Can a championship culture be revived at Michigan State with the existence of the transfer portal and NIL?
Michigan State once thrived with an elite culture that consisted of immense pride to wear the green and white along with a blue collar mentality.
As the transfer portal really took off during Mel Tucker’s tenure as the Spartans head coach, that culture has not been up to par - and has been inconsistent - given the revolving door of players coming in and coming out of the program.
On episode 173 of the This Is Sparta MSU Show, hosted by former Spartans Jason Strayhorn and Sedrick Irvin, they discussed that “Spartan Dawg” culture with former players from Mark Dantonio’s tenure – RJ Shelton and Tony Lippett Jr.
“What needed to be continued wasn’t continued and that fell through and obviously had some stumbles,” Shelton said about how the culture may have faltered in the transition from Dantonio to Tucker. “And that’s why you ... figure out what you need to do to ... be better moving forward.”
With the transfer portal and NIL being so prevalent in today’s college football, it appears to be more difficult to build and maintain a championship level culture because players are constantly coming in and out of the program. In addition, players are being paid - which can add to the transfer portal movement.
There was news earlier this week that really struck a nerve with Spartan fans. Michigan State safety Jaden Mangham recently entered the transfer portal and it was reported that he would be taking visits to Nebraska, Ohio State and in-state rival Michigan.
“I feel like that move would be weak,” Lippett said when discussing the possibility of Mangham transferring to the Wolverines. “If he was to go to Michigan, that’s kind of weird. It ain’t kind of weird, it’s very weird.”
Shelton even chimed in on the situation saying that the possibility of the move is “not sitting well” for him.
“In my roots of where I’m from and where I played and knowing the history of Michigan State ... this is already not sitting well for me because we don’t like the team down the road, never have and never will,” he said. “And I’m not even from Michigan ... I (wasn't) raised there.”
While transfers weren’t as common during Lippett’s and Shelton’s playing days, Lippett would not be too thrilled if one of his former teammates during his time with Michigan State considered transferring to Michigan.
“If one of them guys on our team would’ve even considered it, first off don’t even come back in this locker room,” Lippett said. “Don’t even think about coming back here and when we see you, it’s on. You better have your shit strapped up for real.”
Can the “Spartan Dawg” culture be resurrected and preserved in the new environment of college football?
The mentality of players recently has shifted with the transfer portal and NIL coming into the fray. Some current players still prioritize what former players used to prioritize. Nowadays, though, there appears to be some players whose main priority is NIL money - and they will put their name out on the open market to attract top NIL offers.
“If (you're) trying to get to the league, you really want to get to the best situation,” Lippett said. “You want to get to coaches that develop you as a player and as a young man. Because if (you're) going from school, to school, to school, to school, to school trying to prove yourself to each coach, (you've) got a whole different coaching staff, whole different campus - you just going from place, to place, to place. That shit ain’t gonna help you in the long run. You’re not going to be able to fully get developed how you need to, unless you’re just an all-world player. And a lot of those (very talented) guys aren’t going from school, to school, to school. Some of the top draft picks, (they're) at one school … because they trust the development, they trust the coaches. That’s what it’s gonna come down to.”
Lippett believes that if coaches can get the players to buy in and start winning football games, the NIL money and all the incentives will come in due time.
“It’s going to come down to players, culture and the system,” he noted. “Winning. That is what it is. If you win, I feel like it’ll come to you.”
While NIL and the transfer portal provide plenty of positives for college sports, it has now resulted in a chunk of players doing what’s best for themselves and not doing what’s best for the team as much.
“It’s going to be tough to go ahead and find that right person,” Shelton said, when asked if the 'Spartan Dawg' culture can be restored. “That’s why you ... have people on staff to ... get the right fits to ... come in and bring that culture to where it needs to be. Obviously guys (have to) be tugging on the same side of the rope, making sure that they’re doing what needs to be done - not just only for themselves, but for the team.”
You can catch the entirety of the discussion on the podcast here:
Ep. 173 of "This Is Sparta MSU Show"
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