Harlon Barnett shares how he will keep players' minds off of last year's tunnel fight against Michigan

The end of the Michigan State game at Michigan was ugly in 2022, with a fight breaking out in the tunnel following the game. That, ultimately, led to charges being filed against seven Spartans. That will, undoubtedly, be on everyone’s minds but Harlon Barnett wants to keep his players from thinking about it.

Barnett took over as the interim head coach at Michigan State in September. He has spent 15 years with the program and understands this rivalry well. He also knows that players can’t be focused on what happened in the tunnel last season.

“We’re focused on this year and just playing the game 11-on-11 on the football field,” Harlon Barnett said. “Because that’s all that matters and that’s where our focus is. 11-on-11 on the football field. You get plenty of chance to get out and get after them and play hard, and all the other stuff, we’re moving forward past that.”

Michigan State is going to be doing its best to move past what happened last season, but the storyline isn’t likely to go away until after the game. Several Spartans were suspended, and while no Michigan players were charged, seven Michigan State players were. That included six who were hit with misdemeanor charges, Itayvion Brown, Angelo Grose, Justin White, Brandon Wright, Zion Young, and Jacob Windom. One player, Khary Crump, was charged with a felony.

That will likely hang over the team. However, the fallout over head coach Mel Tucker being fired for cause is also hanging over the team this season. Since he was fired, the Spartans are 0-3 under Harlon Barnett.

Amid those struggles, Harlon Barnett shared how he’s trying to approach the rivalry game.

“You always are just trying to get better no matter what – a rivalry game or not,” Barnett said. “Definitely, it can bring some more focus to it, though. We talked about having great attention to detail. But, as far as if it’s Michigan or not, Michigan or what have you? We just need to start playing better and now it’s about finishing. That’s our next step. We’ve got to finish and we’re looking forward to doing that this weekend.”

When the Michigan rivalry became personal for Harlon Barnett

Harlon Barnett has been involved in this rivalry for 15 years now, coaching at Michigan State. Before that, he was a player for the Spartans. So, he knows the rivalry well and it is personal for him.

“He got me fired up. I’ve been that way ever since 1985, man. So, it is what it is,” Barnett said about his former head coach, George Perles.

“I think it’s great for the state of Michigan. I really do. Because in this state, you grew up one way or the other. So whenever I got out recruiting in the state, I say ‘Who you grew up rooting for?’ Because they’re going to tell you one or the other. You’re going to get one or the other and you kind of know where they stand.”