Mark Dantonio's top under-the-radar recruits at Michigan State

Go through the gallery to view Mark Dantonio's top under-the-radar recruits at Michigan State. Click here if you have trouble viewing the gallery

While Mark Dantonio has made Michigan State a perennial contender in the Big Ten in his 11 seasons leading the Spartans, he’s hardly done so with the luxury of picking from the best of the best when it comes to recruiting.

That indulgence is available to only a few teams — namely Alabama and Ohio State. However, Dantonio and his staff have become as adept as any at finding the player overlooked by most, a “diamond in the rough” that comes with few stars but fits the Spartans’ system.

As Dantonio enters his 12th season at Michigan State, he’ll once again have his team in position to compete for the Big Ten East title, a spot in the conference championship game and potentially a playoff berth from there.

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He’ll do so with the typical mix of players, some of whom came with high four-star labels and others who drew light interest from the biggest programs in the nation. With just two five-star recruits in his tenure — William Gholston in 2010 and Malik McDowell in 2014, with five-star Belleville offensive lineman Devontae Dobbs a verbal commitment for 2019 — it’s the sort of formula Dantonio and the MSU assistants have perfected.

With preseason camp a couple weeks away, we decided to take a look at Dantonio’s top “under-the-radar” recruits from the last 11 seasons.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

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