"Embrace the Standard": Pat Fitzgerald Sets the Tone as Michigan State Fall Camp Begins

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The Michigan State Spartans may have found one of the best leaders in college football, and new head coach Pat Fitzgerald is proving his worth with every line he delivers.

Today's Fitzgerald-isms were a few beauties.

"There's a difference between rules and standards. Rules are for people who can't follow directions. Standards are for people who aspire to do special things."

Right off the bat, in what quickly became a viral clip, Pat Fitzgerald set the tone.

"That's why we've held you to a higher standard in everything we've done since we've got here. Now it's time for you to take it over. Quit kinda dancing with it."

The excitement continued to build, building toward the grand finale.

"It's time to go, guys. It's time to go. And what's our why? Right there."

He then pointed to a graphic displaying five goals.

The logos represented:

  • Big Ten Championship
  • College Football Playoff
  • Final Four
  • National Championship Game
  • National Champions

Those five goals now serve as the standard for every player, coach, staff member, and fan across Spartan Nation.

Bringing up any one of those five goals to a college football fan outside of East Lansing would probably make them turn around and walk away. They might even have an internal debate about whether to report you for unrealistic expectations.

The Spartans were the laughingstock of college football last season. A team that could rarely stay competitive through the first two-thirds of the year finally found its identity behind quarterback Alessio Milivojevic.

After leading Michigan State to fourth-quarter leads in three of the final four games, while also finishing the job in the season finale, you could feel the momentum beginning to shift.

Then the university did something many people weren't expecting: it hired a proven head coach who looked like he had been chomping at the bit to get back into the Big Ten and brush the chips off his shoulder.

At Big Ten Media Days, Fitzgerald took the conference by storm when he said the Spartans didn't have a chip on their shoulder—they had an entire bag of chips.

With one quote, record scratches came to a halt. People looked around like it was a classic sitcom scene where the new kid had just called out the entire school.

Now, with fall camp officially underway for the Green and White, Pat Fitzgerald is tasked with backing up every word.

It's one thing to stand in front of media members and colleagues and cleverly announce you're back. It's another to take over a program that has been searching for stability and desperately looking for a return to relevance.

If his opening message to the team is any indication, Fitzgerald understands exactly what's required.

In a video posted by the Michigan State football program, Fitzgerald addressed the team before practice, and what followed was pure electricity. Enough to make an undead man run through a wall.

He closed his speech by saying:

"If you don't feel that, if you don't want that, and you're not willing to sacrifice to do something special for the guy to your right and left, don't show up tomorrow morning."

No beating around the bush.

Dropping bars like Lil Wayne, Michigan State's new head coach essentially dropped the microphone and turned the intensity up to 11.

There's no way around it. The Spartans' new leader looks and sounds exactly how a true leader should.

Now comes the part everyone is waiting for.

Can he prove it on the field?

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