DotComp: When Ken Mannie talks, Spartans listen — and he likes what he saw Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - We will have to wait until Monday to get some official quotes and observations from head coach Jonathan Smith about Saturday’s scrimmage, but former Michigan State strength coach Ken Mannie was impressed enough to sound off a little bit on X. Mannie, Michigan State’s legendary strength and conditioning coach from 1995 to 2020, was invited to speak to the 2025 Spartan football team on Thursday.  “Honored to have Coach Mannie share his knowledge, stories, and passion for Spartan football with our team tonight!,” Smith posted on X, on Thursday. On Saturday, Mannie was among a smattering of people who had access to watch Michigan State’s scrimmage, which was the Spartans’ second and final long-form scrimmage of preseason camp.  Mannie, who was a two-year starter at the University of Akron as a collegian and oversaw physical conditioning of more than 1,000 Michigan State football players under four head coaches, has an eye for gridiron magic. In mid-summer of 2013, he famously and uncharacteristically informed head coach Mark Dantonio that he felt there was something special about that team. Mannie spent more time with players in the off-season that head coaches or assistant coaches are allowed to, and had an accurate gauge for that squad, which went on to win the Big Ten, win the Rose Bowl and finish ranked No. 3 in the nation.  Mannie is retired and living in East Lansing. He follows Michigan State closely, but understandably doesn’t have the daily access that he used to. However, on Saturday, he watched the scrimmage, and was impressed.  Again, we aren’t privy to individual statistics or accomplishments, but when it comes to macro evaluation, Mannie - who doesn’t post on social media often - provided a positive one on X, Sunday afternoon. (MORE inside SpartanMag).