Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 3-4
1984Cherry BowlL 6-10
1985All-American BowlL 14-17
1987Rose BowlW 20-17
1988Gator BowlL 27-34
1989Aloha BowlW 33-13
1990John Hancock BowlW 17-16
1993Liberty BowlL 7-18Stats
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.
4-10 against his rivals. Just 1-3 against Mike White.
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 (1983-1994) 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. 8 went in the first round.
At least 33 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | R2.08 | Brian DeMarco | Offensive Tackle |  Jacksonville Jaguars | Estimated |
| 1995 | R2.31 | Shane Hannah | Offensive Guard |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1994 | R1.22 | Rob Fredrickson | Linebacker |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1994 | R5.09 | Myron Bell | Defensive Back |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1994 | R6.17 | Jim Miller | Quarterback | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1994 | R7.15 | Brice Abrams | Running Back | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1993 | R6.11 | Mitch Lyons | Tight End |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1993 | R7.06 | Ty Hallock | Linebacker |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | R2.16 | Courtney Hawkins | Wide Receiver |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1992 | R3.09 | Bill Johnson | Defensive Tackle |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1992 | R5.11 | Alan Haller | Defensive Back | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1992 | R7.13 | Jim Johnson | Offensive Tackle |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1991 | R1.17 | Bobby Wilson | Defensive Tackle |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1991 | R2.10 | Dixon Edwards | Linebacker | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1991 | R2.20 | Eric Moten | Offensive Guard |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R3.10 | Carlos Jenkins | Linebacker |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1991 | R5.12 | Duane Young | Tight End | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R7.14 | James Bradley | Wide Receiver |  Indianapolis Colts | Estimated |
| 1990 | R1.13 | Percy Snow | Linebacker |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1990 | R4.04 | Travis Davis | Defensive Tackle |  Phoenix Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1990 | R4.20 | Harlon Barnett | Defensive Back |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1990 | R7.10 | Bob Kula | Offensive Tackle |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1989 | R1.02 | Tony Mandarich | Offensive Tackle |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1989 | R1.22 | Andre Rison | Wide Receiver | Indianapolis Colts | Estimated |
| 1989 | R3.19 | Kevin Robbins | Offensive Tackle |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1987 | R1.28 | Mark Ingram | Wide Receiver |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1986 | R1.05 | Anthony Bell | Linebacker |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1986 | R7.14 | Butch Rolle | Tight End |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1985 | R4.12 | Ralf Mojsiejenko | Punter |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1985 | R5.11 | Mark Napolitan | Center | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1985 | R6.10 | Terry Lewis | Defensive Back | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1984 | R1.03 | Carl Banks | Linebacker | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1984 | R2.21 | Daryl Turner | Wide Receiver | Seattle Seahawks | 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.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
4th-best Michigan State tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Frank Waters (1980–1982) · succeeded by Nick Saban (1995–1999).
| Season | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||||||
| Record | 4-6-1 | 6-6 | 7-5 | 6-5 | 9-2-1 | 6-5-1 | 8-4 | 8-3-1 | 3-8 | 5-6 | 6-6 | 5-6 | |
| Postseason | — | L bowl | L bowl | — | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | — | — | L bowl | — | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | |||||||||||||
| Offense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Defense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | |||||||||||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
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.
3rd all-time at Michigan State
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+10.7 pts at Michigan State · #198 of 1290 · top quarter