Detroit Free Press Staff

In his first comments since National Signing Day in early February, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio today said that "this is not business as usual" as the program deals with off-field issues.

This is the first time Dantonio has spoken to the media since three unidentified players and a staff member were suspended as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault.

Dantonio said other players have been suspended, as well, though he gave no specifics.

"I can't speak collectively to the incident, but there are some players that are suspended" beyond the three involved in the sexual assault allegations, Dantonio said.

Dantonio also said that linebacker/defensive back Drake Martinez has transferred this off-season.

There has been no depth chart nor roster released for MSU’s spring workouts. There also has been no update on players who had off-season surgeries. There has been no response to two projected starters -- Thiyo Lukusa and Jon Reschke -- leaving the program. And there has been no talk about how the Spartans will recover from a disastrous 3-9 season.

"To stand up here and talk about who our quarterback is right now is trivial," Dantonio said today.

Dantonio had broken his silence in a news release Feb. 28, saying that he took the allegations "very seriously."

MSU has not said when the football players were suspended. One staff member -- Curtis Blackwell, the program’s director of college advancement and performance -- was suspended Feb. 9. That was exactly a week after the university hired an external Title IX investigator.

There are three investigations into the situation: an ongoing criminal case, a Title IX investigation and an external probe into the football program.

What Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said during his news conference