MSU's Dantonio visits ESPN, Harbaugh questions ensue

For the record, it did take 2 minutes and 23 seconds before Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio's visit to ESPN turned into a Jim Harbaugh discussion.

Dantonio is spending the day doing his own "car wash" series of interviews at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. -- the Big Ten decided not to participate with all of its coaches this year, so he made his own arrangements -- and his first stop was a live appearance on "SportsCenter."

Jaymee Sire asked Dantonio about program momentum coming off of consecutive top-five finishes -- "We need to reach a little bit higher as we move forward," he said, citing this season's motto -- and about the impact on recruiting.

"Well, we're having a great recruiting year," Dantonio said. "And our incoming freshmen look like a great bunch, and then this next year (of 2017) looks like it's shaping up very, very well as well. So I've got to give a shoutout to all the recruits out there. But you know, it's paid dividends, there's no question about that."

Then Sire asked about Ohio State winning it all and helping the Big Ten. Dantonio mentioned other Big Ten bowl wins, parity overall and all the quality coaching in college football. Then came this exchange on Michigan's first-year coach:

Sire: "Speaking of coaching, we know there's a deep rivalry with Michigan, but certainly, the addition of Jim Harbaugh is going to intensify that. How do you see that rivalry shaping up now that he's there?"

Dantonio: "Well, you know, he's a proven commodity, a proven coach, there's no question about that. And I think, obviously, it's good for the conference. But you know, we'll line up and play. That's what we do. So we're looking forward to the opportunity."

Sire: "Rolling Stone recently did an article, top two coaches in the Big Ten, they said Urban Meyer and Harbaugh. He hasn't even coached a game in the conference yet. Does that motivate you at all?"

Dantonio: "No, I'm just a guy trying to move forward. So I'm good with that."

Sire: "No Rolling Stone covers in your near future."

Dantonio: "Rolling Stone, really, you know … "

Dantonio shrugged, and that was that. Sire asked him about the 2015 schedule and the big Sept. 12 game against Oregon, and about senior quarterback Connor Cook. And to wrap it all up, she said: "Best of luck this season, and who knows, perhaps next year Rolling Stone will be doing the article on you."

Dantonio had another "SportsCenter" hit an hour later with Jay Crawford and Cari Champion -- and this time, three of the first four questions he faced involved Harbaugh and Michigan. Asked whether he gets upset with the attention U-M and OSU are getting, Dantonio said: "Hey, my guys are seeing me on ESPN today. We've got a little bit of hype and everything. We're good, everything's good, we just keep moving."

Champion -- who previously called Dantonio "Mike Dantonio" -- then asked him whether there was "some type of fear or unnecessary concern" at MSU when U-M hired Harbaugh.

"Panic, you mean?" Dantonio said. "Is that it? No. I mean, he's a proven football coach, but players make plays."

Crawford followed up the Michigan talk by asking Dantonio about former MSU offensive line commitment Gavin Cupp, who had his offer pulled by Dantonio after visiting an Ohio State recruiting event. Cupp committed to the Buckeyes on Tuesday.

Coaches aren't permitted by NCAA rules to mention specific recruits, but Dantonio responded to the question: "I don't want to embarrass anybody in the whole situation, but communication is so important. And when you make a commitment to me, you've got to communicate. Doesn't mean things don't change, but you need to communicate in the process, so that everyone's on the same page. So when that communication didn't take place, we just went in a different direction."

Dantonio got a specific Cupp question later in the day on "College Football Live," and he again talked in general about lack of communication.

"I think that individual was telling us the truth, I just think there was a lack of communication for whatever reason," Dantonio said. "And I think there could have been communication. And I listen to our staff and I've got to make tough decisions."

Watch Dantonio on SportsCenter here

Dantonio had two segments on "College Football Live," starting with highlights of the "Little Giants" play to beat Notre Dame in 2010; the "Rocket" play to beat Wisconsin in 2011; the fourth-and-inches stop to beat Stanford in the 2014 Rose Bowl; and Cook's winning touchdown pass to Keith Mumphery to beat Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.

Right away, host Chris Cotter mentioned this article's mention of the 2 minutes, 23 seconds until the first Harbaugh question. And Cotter got his in right away.

"You broke the record," Dantonio joked.

To the question of being "under the radar," Dantonio responded: "We're just trying to focus on the present and what we're doing. Everybody's got their own program to run, and we're just gonna run ours and make sure that, at the end of the day, you made the play on the field. And that's the most important thing."

On the MSU running back situation, Dantonio said: "We've got very confident running backs. They're big, they're fast, they're strong. Someone is going to take advantage of that offensive line."

After talking about the Cupp situation, Dantonio reiterated that he takes a "low-pressure" approach with recruits.

"We're pretty transparent," he said. "I don't pressure guys into committing, I don't pressure guys on recruiting, I don't do that. If they want to come, they come. If they don't, they don't. But I will say this: Michigan State will get theirs. We will get ours. And when we get ours, we will come to play. And that's all that's important to me."

Entering the second segment, several Big Ten coaches appeared with comments on Cook. Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald compared him to NFL great Peyton Manning. The second segment involved Dantonio going over a Cotton Bowl play with analysts Brock Huard and Ed Cunningham, a zone-read run to receiver R.J. Shelton for a touchdown.

Dantonio said that while MSU still considers itself a pro-style, power offense, creativity is stressed.

"You just can't be jamming it up people all the time," he said. "You've got to be multidimensional."

Finally, Dantonio and the hosts played a little "cornhole," the popular game in which players try to throw bean bags through a hole in a wooden board. Before taking his throw, Dantonio asked: "Is this regulation, though? Is this 21 feet?"

Note: Minnesota Vikings rookie and former MSU star Trae Waynes told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he got to train in boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Las Vegas gym for a brief time this off-season, though the champ wasn't there.

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.