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Through the 1990s and most of the 2000s, Michigan State Spartans‘ football was known for having the defensive presence of a sea cow. Things then were not what fans are used to now. The team had some brief toughness with Nick Saban, but then he left for the LSU Tigers, and the Spartans reverted back to the norm. The norm involving their corners getting skewered on an island, their safety torched deep, and their front seven pushed back through the goal line. Repeatedly.
Then in 2007, a man named Mark Dantonio came along, and he brought with him defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi.
Back in that era, when Michigan State hired a new coach, it was always met with rolling sentiments of euphoria, cautious optimism and finally negativity. Fans weren’t sure what to expect from this new staff, but they knew it couldn’t get any worse than it had been with John L. Smith. One thing Michigan State fans sure didn’t know was that Narduzzi was a wizard.
That defense — like the sea cow — is now extinct thanks to Narduzzi. He and Dantonio changed the culture at MSU immediately. By 2011, they commanded a top-10 overall defense. By 2014, Michigan State’s defense had finished in the top-10 among FBS schools for four straight seasons.
Dantonio gets most of the credit, but Narduzzi deserves a hefty share. That’s why the Pittsburgh Panthers hired him, seeing his ability to turn around a perpetually mediocre team and convince people who recently joined the bandwagon that his stingy defense is something traditional. If he could do it at Michigan State, he can certainly transform Pittsburgh.
Another good sign that could become great for Pitt? Narduzzi knows how to find talent. He built and planned one of the nation’s top defenses while recruiting in a tight territory shared by the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Fishing four and five-stars from Pennsylvania should be no problem. What could be problematic is his inherited team’s inexperience, as Pitt currently lists an FBS-leading 81 underclassmen on their roster.
But they say young guys are impressionable, and since Pitt returns an outrageous amount of underclassmen, Narduzzi’s coaching elixir may take effect early. Pittsburgh’s toughest 2015 tests outside of the ACC will be at the Iowa Hawkeyes and home against Notre Dame, but their bigger test remains in house, seeing if Narduzzi can coordinate more than just their defense.
Jerry Landry is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Jerry on Twitter at @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.
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