It's a truism that football games are won in the trenches. Due to poor execution, injuries and a lack of depth, Michigan State's offensive line play was a major problem for the Spartans in 2022. While recruiting in this department has picked up, it will likely be 2024 at the earliest when the offensive line looks like a possible high-level unit.
That doesn't mean that all hope is lost for 2023. Michigan State returns players with a lot of snaps under their belts who merit a closer look.
Spencer Brown is a 6-foot-6, 315-pound behemoth from southeastern Michigan who will be an anchor for the Spartans in 2023. Brown returns the second-most offensive line snaps on the team (783, behind only center Nick Samac's 803), and will likely be called upon to man the right tackle position for MSU once again. Of course, newly-signed junior college prospect Keyshawn Blackstock could challenge Brown for the starting spot in 2023, however, but let's focus on Brown for now.
Looking at impact plays from some of his performances from last season, I hope to highlight areas of strength, and what can possibly be improved. In doing so, I hope to get a better read on the broader offensive line situation for 2023.
I want the reader to note that I was not tracking Brown's progress throughout the year. What I plan to do for this article is to evaluate his collegiate debut, and his best and worst pass and run-blocking games, as noted by Pro Football Focus (Disclaimer: I have serious methodological issues with PFF's offensive line grading. However, it is standardized, and thus provides a baseline for this exercise).