With just under eight minutes to play in the first quarter against Florida Atlantic, Michigan State defensive tackle D’Quan Douse shot out of a cannon and sacked quarterback Cam Fancher in the end zone to record a safety and put the Spartans on the board for the first time of the 2024 season.
While at Georgia Tech, Douse was rated as one of the ACC’s top-graded returning defensive linemen heading into the 2023 season, according to PFF. With his talents now in East Lansing after transferring to Michigan State and enrolling in January, Douse was immediately able to make an impact and his previous offseason accolades are coming to fruition.
As mentioned, Douse scored the first points of the new campaign for the Spartans, as well as the first points of the Jonathan Smith era. They were the first points of his career as well, so this was a brand new feeling for Douse.
He broke down what happened on the safety.
“It was exciting, to say the least,” Douse said. "To go through the play a little bit, I had a cut step, and I knew if the (offensive) line came to me lighter than the last play, which was a run, that it would be a pass.
“In my mind, I just flipped a switch and knew I had to get vertical, get through the gap. Once I stepped foot in the end zone and I saw the quarterback was almost still turned around, my heart started racing and I was running as fast I could, tried to get him down, maybe get the ball out."
The Spartan defense looked solid against the Owls. Statistically speaking, Michigan State's numbers were impressive. MSU held Fancher to just 12-of-25 passing and held FAU to 248 total yards of offense.
The Owls fumbled twice (although, FAU maintained possession both times), and MSU recorded two interceptions and tallied seven sacks. The Spartans went on to win the game by a final score of 16-10.
The defense found its rhythm early and the defenders played complementary to each other. Considering how many players the Spartans brought in via the transfer portal to fill the gaps on defense, this is impressive. Douse thinks that it “speaks to the coaching staff.
“They harp on us being a ‘player-led team,' but that all started with the coaching staff," Douse said. "They’re new, too. We’ve got 60-plus new guys. It was a big focus for them to make sure we were all coming together.”
There were question marks surrounding the defensive line this season for the Spartans. With defensice tackles Simeon Barrow Jr. and Derrick Harmon exiting Michigan State via the portal, the Spartans had big shoes to fill, literally.
With the addition of defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi this past offseason, the Spartans were able to recruit some much-needed depth out of the portal, including Douse, Jalen Satchell (Old Dominion), Ru’Quan Buckley (Nebraska) and Ben Roberts (Oregon).
“Coming out of the portal and talking to Coach Legi, he had a selling point with how we were going to play as a defensive line here," Douse explained. That really resonated with me. I thought I would be a great fit, and I think it has worked out so far.”
As mentioned, the Spartans forced seven sacks against Florida Atlantic. It is important to note that the Spartans also recorded seven sacks last season versus Richmond early on in the 2023 campaign. The defensive line pressure seemed non-existent at times last season after that, especially against better opponents. For the pressure to be sustainable this year, Douse knows what has to be done.
“We stand on a few things: being able to respond is one, showing toughness and then the effort you give every play," he said. "I think if you put all three of those together, we are going to be able to repeat what was going on last Friday.”
There were some penalties and some soft spots on defense last week, and some plays that exposed the Spartans. The execution was not flawless and Douse knows this.
“We had some breakdowns throughout the game," Douse mentioned. "There’s always room for improvement.”
The Spartans face an opponent this week that is much more formidable on the offensive side of the ball in the Maryland Terrapins. However, that doesn’t change anything for Douse and how he feels about getting after quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.
“I think our D-line can get after the quarterback again," he said. "I’m excited to see how we construct the game plan to see how we can keep the pressure on the quarterback.”
