And then, over the next two years, two more first rounders in Trae Waynes and Jack Conklin, with Jeremy Langford, Tony Lippett, Keith Mumphery, Shilique Calhoun, Connor Cook, Aaron Burbridge and Donovan Clark also selected. Darqueze Dennard was chosen in the first round the following year. Cunningham and Edwin Baker were also selected.Ī year later, Le’Veon Bell, Dion Sims and William Gholston all went in the first four rounds. You could also tell good things were happening just by looking at the NFL drafts of that period, beginning 10 years ago this week, the first big draft of the Dantonio era.Ĭousins is the most renowned MSU player from that 2012 NFL draft, the one who’s still playing. The Dantonio era is remembered for wining 36 games in three seasons, for winning 65 games in six seasons, with three Big Ten titles, a famed Rose Bowl victory and a College Football Playoff appearance in there. Including 30 years ago this week, the tail end of the best days of George Perles' tenure, when MSU’s current receivers coach, Courtney Hawkins, and athletic director, Alan Haller, were selected, which followed four even stronger MSU draft classes. It happened in the Mark Dantonio and Nick Saban eras and every era before that. You can always look to the NFL draft to know the health of MSU's program and what sort of seasons the Spartans are having.
INTERVIEW COLUMN: Couch: Mel Tucker is in 'a race against time' to turn Michigan State football into a champion That’s a good draft, reflective of last season’s success. When and if Mel Tucker truly has MSU’s program rolling and competing pound-for-pound from a depth of talent perspective, you’ll see it on the last weekend in April.Īnd you’ll see some of the remnants of an 11-2 season when this year's draft takes place April 28-30 in Las Vegas. Walker could be the first running back selected and Jalen Nailor and Connor Heyward will likely come off the board later. Proven ability does.Īnd, in MSU’s case, there’s a clear correlation between program success and NFL draft presence. The recruiting rankings - five-star, four-star, three-star - none of that jargon means a thing to the NFL. All the information, in hindsight, is there. If you want to know whether MSU’ s program is in a good place, follow the NFL draft over the course of a few years. Especially at a place like Michigan State, where some of the best players over time have been overlooked gems entering college, from Kirk Cousins 10 years ago to Kenneth Walker this week. A truer measurement, however, is the NFL draft. Andie Ackles (Holly Springs) - 33-5.We often look to recruiting rankings to measure the talent in a college football program. Lena Richardson (Panther Creek) - 36-8.50ģ. Kori Randle (Southeast Raleigh) - 17-0.25Ģ. Camryn Quinn (Panther Creek) - 12:18.62ġ. Eliza Greengrass (Green Level) - 11:52.37ģ. Chianel Asoburuenwu (Athens Drive) - 25.63Ģ. Kori Randle (Southeast Raleigh) - 47.79ģ. Ava Rodriguez (Apex Friendship) - 59.65ģ. Olivia Tischlein (Wake Forest) - 5:24.23Ģ. Chianel Asoburuenwu (Athens Drive) - 12.12ġ. Jake Ganoe (Panther Creek) - 46-9 Girls Results | 2022 Wake County Track & Field Championshipġ. Jared Harrell (Panther Creek) - 46-3.25ģ. Jared Harrell (Panther Creek) - 20-10.50ġ. Chris Brightman (Panther Creek) - 21-4.50Ģ. Rory Jones Amon Hetep (Rolesville) - 6-2ġ. Ethan Clinkscales (Panther Creek) - 22.85Ģ. Michael Hiller (Apex Friendship) - 2:02.17ģ. Sebastian Percival Shim (Green Hope) - 1:59.94ģ. Jonathan Barta (Apex Friendship) - 41.12Ģ. Boys Results | 2022 Wake County Track & Field Championshipģ. Rolesville's second place finish in the team race was led by two first place finishes by Joslyn Hamilton in the 100 meter hurdles (14.66) and the 300 meter hurdles (44.70), and a first place finish in the 4x100 meter relay (47.61). Panther Creek's relay team finished second in the 4x800 meter relay, and the Catamounts got third place finishes from Jayda Lewis in the 100 meter hurdles (15.02) and from Camryn Quinn in the 3200 meter run (12:18.62). The Catamounts also got a first-place finish in the 1600 meter run Julia Connor won the race with a time of 5:22.03, barely beating Athens Drive's Carly O'Toole who finished in 5:22.95. Lena Richardson won the pole vault with a height of 12-0 and placed second in the triple jump with a distance of 36-8.50. She won the long jump with a distance of 17-1, the triple jump with a distance of 38-5, and the high jump with a height of 5-2. The Catamounts placed first in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault.įaith Spencer was dominant.
Panther Creek's girls team also had strong showings in the field events on Saturday.