Dante Sparaco first moved from the mountains to the Mile High City, then from Denver to the Florida Gulf Coast in pursuit of his football dreams. Now those dreams will bring him full circle back to the place his parents met almost 30 years ago.
During his time at IMG Academy, one of the most prestigious producers of Power 5 football talent in the country, Sparaco was part of a squad that went undefeated, finished at No. 2 in the national rankings by USA Today and saw all 22 of its starters receiving FBS scholarship offers. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder originally from Glenwood Springs fielded offers from all three FBS programs in his home state of Colorado along with scholarship opportunities from Nevada and Utah State.
Five Pac 12 schools other than Colorado, national contenders like Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami and Florida also showed interested. Following his junior season at Cherry Creek High near Denver, Sparaco verbally committed to Colorado. When he went to IMG in Bradenton, Florida, despite his extra attention, he maintained his commitment to CU. He spent fall of 2016 at IMG trying “to be the best player I could be and be ready for the college experience.”
Sparaco committed to CU with a desire to play for former Buffs defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who left for the same position at Oregon in December of 2016. Meanwhile, Sparaco enrolled at CU early and participated in spring football in Boulder, setting the stage for a true freshman season last fall in which he played in the first four games.
“They hadn’t hired a new defensive coordinator yet and I was already enrolled when they hired (defensive coordinator and outside linebackers’ coach D.J.) Eliot,” Sparaco said. “Me and him, it never really clicked. He didn’t see me fitting into the scheme he was running up there. It was just a bad fit for me in that defense so I decided it was best for me to find another opportunity elsewhere.”
After being granted his transfer papers, Sparaco wanted to find a Division I program he could play at right away. Sparaco’s father, Dino, played linebacker at Montana State for two seasons under Earle Solomonson and his senior year for Cliff Hysell in the early 1990s. Dino met Dante’s mother, Jennifer, while each earned architecture degrees from MSU.
Former Montana State secondary coach Toby Neinas, now at Rutgers, was the first Colorado assistant to recruit Sparaco during his one season playing at Cherry Creek High outside of Denver. During his one season at Colorado, Sparaco played 32 defensive snaps in the first four games, recording four tackles and one tackle for loss. His shared sack in his first collegiate game is the third known by a CU freshman since 1984.
Before suffering a broken hand that ended his season, Sparaco played the first seven games of the year on special teams for Daniel DaPrato, CU’s offensive quality control assistant who previously held the same role at Montana State. DaPrato helped coordinator film sessions for the Buffs’ kickoff return team on which Sparaco played on and would frequently show highlights from MSU’s kick returns between 2013 and 2015.
Former MSU recruiting coordinator Michael Pitre, now at Oregon State, started his coaching career at CU. Montana State defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak played linebacker in Boulder in the late 1990s.
The connections were so prevalent, the prospect of becoming a Bobcat seemed too glaring to ignore. Just days after his transfer became official, Sparaco came to Bozeman to watch the Sonny Holland spring game at Bobcat Stadium. Within a week of leaving CU, Sparaco committed to the Bobcats. On Tuesday, the transfer became official as Sparaco signed his scholarship papers with Montana State.
“It’s crazy how many crossovers there were with CU,” Sparaco said. “It seems that all over the nation, there’s at least a coach or two on every staff in the nation that has a tie to Montana State. It’s crazy.
“When I came to Bozeman, it was beautiful. I’ve been up there once before but it was when I was little so I didn’t really remember it. It was cool to hear my dad’s side of how it was when he was there playing and how much has changed.
“We are a mountain family and we grew up in a mountain town. This is something that really fits what I like to do up there. With my family, growing up in Glenwood Springs and my mom and dad both going to Montana State, it was cool to see the legacy I’ll be able to continue by going there.”
At CU, the physically formidable Sparaco played the standup outside linebacker/defensive end spot that closely resembles the Buck end position he will play at Montana State. The Bobcat coaching staff told Sparaco during his official visit that they like his position versatility and believe he could play outside or inside linebacker at the FCS level as well. Sparaco said he prefers playing on the edge while standing up, a spot that most effectively emphasizes his combination of size and speed.
“Dante is a big, physical, athletic player,” Montana State head coach Jeff Choate said in a Montana State press release sent out by the school on Tuesday. “He has excellent size and length, is a strong player, can play multiple positions, and saw significant time in the Pac 12 at Colorado last season. Dante is a legacy and I think he’s an excellent fit for our program.”
Sparaco began his high school career at Glenwood Springs High about 30 minutes from Boulder. He played his junior season at Cherry Creek in the Denver suburbs before transferring to IMG.
At IMG, he faced some of the stiffest internal competition in the nation. He initially went to Bradenton to play tight end. He competed with Tre’ McKitty, now a sophomore at Florida State. One day after practice, IMG defensive line coach Ernie Logan approached Sparaco about the prospect of playing defensive end.
Through fall camp and into the first two weeks of the season, Sparaco battled with Robert Beal for the 5-technique end spot in the Ascenders’ defense before eventually winning the spot. Beal, the No. 27 overall player nationally and an ESPN.com 5-star recruit, left IMG in November of the 2016 season, returning home to Lawrenceville, Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 244-pound linebacker was a redshirt freshman on Georgia’s national runner-up squad last season.
“It was a great experience to get down there and play against guys who are making impacts at big schools their freshman years,” Sparaco said. “Of our 22 starters, every one but one not only got Power 5 scholarships but also early enrolled for spring ball after the fall semester at IMG. The one who didn’t early enroll only stayed to play baseball at IMG.”
During his lone fall in Bradenton, Sparaco earned first-team Blue-Grey All-American honors by racking up 71 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, nine quarterback hurries and one pass breakup
In a nationally televised game on ESPN against Grayson High School, the then No. 2-ranked team in the state of Georgia, he had three tackles for a loss, two sacks and one fumble recovery in a 26-8 victory. In the Honor Bowl against No. 7 Corona Centennial, another nationally televised game on Fox Sports, he recorded 11 tackles and a sack in a 50-49 victory. IMG’s third nationally televised game of the season was also on Fox Sports, this time against Long Beach Poly, which IMG won 34-0. In that win he posted 12 tackles, three for losses and he had two sacks. In the Armour Bowl against No. 18 St. Johns College, he recorded eight tackles, two for losses and one sack in a 35-14 victory.
“We played against very good competition from all over the nation. These kids were great athletes on really good teams and we would be able to run them out of the stadium based on the fact that their backups were high school backups and our backups were going to Michigan State and Oregon. It was a ridiculous atmosphere to be a part of.”
Now Sparaco will join the atmosphere created by Choate and his staff as the Bobcats enter their third season under Choate’s guidance. Sparaco, who will major in political science, with designs on going to law school, said Choate and Gregorak were main selling points in his decision to choose MSU.
“Gregorak is an awesome dude and I love the fire and passion he brings,” Sparaco said. “Him put together with Coach Choate, who might be one of the most intense dudes I’ve met in my entire life, it’s just a coaching combination that I’m really excited to play for. I think being able to blessed enough to be recruited by these big schools during my time coming out of high school and being able to play at a Division I level for a time period, that staff up at Montana State is hardly rivaled anywhere else. I’m really excited to get up there and play with everyone else.”
School classes in Boulder end on May 4. Sparaco plans on taking the rest of the month off before reporting for summer workouts. Once he moves to Montana full-time, he said he can’t wait to “take the top off the jeep, go fly fishing, hike in Yellowstone and take the dog out for a run” while he enjoys his first Treasure State summer.
“It was a great situation I had at Colorado being 30 minutes away from my house, being able to see my family every single home game day, being able to drive home for a dinner during the week or whatever but the relationship I had with the coach up there had taken away my passion for the game of football. I felt it was a burden for me to go practice and play,” Sparaco said. “I hated that feeling. It’s a feeling I really never experienced in my football career. I’m excited to go start fresh in a place I believe I can flourish.”
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