Ohio-born Spartans embrace rivalry with Buckeyes

Like most Ohioans, Rocco Cironi grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes fan.

He wore scarlet shirts and team hats growing up in Warren, but his colors and loyalty changed in 2005 when he signed a national letter of intent to play football at MSU.

Cironi, a 6-foot-6, 308-pound junior tackle, said he’s sworn off all things Ohio State.

“Nope, gave it all away the day after I committed,” Cironi said of his Ohio State gear. “I went home and threw it all away. (There’s) nothing, you can look. There’s nothing in there, I swear. It’s gone … I don’t want any of it.”

Other than his new-found allegiance to MSU, another reason Cironi dismissed his Ohio State belongings was because the Buckeyes gave him a cold shoulder during the recruiting process.

Cironi, who was a Scout.com two-star recruit out of Warren G. Harding High, said the Buckeyes recruited him until they signed Alex Boone, who is a four-year starter at left tackle.

After the Buckeyes toned down their recruitment of Cironi, he jumped at the first chance he had to fulfill his dream of playing Big Ten football, signing with MSU. Cironi said he was happy to be in East Lansing, but it took a while for his friends and family to come around.

“Everyone was asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go to Ohio State?’,” Cironi said. “I said, ‘Ask them why I didn’t go to Ohio State.’”

Cironi isn’t the only MSU player with Ohio ties, as 24 of MSU’s 80 scholarship players are from the state, including three of the four senior captains — running back Javon Ringer, quarterback Brian Hoyer and defensive tackle Justin Kershaw.

“That’s one big thing they really talk about all season long is beating them,” said defensive end Trevor Anderson, a junior from Detroit.

Kershaw, who grew up in Columbus, said when high school players from Columbus solidify themselves at the next level, natives of Columbus wonder how they got away from Ohio State. Players such as himself, Minnesota wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright and current NFL quarterback Brady Quinn, who attended Notre Dame, fit that mold.

Kershaw, who’s developed from a two-star recruit to three-year starter during his five seasons at MSU, said he has “no regrets” about signing with MSU.

“There’s a lot of great universities around the country and not everybody wants to stay at home,” Kershaw said. “But I’m a Spartan and I’m glad to be a Spartan.”

Building a program

MSU players have competed in big games before, but some players said Saturday’s game might be the grand-daddy of them all.

“This is the biggest regular-season game I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here at Michigan State,” Kershaw said. “This is going to put Michigan State in the right direction, it’ll put this senior class in the right direction and the team in the right direction for the rest of the year.”

Over the past six weeks, Dantonio has called every win a “program win.” Following last week’s win against the previously undefeated Northwestern Wildcats, Ringer and Hoyer echoed Dantonio’s sentiments.

If the win over the Wildcats was huge, just imagine what a win over the Buckeyes would mean.

“We’re still a work in progress,” Anderson said. “By no long shot are we perfect … but it will be a big stepping stone, as far as where we want to take this program here at Michigan State, especially against Ohio State.

“When you look at them, they are Big Ten champs.

“They are the premier team in the conference so beating them would really make a statement for us.”