Mark Dantonio Wants Another Eaglet

Written by: Guest Author on 5th March 2009

Its no secret that Orchard Lake St. Mary’s High school has a storied athletic past, in the past three years alone the program has given Michigan State two talented players. But the tradition that lies within the halls of the OLSM campus is hard to truly understand until you enter their athletic complex.

The entrance contains dozens upon dozens of championship trophies with pictures of several prominent college football and basketball players to boot. The gym ceiling is littered with the championship banners of yesteryear while the retired numbers of former Eaglet Basketball greats hang nearby.

One player who may see his name and number immortalized before all is said and done in Senior Quarterback Robert Bolden.

The 6’4” 200-pounder earned All-Catholic and all-area as a junior and is one of the top QB’s in the state of Michigan for 2010. Not surprisingly, schools all over the country, including MSU, covet him. The combination of a rocket arm and lethal running ability have helped Bolden rack up a whopping 12 offers from the likes of Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, West Virginia and MSU, just to name a few.

While the competition is certainly stiff, MSU does have a decided advantage in several areas when it comes to Bolden’s recruitment.

Bolden is on the record as saying he wants to play for an offense that is not strictly under center or spread. MSU has a history in both offenses and Offensive Coordinator Don Treadwell is known to tailor his offenses to a particular player’s strengths a la the patented Devin Thomas bubble screen and the Javon Ringer 5-yard run up-the-gut.

Also, Bolden has said he wants to graduate and get his degree from his school of choice. MSU has traditionally done a top-flight job of educating all of their athletes. In 2007 the football team had eight academic all Big ten performers and in the fall 2008 semester alone MSU had 67 Academic All Big Ten honorees in seven different sports.

But of all the history and academics, the two most important things MSU has going for them could be two players who know a thing or two about-facing a tough decision like Bolden’s.

Dion Sims, MSU’s newest Tight End, was one of Bolden’s favorite targets last year and it’s hard to imagine that having an immensely talented 6’5” 230-pound TE is a downside in any facet. Sims is also known for being a well-respected member of the OLSM community and will surely be helping the process along in any way he can.

But while Sims may have played with Bolden, the most important words come from a player who isn’t even on the football team, MSU Sophomore Point Guard Kalin Lucas.

Lucas was a star long before his home games were played at the Breslin Center. He left OLSM having averaged over 20 ppg in each of his last three seasons of high school basketball, including senior averages of 22.6 ppg, 6.8 apg and 6.1 rpg. Lucas led the Eaglets to the Detroit Catholic League finals in ’05 and ‘06, while also taking OLSM to the Class A Regional Finals in ’06 and ’07.

That incredible success made Lucas a legend and SpartanNation.com has it from a reliable source very close to the program that what Lucas says is near gospel in Orchard Lake. Not only is that great news for MSU basketball, it is tremendous news for the football program as well.

With Sims and Lucas on their side, Mark Dantonio’s staff has two home court advantages that no other school in the nation can claim.

Hopefully it translates to another Eaglet landing under center (or in the shotgun) in East Lansing.