That’s what happens when first round NFL talent graduate from the program. The team has plenty of holes to fill, but it is not barren of top talent. The Spartans will bring back 53 lettermen, with 29 of them having starting experience.

Head coach Mark Dantonio is in his 10th spring with MSU, and he’s ushering in a new era of Spartans. The players have yet to hit the pads, but he knows that in college football, turnover and change is just one of the many processes that encompass it.

“There was a lot of retention, and I think that’s pretty normal when you’ve been in a place for a while,” Dantonio said in a press release.

While there are plenty of veterans on this team, all eyes are on the underclassmen. With some positions and playing time open for the taking, how they react will be a point of emphasis for the team going forward.

“Our younger guys look good, our true freshmen and the guys who redshirted last year.” Dantonio said in the release. “We’ve got seven brand-new (scholarship) guys out there, and they were impressive.”

Overall, depth will be a key point as the Spartans look to continue their success. Dantonio knows he has exactly that.

“It’s quite apparent that we have a lot of depth,” Dantonio said in the release. “We’ve got a relatively young football team, but there’s some experience. We have some good players and they’ve shown the ability to run and catch and those types of things.”

The 15 spring practices will all come down to the annual Green-White game April 23. Fans will be given the opportunity to purchase press box seating for $75 here, where they will be able to see the game through the eyes of the media.

As for the players, Dantonio is excited to have some of his senior leaders back.

“It will be exciting to watch (the seniors) grow because in their last year, they seem to grow the most as people,” Dantonio said.

Along with spring practice, there were some administrative changes for the Spartans. Former University of Cincinnati Bearcat, Butler Benton III, was named recruiting operations coordinator.

A Detroit native, Benton replaces former football operations assistant Ryan Manalac, who left the team to become a linebackers coach at Valparaiso University. Prior to his role at MSU, Benton spent some time at the University of New Orleans and Notre Dame University.

At Cincinnati Benton had some success, rushing for 379 times for 1,736 yards. Dantonio and Benton shared mutual time at Cincinnati, where Dantonio was the head coach from 2004-06.