’t think they go to the assistants. They go to the parents, the people in the family, the uncle in their lives.”

    Q: The Stanley McClover situation, what’s your reaction?
    A: “I had no knowledge of that. When that happened, I had no knowledge of that.”

    Q: Right, but do you think his story is plausible?
    A: “I don’t know. Good question. With all this talking about all this stuff, I can tell you this: I’ve said what I’ve said, but I’m not naïve. If people want to cheat they can cheat. They’ll find a way. I mean, you know, governments are corrupt. It’s a shame. A shame we’re sitting here talking about it, really. I don’t want to be controversial with this, but I do want to tell you what I really feel and tell you the truth. But do I think there’s widespread cheating in college football? I do not. I just do not.”

    Q: How do you control booster-player interaction on campus?
    A: “Well, when they go outside of those gates, how do you (watch it)? I don’t think they really come in contact with those people, and when they do, they don’t know them. I think there’s probably a little bit of a general mistrust of people if you don’t know them. But the problem comes in when they’re out and they start to have notoriety and the runners start to get involved, and there’s a reason they’re being approached. There’s a reason they’re getting the money. If they’re (giving them) money, they want something from them, right? There’s always a tab sheet.”

    Other leftover quotes:

    Jeffrey Marron on being a responsible booster: “You don’t have to be a genius to figure it out, you don’t have to be that educated to know that if you hand a kid a couple hundred bucks, that’s a problem. You can’t do that. It’s OK to talk to players, but it’s not OK to slip someone a hundy and say, ‘Have a good dinner. Here’s a little something for the goodie bag.’”

    Marron on then vs. now: “I’m around college football enough to say we run a clean program. You can’t even talk to the players, it’s actually gotten pretty much where coaches handle the recruitment of players all by themselves. I’d say we run a clean ship. I don’t think you see MSU kids driving around in nice rides, right? Over time it’s gotten tighter. People are a lot more sensitive about that stuff now. It’s not like it was 30 years ago when boosters helped coaches locate players and things like that. I’m sure it does happen, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t hear of that or see that. Guys at MSU want to do things right.”

    Todd (formerly known as T.J.) Duckett on Dantonio's program: “I think MSU is doing it right. I’m not involved in the recruitment process or how the organization runs, but we have quality kids here, they’re putting in the work, they’re built on toughness, and I don’t think you can fake that. Coach D. is awesome. I just want to keep winning and doing it the right way.”

    Also today, a recap from Denny Schwarze on Monday's golf showdown, won by MSU, along with some pertinent info from Mark Hollis.