Drew Sharp

Detroit Free Press Columnist

EAST LANSING – It didn’t take long. Barely minutes after Alabama pitched the last shovel of dirt upon Michigan State’s grave in the College Football Playoff national semifinal, Tyler O’Connor took it upon himself to transition the program from a disappointing end to the 2015 season to a promising future in 2016.

“Quite honestly,” O’Connor said Monday during MSU media day, “in the locker room after that loss, I started texting the seniors that were coming back and telling them that it’s now on us to get started working on getting ready for the next season. We had to pick ourselves back up as quickly as possible.”

Two days later, the players had already planned off-season workouts.

That’s how consistently good football programs roll. The wheel keeps turning. There’s no stopping. Departing stars leave behind a vacuum. And the true successors aren’t those waiting for anointment. They see the void and immediately seize it, understanding that true leadership and responsibilities that come with it aren’t given. They’re taken.

“As the quarterback,” O’Connor said, “I thought that it fell upon me to make sure that everyone understood what’s required to take the next step forward. But everyone already knew that. It just shows the level of commitment that everyone has here.”

O’Connor is probably the starting quarterback in the season opener against Furman on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. It doesn’t mean he’ll keep it. It doesn’t mean he’ll thrive. But O’Connor, a fifth-year senior, nonetheless personifies the culture Mark Dantonio has established in 10 years as the Spartans’ coach. There’s an ultimate reward for the hard working and patiently waiting if the desire doesn’t waver. That opportunity might not come until that final year of eligibility.

Remember the program that once coined the mantra “Those who stay will be champions?”

Well … that’s what Michigan State is cultivating now.

O’Connor could’ve bolted from Michigan State after he lost the starting quarterback competition among himself, Connor Cook and Andrew Maxwell three years ago. He shared a story Monday about the elite high school quarterback camp he attended in California in 2011. O’Connor wasn’t sure of the exact number, but was nonetheless confident that the bulk of the quarterbacks who participated — and were likely already committed to college programs — transferred to other schools.

Perhaps they weren’t patient enough or simply were unhappy that the natural course of their careers didn’t follow the pre-written script they envisioned in high school. But O’Connor stayed following the 2013 season with the Spartans. He could’ve transferred elsewhere. Sat out a season and still have two years as a starting quarterback at another program. A fresh start.

“I never once thought about leaving (Michigan State),” O’Connor added. “It was too good here. Why would you leave a winning program, especially since I was part of the freshman class (in 2012) that went through the one down year we had when we were going through another (quarterback transition)? Leaving was never an option. It makes you work harder.”

O’Connor said he desired becoming part of the answer.

“We’ve been fortunate with the quarterback situation,” Dantonio said, “We haven’t had many guys transfer. We had the one episode when Nick Foles left and Keith Nichol was coming. But other than that, our guys have stayed true to staying the course. Tyler is a great example of that.”

The easy path was leaving and blaming Michigan State for a career O’Connor hadn’t envisioned before he arrived on campus. But O’Connor waited for his turn. He didn’t pout, didn’t complain. Realizing that even one season running the show could successfully define him as one of the program’s better quarterbacks.

And isn’t that the best description of what Dantonio has built?

This is when the transitional seeds are planted and new leadership takes root.

It became an internal sore point within the program that Connor Cook wasn’t named team captain last season. But already, there’s little doubt that O’Connor will earn a captaincy.

Contact Drew Sharp: dsharp@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewsharp. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/drew-sharp/.

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For openers

Matchup: Furman (4-7 in 2015) at Michigan State (12-2).

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2.

Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.

TV: Big Ten Network.