East Lansing, Mich. - The transformation from the Mark Dantonio era to the Mel Tucker regime has taken more time to settle in on the offensive line than any other area of the team.
But traction is expected to continue in 2022 with the return of five players with starting experience, a sixth transferring to Michigan State with starting experience in the Pac-12, and a slew of Tucker-era recruits who will infiltrate the two-deep as camp begins on Thursday.
Offensive line coach and assistant head coach Chris Kapilovic had a similar box of puzzle pieces last year, with an assortment of players with starting experience and varying levels of success.
The Michigan State offensive front helped Michigan State rank No. 4 in the Big Ten in rushing yards per carry, and No. 4 in sacks allowed with 21.
The Michigan State offensive line reached its peak when the Spartans ran for 196 yards and five rushing touchdowns, in a 37-33 victory over Michigan in week eight.
The Michigan State offensive line then lost left tackle Jarrett Horst for the remainder of the season and had to spend the rest of the year mixing and matching, with AJ Arcuri moving to the left side and Kevin Jarvis moving from guard to tackle.
MSU’s offensive line was functional for the rest of the season, but never quite as good as it was on Oct. 30 against the Wolverines.
Now, Jarvis and Arcuri have moved on to the NFL. Horst is back with an inside track toward the starting left tackle job once again. Other veterans are looking to provide stability on the interior while Washington State transfer Brian Greene has the capacity to provide depth, or starting punch, at center or guard.
“The biggest difference between this year and last year was the depth during the spring,” Kapilovic said. “The spring was good because a lot of young kids got good reps. The older guys that we’re expecting to play, a bunch of them missed the spring. But some of them are older and they can probably get away with it. It’s not preferable but most of them will be ready (for fall camp), so that should help us.”
WHO’S NEW?
Brian Greene (6-3, 300, Gr., Yakima, Wash/Washington State) was honorable mention All-Pac 12 in a COVID-shortened, four-game season in 2020.
He played in seven games in 2021 while battling injuries. He played guard and center at Washington State.
Greene is expected to compete with Nick Samac for the starting center position. Samac or Greene could kick out to right guard.
“(Greene) is playing both for sure, right now,” Kapilovic said. “He brings some veteran skills and leadership. We’re going to have good competition, so it’s going to be an opportunity for him to win either one of those jobs and it also gives you versatility and depth in both of those places. So we’re happy to have him here.”
Greene played 296 snaps for Washington State last season, including 50 at left guard against Central Michigan in the Sun Bowl.
“Last season wasn’t my best season,” Greene said. “I was dealing with some injuries. We had a constantly-shuffling offensive line, and our head coach was fired for not taking the COVID vaccine, and some guys checked out, so it wasn’t the best season.
“I know I can get better, so that’s what I’m working on right now, just to further accelerate my craft.
“In 2020, I had a really good year. It was a short season but our o-line was fully healthy. We had new coaches, we were running the ball a lot more and I was having an absolute blast.”
Kapilovic is happy to add a functional veteran on the interior.
“Having Brian Greene in is helping us,” Kapilovic said. “He’s been training. He did a tremendous job being in shape and strong when he got here. Sometimes you bring in kids and they have not been with a team for a little while and they are not in as great of shape as you would want them to be, but he came in in really good shape, ready to go.”
When Greene entered the portal, more than 25 schools showed interest in him. He visited Arizona, and considered visiting Auburn, Ole Miss and Duke, but quickly settled on the Spartans.
“He has a high football IQ,” Kapilovic said. “He’s a really smart kid. That’s a plus. He will bring some competition to our room, which is huge.”
Greene says J.D. Duplain, Samac and sixth-year senior guard Matt Carrick were helpful and inclusive with Greene during Greene’s visit to Michigan State prior to transferring, although Greene could potentially take one of their jobs.
“When I met with them at the end of the season,” Kapilovic said. “I sat them down and told them I was going to bring another guy in and, hey, it’s about competition and depth. I’m always open with my guys. If you’re scared of competition, you shouldn’t be playing anyways. And they understand that.
“If your dream and goal is to be in the NFL, a little competition isn’t going to hurt you. They understood that we needed an extra guy in there to help us because I’ve never been through a season when all five guys stay healthy the whole season. So you’ve got to have those guys.
“They are mature enough, smart enough and probably confident enough in themselves that they were good with it.”
WHO’S BACK?
Michigan State has returning, full-time starters at left tackle (Jarrett Horst), left guard (J.D. Duplain).
Horst (6-6, 305, Sr., Middleton, Wis./Arkansas State) started eight games last year. He missed the last four games of the year due to an undisclosed ailment. He was back in uniform for the bowl game but did not play.
Horst was voted honorable mention All-Big Ten by the media and coaches.
Michigan State needs Horst to re-establish a level of accountability and reliability. Photos on social media reveal that he has reshaped his body.
Duplain (6-4, 305, Sr., Strongsville, Ohio) has started 23 games over the last three seasons. He was honorable mention All-Big Ten by media last year and second-team by Pro Football Focus.
Duplain has been a solid, functional player for years. Now, can he take it up a notch and become an interior bell cow?
Spencer Brown has started one game at his career, getting the call at right tackle against Pittsburgh in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Brown was excellent on that night against one of the best pass rushes in the country.
Brown (6-6, 320, R-Jr., Walled Lake Western) has the inside track to a starting job at right tackle.
“We need Spencer to keep coming along,” Kapilovic said. “He did some really good things in the bowl game. There were some really good players that he went against.
Spencer Brown has made huge strides in the weight room with his flexibility and strength. If he would just play with his technique play-in and play-out, he could be a really good player.”
Brown wasn’t perfect in the Michigan State spring scrimmage in April. He missed a slide left call in pass protection, allowing Jacob Slade to come unblocked for a QB pressure.
Later, he was beaten by Jacoby Windmon to the outside on a dip-and-rip for a touch sack.
“There was a lot of up and down,” Kapilovic said. “He will have some really good days, some really good sessions and it’s that battle of gaining that consistency in doing things the right way all the time.”
Matt Carrick (6-5, 325, Minerva, Ohio) is back at right guard. He has started 18 games at guard, including all seven in 2020, and 11 in 2019.
He’s a guy that was needed in the starting lineup earlier in his career due to injuries sustained by Kevin Jarvis and other Spartans.
Last year, with Jarvis healthy and playing right guard, Carrick was relegated to second string. But he was actually playing better football as a second-stringer last year than he did as a starter earlier in his career.
However, he sustained a major knee injury in game seven last year and had to miss the rest of the season.
But he is back as a COVID sixth-year senior.
“He’s doing well,” Kapilovic said. “Heading in a great direction, working out. He was playing at a good, high level, for sure, last year.”
Nick Samac (6-4, 310, Sr., Mentor, Ohio) has 10 career starts at center. He started in place of the injured Matt Allen in 2020, but Allen returned and beat out Samac for the job last year.
Samac logged 307 snaps last year and has proved to be a functional player. But Michigan State needs him to elevate his game if he’s going to be a full-time starter at center in 2022.
“Nick has done some really good things and he has played a lot of quality reps for us,” Kapilovic said. “It’s about him now taking that next step as a leader, taking charge and really confident in his abilities, and I really think he can do that.
“Without individualizing that, all these guys in the o-line world, from the NFL down, it’s a constant battle, struggle of just being consistent in your technique, playing at a great pad level, improving your feet and explosiveness. I could say that about everybody.”
With Michigan State having shortages at offensive tackle, Samac is the interior offensive lineman who has the best versatility to bump outside if necessary.
“Samac is will probably be our emergency guy (at tackle), just because he is really athletic,” Kapilovic said. “He has really good feet. He played some tackle in high school. He isn’t ideal in terms of length, but he moves well enough that if you had to put him out there at tackle, he could get it done.”
“Unfortunately we didn’t get to use him at tackle in the spring because we had so few bodies inside that I couldn’t move him out but this summer we’re going to touch on it a little bit and make sure that he’s ready to do that.”
WHO’S COMIN'?
Brandon Baldwin and Ethan Boyd at tackle, and Kevin Wigenton, Geno VanDeMark and Dallas Fincher on the interior are coming along as second-stringers.
“We need those older guys to be healthy and we need these younger guys to keep growing up and maturing,” Kapilovic said.
Brown will have some competition in trying to hold onto a starting spot at right tackle.
“Ethan Boyd, Brandon Baldwin are two guys that we really need to develop and come along,” Kapilofic said. “That’s a spot that we need a lot of growth.”
Baldwin, who signed with Michigan State as a junior college transfer as part of Tucker’s first recruiting class, repped at left tackle in the spring. Boyd has mostly played right tackle.
Brandon Baldwin (6-7, 315, R-Soph., Detroit/Southfield A&T/Independence Community College) appeared to be closing in on becoming game-ready during the spring scrimmage.
“He was really good early in the spring,” Kapilovic said. “I feel like as the spring went on, those guys had a lot of reps and kind of wore down a little bit. But that was good. He got a good taste of it and got a lot of reps so now he knows exactly what to expect and what we need so he has a chance to build on that.
“He is athletic for his size. He was a basketball player. He can bend and move his feet. Athleticism won’t be an issue for him.
“He’s not afraid to mix it up. He’s a physical kid. He’s only going to get stronger, working with Jason Novak and his staff. He has a high ceiling for sure. He’s eventually going to be a really good player.”
Ethan Boyd (6-7, 315, R-Fr., East Lansing) has the capacity to be a fast-riser as he grows into his frame.
“He has improved a lot,” Kapilovic said. “He got here early (last year), so that was a plus for him. He did some really good things in the spring.
“He will flash some really impressive stuff, and then there are times he looks like a freshman. The summer, and through 29 practices in the fall camp, will give him a chance to compete and really show what he can do.”
Dallas Fincher (6-4, 300, R-Soph., East Kentwood) didn’t see game time last year but Michigan State soaked him in reps at center and guard in the spring.
“He was solid as a center, which is good,” Kapilovic said. “He is continuing to get stronger in the weight room and continuing to do that will be the key for him because he is athletic. He can move. Dallas will strike you. He will mix it up with you. He’s a physical dude, so that was huge for him to get all of those reps.”
Kevin Wigenton (6-5, 330, R-Fr., Colts Neck, N.J.) and Geno VanDeMark (6-5, 325, R-Fr., Lodi, N.J.) were able to get some work during their first spring on campus.
Wigenton repped at left guard in the spring. VanDeMark played right guard, but had to miss the last couple of weeks of spring due to an undisclosed injury.
“All spring, Kevin Wigenton got a ton of reps, really got better technically,” Kapilovic said. “He has to get stronger in the weight room and all that good stuff.
“Geno was starting to have some really good days, and unfortunately he got hurt.”
THE ROOKIES
Michigan State has four man-sized true freshmen set to practice for the first time in Michigan State gear on Thursday:
* Braden Miller (6-6, 290, Fr., Aurora, Colo.)
* Ashton Lepo (6-7, 270, Fr., Grand Haven, Mich.)
* Gavin Broscious (6-6, 270, Fr., Surprise, Ariz.)
* Kristian Phillips (6-4, 350, Fr., Conyers, Ga.)
All were three-star recruits, although Miller’s film was worthy of serious four-star consideration. Lepo was a two-star when he committed, but earned three-star status after a senior senior year during which he grew two inches while continuing to display plus athleticism. He might be the steal of the entire recruiting class.
Kapilovic on the incoming scholarship offensive linemen:
On Ashton Lepo: “He has that athleticism and length that you like. Give him a good year and a half of development and we’ll see what happens.”
On Gavin Broscious: “He’s a big physical kid. Plays the game with an edge, which I love. He will probably be an inside guy for us. He’s strong. The way he plays the game is what I really like, so I’m excited about him.”
On Braden Miller: “Braden has a brother that starts at Stanford. He trains at Six Zero Academy with Matt McChesney, so they are working on some next level stuff over there. He is coming in with a high football IQ. He’s been taught some really good technique.”
On Kristian Phillips: “Big Dooley is a big man. He really has good feet for his size. It’s a matter of him getting after it in the weight room and learning the techniques that we’re teaching and I think he could be a real, big, physical guy on the inside.”