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Dantonio, who served as head coach at Cincinnati for
three seasons prior to his return to East Lansing, became
Michigan State University’s 24th head football
coach on Nov. 27, 2006. He previously spent six
years as an assistant coach at Michigan State
from 1995-2000. During his career, Dantonio
has worked for some of the top coaches in the game, including
Nick Saban, Jim Tressel and Earle Bruce.
Riding the momentum generated by his first three seasons,
Dantonio and his coaching staff have put together back-to-back
recruiting classes in 2009-10 that analysts rank among the nation’s
Top 25.
Led by All-America linebacker Greg Jones and one of the
most explosive offenses in the Big Ten, the Spartans earned
their third consecutive bowl bid in 2009. A consensus firstteam
All-American, Jones became the first Spartan to win
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades after recording
154 tackles, finishing first in the conference and third nationally.
He also led the team and ranked among the national leaders
in tackles for loss (14 for 69 yards) and sacks (9 for 53
yards). Jones was rated the No. 1 linebacker in the nation
by CollegeFootballNews.com and earned the Linebacker
Trophy (Linebacker of the Year) by the College Football
Performance Awards.
In addition, defensive tackle Jerel Worthy was named a
Freshman All-American, marking the third straight year a
Spartan has landed on a Freshman All-America Team, and cornerback
Jeremy Ware was chosen by the Oakland Raiders in
the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Offensively, Michigan State featured the No. 2 passing attack
in the Big Ten, averaging nearly 270 yards per game.
The Spartans also finished second in the league in scoring
(29.7 points per game) and third in total offense (406.2 ypg.).
MSU established a school record with 28 touchdown passes in
2009, and the 3,502 passing yards ranked second in the school record
book. Sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins, an honorable mention
All-Big Ten pick by the media, finished the regular season ranked
among the Top 10 Spartan single-season leaders in passing yards
(2,680 – fourth), pass completions (198 – sixth) and touchdown
passes (19 – tied for seventh).
The Spartan passing game was built
around wide receiver Blair White, who
was a first-team All-Big Ten selection
by the coaches while recording career
highs in receptions (70), TD catches (9)
and receiving yards (990), all of which
rank among MSU’s Top 10 single-season
leaders. Fifth-year center Joel Nitchman
earned second-team All-Big Ten honors
from the coaches and five other Spartans
received All-Big Ten honorable mention.
MSU’s special teams featured the
school’s all-time leading kicker in Brett
Swenson, who scored 377 career points.
A first-team All-Big Ten selection and
Lou Groza Award semifinalist, Swenson
also became MSU’s career leader in
field goals (71 made) and extra points
(164 made) during the 2009 season. He
closed out his career ranked among the
A degree is going to have the greatest
impact in their lives. That is why they come
to college. All of the academic resources
are here, so we expect our student-athletes
to invest the time and effort to succeed
in the classroom. If they’re willing to make
that committment in the academic arena, all
of the hard work will pay off in the end.
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