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Hubbard’s Drummond gets another shot at OSU
Michigan State University took a chance on a three-star athlete from Hubbard High School in 2009.
Five years later, Kurtis Drummond hopes to repay the favor the best way he knows how. The Spartans host Big Ten rival Ohio State tonight in what is essentially an elimination game for the inaugural college football playoff.
Also, since conference realignment has placed both the Spartans and Buckeyes in the same division, the loser can consider themselves on the outside looking in for the Big Ten championship game.
Other than that, it’s just another game in East Lansing.
“Being an Ohioan, whenever this game comes up in the league I get excited,” Drummond said earlier in the week. “It’s something special for them too, I’m sure.”
Much has been written over the years about the home-state Buckeyes’ lack of interest in Drummond out of high school. However he would rather embrace the school that, he says, believed in him from the beginning.
“I really just think it was my upside,” Drummond said of MSU’s interest in him. “I’m very blessed with athletic ability. This coaching staff had faith in me and I’m very thankful for them taking a chance on me.
“I’ve had the time of my life here and it’s the best decision I could’ve ever made.”
Drummond was given a redshirt his freshman year after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. Since then, he’s blossomed into the leader of a defense that’s considered one of the beset in the nation. Drummond says he owes a lot of that to head coach Mark Dantonio and defensive coordinator — and Ursuline High graduate — Pat Narduzzi.
“We’ve had a lot of time to work with each other and gel with each other,” Drummond said. “That’s the good thing about this place.
“It’s the type of people Coach D brings in — guys that are going to work hard and understand the type of hard work it’s going to take to earn a jersey here.”
Drummond has more than earned a jersey in East Lansing. He was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches last season and was named a team captain before the start of this year.
He has 200 career tackles in 47 games as a Spartan and has made his presence known in the secondary with 10 interceptions.
Whether it’s a star-rating in high school or his personal statistics, Drummond’s never been a big fan of numbers. That’s a good thing, considering he and the rest of the Michigan State defense gave up a rather large one to the Oregon Ducks offense in the second week of the season.
The 46 points allowed in Eugene is the most by a Spartans defense with Drummond on it.
While he sees similarities in the styles of offense Oregon and Ohio State run, each provide a unique challenge.
“They’re not the same team,” he said. “I mean they run different plays, but they do go up tempo, which is something we’ve been working on.
“We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
A win would put the Spartans squarely in the mix of teams hoping to see their name on one of the top four lines when the updated playoff picture is announced next week.
But Drummond doesn’t have time to worry about that. He still has something to prove.
“As a player, you can’t really pay too much attention to the playoff system,” he said. “You can only worry about what you can control.
“We’re just trying to handle our business.”