Why Michigan State OL coach Chris Kapilovic sees ‘night and day’ difference

Michigan State’s Chris Kapilovic wears a lot of hats for the football program. In addition to his job as the offensive line coach, he also serves as the assistant head coach and run game coordinator under head coach Mel Tucker, while also leading the Spartans’ offensive line recruiting efforts, among other tasks.

For Kapilovic, affectionately known as “Coach Kap,” this spring has been a little bit easier to deal with compared to last spring. It’s been talked about at length, but the Spartans only had around seven or so healthy bodies along the offensive line, which included two converted defensive linemen (Evan Brunning and Jacob Lafave), at this time last year. This year, MSU’s spring roster features 19 offensive linemen.

Kapilovic spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed the depth, health and experience of the offensive line.

“It's like night and day,” Kapilovic said about this spring compared to last spring. “We had seven bodies out there most of last spring, and two of them were walk-on D-lineman that had to move over just so we could practice. We've been 18, 19 (offensive linemen) out there on a consistent basis (this year).”

That has made a huge difference for Kapilovic and the way his group is able to practice, which benefits the team as a whole. It also allows for competition between the offensive linemen, which brings the best out of the players.

“So, just for everything, it helps the whole team because now you can get the twos, the threes, and even sometimes some fours in there,” Kapilovic said about the offensive line depth. “It helps our drill work where we can really work, and I'm not worried about saving them just to get to a team period, and above all else, competition, right? That's huge in all of this. So night and day. Love it. It's been great.”

Kapilovic was also asked about Michigan State’s first team scrimmage this spring, which took place about a week-and-a-half ago. He said it was “solid” and added that the Spartans were effective in the red zone and two-minute drill. He also saw positives in the run game, and mentioned that the younger guys on the offensive line played at a “good level" in their first live action.

“It gave us a chance to keep building instead of saying, ‘We’ve got to go back to the drawing board,’” Kapilovic said about the scrimmage.

Kapilovic went on to provide updates on several of Michigan State’s offensive linemen and general spring progress.

In 2023, Michigan State brings in a strong mix of returning experience and talented youth on the offensive line.

Five players on the team started at least two games last season. The two most experienced players on the offensive line – left guard J.D. Duplain and center Nick Samac – have started a combined 57 games, and played in a combined 80 games.

Both Duplain and Samac decided to return to East Lansing for a fifth and final year of eligibility in 2023. Kapilovic helped guide Duplain and Samac through their decisions, and noted how big it is for the Spartans to have their experience and leadership on this year’s squad.

“There's nothing like experience up front, so it's huge getting them back, and they've been solid, good players for us,” Kapilovic said about Duplain and Samac. “We had good conversations and we researched every avenue. I supported them in it, and it was their decision. When they both made a decision to come back, obviously that was huge for us and our team. They're continuing to grow.”

While many fifth-year players may try to coast through spring ball, that has not been the case with Duplain and Samac. Kapilovic noted that the redshirt seniors are striving to get better and reach their goals.

“Some guys as fifth-year seniors, they kind of get out there and just want to survive spring, but that's not their mindset,” Kapilovic said about the redshirt seniors. “I'm rotating them in some different positions and helping them get experience there, and they've really worked hard to just get better. They understand what they gotta do to help us win a championship and get where they want to go.”

Duplain, who has started 30-straight games (and has started 35 contests overall) at left guard, was taking reps at center for the first time during Tuesday’s spring practice. Samac, who has 22 career stars at center, was working at left guard during the session. Kapilovic said it was a bit of an experiment, but will also help the players in their future football careers.

Kapilovic noted that the goal is to have Michigan State’s five best players getting the most reps along the offensive line during games. Allowing veteran players like Samac and Duplain to learn new positions creates much-needed versatility in the trenches.

“It's still about getting your five best guys out there, and who knows if that backup center becomes one of the top-five guys, you might be able to move him in,” Kapilovic said. “Then you can move a Nick (Samac) to guard. So, it's creating competition, it's creating experience at different positions, and it just helps the overall depth.”

In 2021, Kapilovic’s second year with the program under head coach Mel Tucker, the Spartans essentially had two rotations of offensive linemen, with 10 players getting more than 150 offensive line snaps that season, and nine players getting over 210 snaps. MSU went 11-2 that season, including a Peach Bowl victory.

Having that kind of rotation along the offensive line is rare in college football, and the Spartans might not quite get there in 2023, but Kapilovic thinks it could be close with this year’s group.

“That was a special deal,” Kapilovic said about the 2021 offensive line rotation. “Even then, in my career, I (had) never been in a situation where I could play nine guys and not even worry about putting them in. In fact, sometimes you’d put in the second group and they did better than the first group. We're not there yet (in 2023), but we're close.”

Kapilovic noted that he has about eight players who he expects to be in the playing rotation this fall, while others could still break into the group.

“I'm starting to feel like we've got eight guys that I feel like we can play with,” Kapilovic said. “I'm hoping we can get to that nine or 10, and have an opportunity to do some of that (rotating) because nobody wants to leave the field, but at the end of the day, competition makes them better. And if you can keep those guys fresh for four quarters, that's also a huge plus for us.”