Michigan State football unveil new Mat Ishbia-funded building: 'It looks like a spaceship'

EAST LANSING — That sound you heard from the new Tom Izzo Football Building on Wednesday came from the new locker room.

A cathartic celebratory caterwaul of Michigan State football players getting their first glimpses of a high-tech extravaganza of LED lights, a booming sound system, loads of storage space already filled with fresh gear and a glowing green padded seat at every stall.

“It looks like a spaceship,” sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum gushed after Thursday’s opening practice of preseason camp. “For real, though, it's sweet.”

Yet for coach Mel Tucker, revealing the first phase of the new football building funded by megadonor Mat Ishbia meant much more than completion of one circle he began the day he took over for Mark Dantonio in February of 2020. Or for what type of impact the glitzy new facility will have for recruiting in the future.

He saw his players finally feel comfortable again.

The Spartans got displaced from the football building before last season, having to shuttle back and forth to the locker room at Spartan Stadium as renovations progressed across Shaw Lane. That meant riding bikes and scooters or taking busses back and forth, starting long days before morning meetings and trudging back midafternoon following grueling practices.

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Tucker said the joy he saw coming from his players Wednesday came from knowing that was ending.

“That's part of being a part of the team, guys having a home,” Tucker said after Thursday’s practice. “It was not like that (last year). And the players complained about it. They knew that it was just necessary. But they brought it up to me — several players — saying, ‘We need to have our space where we can come together.’

“I think all of that was kind of a part of that excitement that we saw yesterday. It wasn't so much that, ‘Hey, I got locker,' but, ‘We have our home back.’ That’s more important.”

The Spartans open at home Sept. 1 against Central Michigan (7 p.m./FS1). Tucker said last week during media day that those game days inside the Spartan Stadium locker room should feel special and electric, not part of the monotonous routine of preparation.

And the players after Thursday’s camp opener took their new confines inside the football facility for a test drive.

“After practice today, we tried out the new speakers and stuff. Everybody was dancing in there,” junior quarterback Noah Kim said. “So just little things like that can definitely go a long way.”

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Work on the $67.5 million project remains ongoing, but Tucker said he felt it critical to get the locker room reopened to help improve team cohesion after last season’s stumble. He’s already sensed an improving the Spartans’ chemistry during an offseason of team-building activities meant to get players closer, and Wednesday’s reveal added to that positive vibe.

“It means a lot for our team. It means a lot for our players, but it means a lot to our program,” Tucker said. “One of the first things that coach Dantonio told me once I got here in February of 2020, he said, 'Hey, man, you gotta get a new facility, you have to get that done. We have to get that done here.' And I knew that. We were towards the bottom of the league, and it's really hard to recruit that way. ...

“A locker room like that, that shows a commitment to excellence.”

Line depth

It was only first-day drill work during a long month of practice ahead, but returning starter Nick Samac sat out. That allowed some of MSU’s younger centers to move up and work with different units.

Junior Dallas Fincher handled the first-team snaps sandwiched between projected starters Brandon Baldwin at left tackle, J.D. Duplain at left guard, Geno VanDeMark at right guard and Spencer Brown at left tackle. Sophomore Kevin Wigenton got center reps with a second-team line that included 2022 junior college All-American Keshawn Blackstock at left tackle, Evan Brunning at left guard, Kristian “Big Dooley” Phillips at right guard and Ethan Boyd at right tackle. The third unit had redshirt freshman walkon Andy Hartman at center working with Ashton Lepo at left tackle, Cooper Terpstra at left guard, Braden Miller at right guard and highly touted true freshman Stanton Ramil at right tackle.

Though Tucker does not discuss injuries, he said Samac sitting out allowed the Spartans to show the depth they’ve lacked in the offensive trenches — particularly at center, where he said sophomore VanDeMark also can play.

“They're good players,” Tucker said of Fincher, Wigenton and VanDeMark. “We brought them here to play. ... Guys have to learn multiple positions, so I feel good about our depth there. You're talking about Nick being out, but then you're talking about another three guys that can play the spot. And I'm not sure if we were in that position a year ago.”

MSU will put on the pads Wednesday. NCAA rules allow for 18 contact practices during preseason camp, leading into the first week of games.

Crump returns

Khary Crump returned to the practice field for the first time since late October. The junior defensive back was suspended for the final four games of last season and all of spring practice after admitting to swinging his helmet during the tunnel fight at Michigan on Oct. 29.

Tucker said the Big Ten did not lessen its punishment of an additional eight-game suspension to begin this season for Crump, who is now wearing No. 37 after being No. 14 in his first two seasons at MSU after transferring from Arizona.

“He's learned, and he's back on our team. And he's out there practicing,” Tucker said of Crump. “He stayed the course, and he's supported by his teammates and by our coaching staff.”

Crump pleaded guilty in January to misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and disorderly conduct person-jostling. He received 12 months probation and was ordered to serve 80 hours of community service by the 15th District Court, which he completed 110 hours by April.Crump’s charges would be dismissed and removed from his record upon completion of the terms of his Holmes Youthful Trainee Act enrollment.

Odds and ends

A few other returning players changed numbers, two of them for players who left via the transfer portal. Kim is now wearing No. 10, which since-departed two-year starting quarterback Payton Thorne wore before leaving for Auburn. And running back Davion Primm is now No. 24, previously worn by fellow Detroit native Elijah Collins, who transferred to Oklahoma State for his sixth year of eligibility. … MSU added four walkons to the roster since last week’s media day. Two of them, junior wide receiver Aubrey Dawkins and redshirt freshman running back David Millikin, had previously been on the team. The two newcomers are freshman defensive back Caleb Gash from South Lyon and junior linebacker James Burbar, who transferred from Madonna University in Livonia, where he also played lacrosse.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football's locker rooms: 'It looks like a spaceship'