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

Kirk Cousins, quarterback, three stars, 2007. The quarterback out of Holland Christian was the first of Dantonio’s diamonds in the rough. A late add to Dantonio’s first recruiting class — the Spartans already had a commitment from future Super Bowl champion Nick Foles — Cousins, who was ranked No. 1,302 recruit in the nation by 247sports, jumped at his only Big Ten offer. He was an afterthought who eventually won the job from the heralded Keith Nichol while leading the Spartans to a share of the 2010 Big Ten title — their first since 1990 — and then to the inaugural Big Ten Championship game in 2011 and an Outback Bowl win over Georgia. He is MSU’s leader in pass completions (723) and is second in passing yards (9,131) and touchdown passes (66). In March, Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings, becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Greg Jones, linebacker, three stars, 2007. The undersized linebacker didn’t have a ton of offers, but he had one from Dantonio, who was recruiting him to play at Cincinnati. When Dantonio took the job at Michigan State in late 2006, Jones became part of the 2007 class at MSU. Jones went on to start 46 of 52 games, including 40 consecutive starts for the Spartans. He earned back-to-back consensus first-team All-America honors in 2009 and 2010, becoming only the fourth two-time consensus first-team All-American in program history. He was named first-team All-Big Ten three times and ranks third all-time in tackles (465) and second in tackles for loss (46.5) at MSU. Jones became a Super Bowl champion with the Giants in 2011.

Darqueze Dennard, cornerback, two stars, 2010. When assistant coach Dave Warner was in Georgia recruiting receiver Keith Mumphery, he couldn't get over the impact being made by the do-everything talent on the other side of the field. That's how MSU discovered Dennard, who counted MSU as his only offer other than Tulsa. He drew late interest from schools like Illinois, but he stuck with the Spartans and became part of the core of the Pat Narduzzi-led defense that helped MSU to two Big Ten titles and a win in the 2013 Rose Bowl. As a senior, Dennard was a first-team All-American, was named Big Ten defensive back of the year and won the Jim Thorpe Award. He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Bengals.

Le’Veon Bell, running back, two stars, 2010. There were a handful of Mid-American Conference offers and virtually no interest from hometown Ohio State for Bell when he became part of Dantonio’s 2010 class. By that fall, he was splitting time with veterans like Edwin Baker and Larry Caper to become a freshman All-American. By 2012 he led the Big Ten in rushing and had three 200-yard rushing games. Bell left for the NFL after his junior season with 3,346 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns in 40 career games. He was taken in the second round by the Steelers in 2013 and has become arguably the top running back in the game.

Tony Lippett, wide receiver, three stars, 2010. The high school quarterback and defensive back at Detroit Crockett came to Michigan State to play receiver, but as a redshirt freshman in 2011, he started five games at cornerback. By 2012 he was back to receiver full time where he made his name as a Spartan. As a senior in 2014, Lippett was the Big Ten Receiver of the Year with 65 catches for 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns. Late in the season, Lippett got back to his defensive ways by starting his final two games — vs. Penn State and against Baylor in the Cotton Bowl — while also playing offense. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 draft by the Dolphins as a cornerback and had four interceptions in 2016 before losing last season to an Achilles injury.

Jeremy Langford, running back, three stars, 2010. The former Westland John Glenn star took a while to find his niche at Michigan State, starting at running back, moving to defensive back — he scored his first career touchdown returning a fumble — followed by a short stint at receiver before winning the starting running back job in 2013. Over the course of two seasons, Langford ran for 100 yards in 16 straight Big Ten games and as a senior in 2014 he gained 100 yards or more a school-record 10 consecutive games. He finished his career with 40 rushing touchdowns, second in MSU history. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 draft by the Bears.

Shilique Calhoun, defensive end, three stars, 2011. The New Jersey native had his share of FBS offers but was seen as a raw talent when he arrived at Michigan State in 2011. He quickly established himself at MSU, starting for three straight years as the Spartans experienced unprecedented success from 2013-15 thanks, in large part, to the defense led by Calhoun. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection three times and twice was a second-team All-American while being named 2013 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. He finished his career with 27 sacks and three defensive touchdowns, all scored in the first two weeks of the 2013 season. Calhoun was taken in the third round of the 2016 draft by the Raiders.

Trae Waynes, cornerback, two stars, 2011.; There must be something about unheralded cornerbacks at Michigan State. Waynes was a lightly recruited defensive back who ranked No. 1,174 in the nation. But he got his feet wet as a redshirt freshman in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, then started opposite Darqueze Dennard in 2013. He earned second-team All-American honors in 2014 and was a Thorpe Award semifinalist. He opted to head to the NFL where he was taken 11th overall by the Vikings in 2015, at the time the highest-drafted player in the Dantonio era.

Connor Cook, quarterback, three stars, 2011. Ranked the No. 33 pro-style quarterback in the country as a senior, Cook redshirted his first season as Kirk Cousins capped his remarkable career. By the time Cook was done, he had surpassed Cousins in nearly every category, delivering two Big Ten titles and getting the Spartans to the College Football Playoffs. At 34-5, Cook is MSU’s all-time winningest quarterback and is the career leader in touchdown passes (71), passing yards (9,194) and total offense (9,403). The Big Ten Quarterback of the Year in 2015 was taken in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Raiders.

Jack Conklin, OL, no stars, 2012. In a program full of players proving the recruiting rankings wrong, Conklin stands out. Technically a zero-star recruit, Conklin (74) contemplated a year at prep school after graduating from Plainwell High. Instead, he headed to MSU as a preferred walk-on in 2012 and earned a scholarship in the spring of 2013. He started 13 games that season and was a freshman All-American. As a junior in 2015, Conklin was a first-team All-American and was taken No. 8 overall in the 2016 draft by the Titans, becoming Dantonio’s highest-drafted player and the first MSU offensive lineman to be picked in the first round since Tony Mandarich went No. 2 overall in 1989.