EAST LANSING - Not long before leaving the team hotel to make the short gameday walk to Spartan Stadium last November, Josh Butler got a call.
The Michigan State cornerback's grandfather told him his father, Steven, was headed to the hospital. A few minutes later, Butler learned his dad died unexpectedly at age 51.
"My dad, he prepared me well for any life situation, he did a great job," Butler said, adding his father died of either a heart attack or stroke. "I love my father and I just felt like I just had to step up as a man.