Mark Dantonio and the Most Important Recruiting Class in the Big Ten

As Ohio State enjoys its victory lap following a national title and Michigan's new head coach shows the power to create headlines as quickly as he can tweet, Michigan State has somehow managed to fly under the radar this offseason, despite accumulating a combined 24-3 record in the past two seasons.

But that hasn't stopped the Spartans from making some noise of their own since the 2014 season came to a close, even if it's seemingly gone largely unnoticed. And with Urban Meyer on top of the college football world and Jim Harbaugh now in Ann Arbor, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio may not have had any other choice.

In any other year, the Spartans would be the story of the college football offseason, a program capitalizing on its recent string of success by putting together what could arguably be its best recruiting class in school history. With 13 prospects committed, Michigan State's 2016 class currently ranks ninth in the country with seven months to go until national signing day.

“Right now, we’re selling results," Dantonio said on ESPN's Championship Drive podcast earlier this month. "Other people are selling hope.”

While some saw Dantonio's comment as a shot at Harbaugh—and it likely was—that doesn't make it any less true. Few programs can sell the sustained success that Michigan State can at the moment, and the results in the recruiting rankings currently speak for themselves.

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The importance of Dantonio's big upcoming class is also twofold.

On the one hand, a recruiting class the caliber of the one that the Spartans appear to be on the verge of acquiring could take them to the next level, as so much of their foundation has been built on player development.

If Dantonio can win consistently by getting the most out of kids who were 3-star and 2-star prospects coming out of high school, what will he be capable of with a steady stream of 5-star and 4-star kids?

“It should take them to another level," former Michigan State running back T.J. Duckett told Bleacher Report. "Coach Dantonio and their staff, they’ve done a great job of bringing in guys and developing them over the years. Not just their skill level, but also their maturity and the way that they engage and interact."

But while making a jump to the next level may be what's most exciting about the Spartans' upcoming class, it's the timing of Dantonio's potentially historic haul that will be most important.

Because with Ohio State on a run of its own and the Wolverines capturing the most attention in the suddenly strong Big Ten East, Michigan State couldn't afford to fall into a holding pattern this offseason. The addition of some of the top recruits in college football may not just be exciting, but it may be necessary in order for the Spartans to remain a consistent contender for the College Football Playoff.

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“It’s very important," Duckett said of the timing of his alma mater capitalizing on its on-field success. "Now that Coach Dantonio has been there for a few years, he’s shown that he’s going to stay...and if you perform, there’s a chance you’re leaving with a degree and a chance to play in the NFL—and win some games.

"That’s huge compared to a program that might just be getting a new head coach or that has a coach that’s only been somewhere for a couple of years, and they’re still trying to figure it out.”

A former premier prospect himself, Duckett spent three seasons in East Lansing from 1999-2001 before the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the 18th overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft. Having been recruited to Michigan State by Nick Saban, the six-year NFL vet has kept an eye on the career of his former head coach and believes that there are lessons that Dantonio can learn form the now-Alabama head man.

Because while the culture of Michigan State has been established by under-recruited players who have bought into the Spartans' system, it's not always easy to do the same with prospects who arrive on campus with more accolades and expectations.

That's why Duckett has been so impressed with the work Saban has done in Tuscaloosa, routinely turning in top-five classes that have rarely suffered from a sense of entitlement.

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"[Saban] takes these players and gets them to come in, buy in, commit and sacrifice everything," Duckett said. "Maybe they don’t play their first year, maybe they don’t play until their senior year because the talent ahead of them is such, but he’s figured out how to take these talented and amazing players and get them all on the same page, put egos aside and get them all to head into the direction to be a champ.

"Now that Coach Dantonio is getting these better players, will Coach Dantonio be able to get everybody on the same page and get everybody focused, no matter what the person coming in there has and what they’re trying to do?"

For the most important recruiting class in the Big Ten, that might be the most important question of all.

“One bad apple spoils a bunch. If you bring in one big recruit and it’s all about them, that doesn’t help the program," Duckett said. "But if you bring in a top recruit in and they’re about the program, then they’ll just attract more and more top recruits that buy in, and once they come in there’s already a system. But now that eyes are started to be drawn in on the ratings, we’ll see what happens.”

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.