Now
Career arc
Stats
Big games
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
12-7 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Forest Evashevski.
Building the roster
Two numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1954-1972) predates 2021, when transfer-portal tracking begins in this database. Portal usage cannot be measured for this tenure at all -- this is not the same as '0% portal'.
“His own” means the player arrived while he was head coach; “inherited” means a predecessor brought him in.
The NFL pipeline
The NFL pipeline
players drafted into the NFL off his teams here (a floor — see the note below). None can be traced to who brought them in — there’s no roster record for these players here. 13 went in the first round.
At least 56 — his 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 seasons predate the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for those seasons.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | R1.20 | Billy Joe DuPree | Tight End | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1973 | R1.26 | Joe DeLamielleure | Offensive Guard | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1973 | R2.14 | Brad Van Pelt | Linebacker | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1973 | R4.24 | Gail Clark | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R6.05 | Marvin Roberts | Center | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R7.06 | Brian McConnell | Linebacker | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1972 | R4.26 | Eric Allen | Wide Receiver | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.09 | Harold Phillips | Defensive Back | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | R7.26 | Gordon Bowdell | Wide Receiver | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1970 | R5.06 | Ron Saul | Offensive Guard | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1970 | R7.21 | Craig Wycinsky | Offensive Guard | Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1969 | R7.14 | Al Brenner | Defensive Back | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.01 | Jess Phillips | Defensive Back | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.19 | Drake Garrett | Defensive Back | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1968 | R5.14 | Dwight Lee | Running Back | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1968 | R7.13 | Joe Przybycki | Offensive Guard | Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1967 | R1.01 | Bubba Smith | Defensive End | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1967 | R1.02 | Clinton Jones | Running Back | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1967 | R1.05 | George Webster | Linebacker | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1967 | R1.08 | Gene Washington | Wide Receiver | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1967 | R6.13 | Jeff Richardson | Defensive End | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1966 | R2.21 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R2.25 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R7.84 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R2.20 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R5.60 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R6.72 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R1.04 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R1.11 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R2.22 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R2.23 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R6.69 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R7.82 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R1.12 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R2.22 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R7.86 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R3.33 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R4.40 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R5.55 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R6.66 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R1.03 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R1.06 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R4.48 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R5.52 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R6.69 | Estimated | |||
| 1957 | R1.07 | Estimated | |||
| 1957 | R3.35 | Estimated | |||
| 1957 | R5.58 | Estimated | |||
| 1957 | R7.70 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R1.02 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R2.18 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R3.34 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R5.55 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R5.51 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R6.69 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R7.79 | Estimated |
A pick counts toward his tenure when the player’s final college season was one he coached, a checkable rule rather than a claim about who developed the player. A blank note means the player is on a verified roster and arrived on his watch. “Estimated” means no roster record, so the final season is assumed to be the year before the draft.
Career
Coaching career
The arc of his career is on Now.
Sustainer inherited a power and held it for five-plus elite seasons
1st-best Michigan State tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Biggie Munn (1947–1953) · succeeded by Dennis Stolz (1973–1975).
Selector agreement
The AP and Coaches’ polls split on the national champion in 1 season of this coach’s career — shown as each selector’s own pick, not a single consensus title.
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
2nd all-time at Michigan State
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+0.1 pts at Michigan State · #676 of 1290 · middle half
Dallas Cowboys
Buffalo Bills
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Baltimore Colts
Denver Broncos
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals
San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings
New York Jets