Barnett Provides Emotional Spark for Spartan Defense
12/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
DALLAS -- One of biggest questions asked of Michigan State going into this football season was: Who's going to fill the emotional void from a coaching standpoint?
Head coach Mark Dantonio had promoted Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel to serve as co-defensive coordinators in place of Pat Narduzzi, who left to build his own program at Pittsburgh and took his renowned fiery temperament with him, but could they inspire the troops in a similar matter?
When defensive lapses cost the Spartans statistically and on the scoreboard in the first half of the season, the wisdom of having two coordinators was also questioned, even though it had worked splendidly for MSU's offense with Dave Warner and Jim Bollman since 2013.
It didn't seem to matter that Barnett and Tressel had their hands full dealing with a rash of injuries to key players while in the midst of managing their own coaching transition.
Now that No. 3 MSU is 12-1, getting set to play No. 2 Alabama in a College Football Playoff and two wins away from the National Championship, the Narduzzi talk and criticism has been virtually non-existent.
Dantonio made it clear a few weeks ago that while most of the principles espoused by Narduzzi remain in place, this is clearly Barnett and Tressel's defense.
As their roles became more defined, the co-coordinators figured out how to complement each other while the defense got healthy enough to hold Michigan State's last four opponents to an average of 12.5 points per game.
The Spartans have benefitted from Tressel's kinetic, but cerebral, approach and Barnett's emotional leadership that is sometimes masked by an affable off-field persona.
Although Barnett's coaching methods may not be overly histrionic, a la Narduzzi, the Spartans know where he's coming from as a past MSU All-America defensive back, former veteran of seven NFL seasons and protégé of intense mentors such as Dantonio, Alabama head coach (and his former position coach at MSU) Nick Saban and Narduzzi.
"When it's halftime and you're going to the locker room, you know Coach Tressel is going to give you a big pep talk," senior defensive tackle Joel Heath said at Sunday's Cotton Bowl Defensive Press Conference. "And before the game, for some reason, Coach Barnett gets us the most hyped.
"He's a crazy dude, man. When it comes down to it, you know that he played football at one point. You can tell it in his eyes, you can tell it in his demeanor. He's a different guy when he's getting us ready for a game. That's just how he is."
Barnett provided some insight into his coaching style when he was asked about the publicized antics of Spartan linebackers Riley Bullough and Jon Reschke, who admitted to frequently engaging in some trash talk to throw opponents off their mark.
It was suggested that many coaches frown at such behavior, but Barnett put it in the context of competing in game celebrated for its violent collisions.
It doesn't bother Barnett, he said, "because that's how we talk to our guys. There's nothing wrong with being a little crazy out there. This is football. If you're anybody that's going to run full speed into somebody and hit them and think it feels good, you're a little nuts.
"And I'm one of those people, so I love that," Barnett continued, echoing sentiments exactly as Narduzzi might. "That fires me up, man, you know? That's all right. It's all fun. It's all fun. It's all legal, and that's why we play this game. That's why I always talk about the other guy (inside of you) must come out when you're playing football.
"When you're playing football, that other guy has to come out. And we all have that other guy in us."
And if anyone still questions where MSU's emotional inspiration is going to come from when the Spartans play Alabama, all they need to do is find "Michigan State's Harlon Barnett destroys ND Player" on YouTube.com.
