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Mark Dantonio won’t identify suspended players, says there are more suspensions
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For the first time since National Signing Day on Feb. 1, Mark Dantonio addressed the media.
What did he have to talk about on Tuesday?
The ongoing sexual assault investigation involving three of his players and a member of the MSU coaching staff was a talking point. Sort of.
With the investigation of the alleged sexual assault not concluded, Dantonio could not identify the suspended players involved. He also didn’t say whether or not they had been kicked off the team.
What he did say was that there were more suspensions, though they were separate from the sexual assault investigation.
Dantonio says "there are some players that are suspended" beyond the three involved in the sexual assault allegations.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 28, 2017
In regards to identifying the suspended players involved in the alleged sexual assault, Dantonio said that he was “pointing a compass toward other individuals.”
Dantonio also added that linebacker Drake Martinez was transferring from the program. Including Jon Reschke, that’s two MSU defenders that will continue their careers elsewhere.
The other interesting part of Dantonio’s press conference was that he didn’t want to talk too much about football matters, either. He didn’t even want to go into detail on the quarterback battle because of the ongoing investigation.
He called the situation “extremely serious.”
Dantonio avoiding football ?s. "At this point in time with the investigation not completely done, I don't think it's fair to trivialize."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 28, 2017
So now the spring game, which is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, becomes a sticky situation. MSU declined to cancel the game, which Dantonio said was never seriously discussed. Dantonio said that everyone who’s active will be on the field and wearing their 2017 numbers.
Perhaps the spring game will shed some light on which MSU players are involved in the alleged sexual assault.
However it plays out, it doesn’t appear MSU will get a chance to move past this anytime soon.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.