The man needs no introduction.
His biceps bulge. His stare is bleak. His helmet sits robust on his head, inches above a fierce look.
He is Sparty, and he held court against Ohio State in football, men's basketball and women's basketball during the 2015-16 athletic year. Michigan State compiled an impressive 6-1 mark against those scarlet and gray programs in that time frame, a series of regurgitated outcomes coming in matchups where the winner eventually captured a major goal of the loser's season.
What follows is a factual recount of Michigan State's destruction of Ohio State this athletic season and where the respective programs head from here.
Football
Ohio State's assumed success on the football field in 2015 has been written about, analyzed, discussed and deliberated every possible way both in this theatre and elsewhere. The Buckeyes had talent seeping through the pores of more talent, with essentially the same team back that improbably won the inaugural College Football Playoff the year before.
Michigan State ended Urban Meyer and Ohio State's brief run as the Big Ten's champion, with Mark Dantonio and his staff perfectly executing its chip on the shoulder approach on a rainy Columbus day in late November when the Buckeye offense disappeared.
The Spartans won 17-14 on a last second field goal, concocting enough offense without the man who finished second in the Silver Football voting to beat the guy who took home the award. It was only then that Meyer realized he needed to put offensive coordinator Ed Warinner in the press box to call the plays, many of which revolved around a strong offensive line that paved the way for 654 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in the team's final two games of 2015 the season.
The Spartans, meanwhile, went on to beat Iowa for the Big Ten crown and get skunked 38-0 by eventual national champion Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinals in a game they were outmanned and completely outclassed. Ohio State was left with a Fiesta Bowl victory against Notre Dame.
That's nothing to gripe about, but will forever be a symbol of what could have been with the NFL talent on roster.
Men's Basketball
Ohio State's 2015-16 season was set to be deemed a tremendous success if Thad Matta's club found its way into the NCAA Tournament.
The lack of upperclassmen speaks volumes to the youth of the team, but Matta had the Buckeyes on the bubble and with 20 wins when it tipped off against Michigan State Friday in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
Sparty won easily, 81-54, behind Big Ten Player of the Year Denzel Valentine. The victory was Michigan State's third in as many weeks against Ohio State, a statistic that is by no means surprising. Tom Izzo's club looks like a Final Four team and is a trendy pick to cut down the nets in Houston in three weeks.
But the Buckeyes had a chance to earn an NCAA Tournament bid if they could pull at least one upset against the Spartans. It didn't happen, and Sparty ruled again by winning the Big Ten Tournament with a 66-62 victory against Purdue Sunday.
Women's Basketball
Kevin McGuff's team is a legitimate Final Four contender just like the Michigan State men, with star sophomore guard Kelsey Mitchell running the show and raining threes all over the place.
The Spartans, however, topped Ohio State in the regular season finale, 107-105 in triple overtime despite Mitchell's program single-game record 48 points. All the Buckeyes had to do was beat the Spartans and earn a share of the Big Ten regular season title to earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The loss prevented that, then the two teams met in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament a week later.
The Spartans won, 82-63, with Ohio State's second-leading scorer in Ameryst Alston being a non-factor with a wrist injury.
The Buckeyes should make the NCAA Tournament, but missed out on both the regular season conference crown and a chance at playing for a tournament title due to the green and white of Michigan State.
Others
Men's Hockey: The Buckeyes had better success on the ice against Michigan State, winning two of four contests, dropping one and battling to an overtime tie in the most recent matchup Saturday (the Spartans won the shootout). And wouldn't you know it? The two teams play Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, fighting for a chance to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Soccer: Ohio State's men's and women's soccer teams defeated Michigan State this past fall. The women won 2-0 in Columbus, while the men left East Lansing, Michigan, with a 2-1 victory.
Women's Volleyball: The Spartans made quick work of the Buckeyes in East Lansing Oct. 21, winning in three sets 25-20, 25-19 and 26-24. The loss ended Ohio State's seven-game winning streak, its longest conference mark since the 2006 season.
So what does this all mean?
Overall, the Spartans enjoyed high levels of success in the 2015-16 athletic season and there potentially could be more once March bleeds into April and beyond.
Both football programs lost hordes of talent to graduation and the NFL Draft, but Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio recruit and develop the nation's best talent. They need to, in order to continue to do battle in the rising Big Ten East. Those two programs look prime for a continued rivalry along with Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines for conference supremacy in the years to come.
Thad Matta's club has some maturing to do, but the talent is there for the Buckeyes to climb the rungs up the Big Ten ladder. Tom Izzo is a terrific coach, so despite losing key cogs like Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello after this season, the Spartans will be there.
The same goes for the Ohio State women's basketball program. Kevin McGuff's 2016 recruiting class is among the highest rated in the country, and as long as Kelsey Mitchell stays healthy the Buckeyes will be competitive.
Ohio State is used to sitting atop the conference in not only the revenue sports but the others. If the 2015-16 season is any indication, however, Sparty is here to stay.
