Michigan State hired defensive line coach Diron Reynolds in late January. Now, in August, Reynolds is coaching his first fall camp at MSU.
Following Wednesday's practice, Reynolds addressed the media about the defensive line's depth, experience, potential and more.
He pointed out players like Colorado transfer defensive tackle Jalen Sami — a 6-foot-6, 330-pound sixth-year senior — and returners such as redshirt junior Simeon Barrow Jr. and others to illustrate the talent and experience in the room.
"It feels really good to have experience in the room," Reynolds said about the defensive line. "You've got a guy like Jalen Sami coming off the wire. He brings a lot of wealth and knowledge to our room and and our guys are following him. He blends right in with the group. And his learning curve is unbelievable. He came right in and learned just as fast or faster than some of the guys in the room, which is outstanding. And not only that, he's a team player. But, adding that depth to our room, and adding that girth, that body, that kind of speaks for itself."
The added depth has been something head coach Mel Tucker has been adamant about throughout the offseason, noting that this may be MSU's most-talented team from top to bottom during his tenure.
Reynolds understands the importance of that kind of depth in the defensive trenches. Of course, the Spartans' defensive line was hit hard by injuries in 2022. Guys were forced to play out of position (defensive tackles lining up on the edge as defensive ends, for instance). The full potential of the players was not able to be reached last season.
In 2023, with a plethora of healthy bodies and skilled players, that should no longer be the case.
"We just gotta continue to have that depth because one of the things that they talked about coming in last year that I remember Simeon Barrow talking about it, he wasn't able to learn to let himself go because he had to play so many plays," Reynolds explained. "He had to kind of pace himself because he knew that was all he had. Now, we're at a point where we've got some depth — guys that can play freely and take off and play hard and run."
Speaking of the injuries and the personnel having to be moved around last season, Reynolds complimented how defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton handled a difficult situation with the defensive line.
"I thought it was great, the way he handled it," Reynolds said about Hazelton. "Every now and then, when you don't have bodies to sit there and just play base defense, you've got to blitz, you've got to do some things that's kind of out of pocket, just to make some negative plays happen. And that's exactly what you've got to do as a coordinator sometimes."
Back to 2023, Reynolds likes his group. There is a strong mix of veterans and youth in the room. There is a lot of competition. The Spartans have a lot of bodies, especially at the defensive end position, and have retooled the interior as well.
Through the transfer portal, MSU added Sami, Jarrett Jackson (Florida State) Dre Butler (Liberty) and, perhaps the player with the highest potential, Tunmise Adeleye (Texas A&M) to the defensive line.
The team also added Ken Talley from Penn State, who joined the program in September of 2022, but redshirted. Additionally, the Spartans signed three talented four-star defensive ends in the 2023 class: Bai Jobe, Andrew Depaepe and Jalen Thompson.
In fact, there are so many capable players in the defensive line room that Reynolds does not even have starters in mind yet. Several student-athletes will have a chance to earn a role in the defensive trenches.
"We have a lot of defensive ends," Reynolds noted. "The problem now is just trying to get everybody reps. There's not a lot a whole lot of reps to go around. So right now, if you've been watching the way the practices have been going, there is no starting group at all. We've been mixing and matching. We let a different group trot out there every day. We might change one or two pieces.
"Everybody's on edge right now, so everybody's fighting for a role and everybody's fighting for playing time. And we want to keep it that way. We're gonna be that way all the way up to game week and try to keep everybody on edge. We're gonna see who the best are and then we're gonna see who's available. That's what it's gonna be."
