Big Ten Media Days: MSU's J.D. Duplain says 'Last year was a fluke year'

It is no secret in Big Ten country that the 2022 season was a disappointing one for the Michigan State Spartans. But at the 2023 Big Ten Football Media Days event in Indianapolis, Michigan State players and coaches all projected a sense optimism for the future.

One of those players was fifth-year senior offensive lineman, J.D. Duplain, who decided to invoke his right to play one more year of college football due to the impact of COVID-19.

In the 30-minute afternoon podium session on Wednesday, Duplain answered questions from the media about why he believes the Spartans will bounce back in 2023, some the players to watch for this fall and his thoughts on the night games against Michigan (reported) and Penn State.

It was pointed out several times during the Media Days event that the 2023 offseason resembles the 2021 offseason. In both cases, the Spartans were coming off losing seasons that resulted in a defiant, us-against-the-world type attitude.

The 2021 season ended with a gaudy 11-2 record and a Peach Bowl championship. Can the Spartans bounce back like they did two years ago?

“People thought we weren't going to be anything going into 2021, and we proved a lot of people wrong that year,” Duplain said. “We talked about that a little bit, and we're looking just to prove people wrong again. We know the talent that we have and the team that we have. We know we can get the job done.”

But why should fans expect 2023 to be any different than 2022? What went wrong last year that can be fixed this fall? Duplain admitted that, at times, the Spartans may have gotten complacent last year. But team health had a lot more to do with the losing season in 2022.

“We went through a bunch of injuries,” Duplain said. “I think we had a talented roster last year. I do think we had that. I think we had some unfortunate things happen last season. Last year was a fluke year and now we're back to where we need to be.”

While injuries are sometimes unavoidable, the Michigan State coaching staff appears to have taken steps to reduce the likelihood of injuries both in the spring and in the offseason. Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker discussed in Wednesday's morning press conference how the team has changed the way they hit. Duplain appears to have embraced the changes.

“We always adapt,” Duplain said. “Coach Tucker always adapts to whatever we need as a team. So, it's changed a little bit. We’re going to be a lot more fresh going into fall camp this year and try and prevent some of those unfortunate injuries we had. They put together a great game plan. Our offseason has been great. We've gotten after it, and we've been smart, too.”

Later in the interview, Duplain reiterated the coaching staff’s ability to be flexible.

“Coach Tucker’s ability to adapt is second to none,” he said. “He saw (the problem) understood it, and then bang, changed it. Not many coaches are moving that fast and to have someone like him that is so conscious of that helps us out. It's going to be a tool for us this year going into Week One feeling like it's Week One, (and not) like it's Week Eight.”

With health comes the ability for each player to get better during the offseason. Duplain remarked several times that everyone around him is getting “bigger, faster and stronger.”

“The last month of July has been one of the better months of lifting that I've ever witnessed while I was at Michigan State,” Duplain said.

The combination of these factors provides additional benefits as well.

“I think we have a lot of depth,” Duplain said. “We have a lot of guys that can step in and play and that we trust to play and to get the job done at a high level. I think that's a big difference.”