Our next stop in the Big Ten this spring takes us to East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans started spring practice March 23rd, and have entered into their second week of work.
Michigan State: Spring Game, April 24th
Mel Tucker enters his second year as head coach of the Spartans after leading them to a 2-5 pandemic shortened year. Trying to build a culture and implement new schemes on offense and defense is hard enough during a normal year, but is made much harder when your off-season program gets derailed. Now, Tucker and his staff will have a true off-season to improve on their performance in 2020.
Hi, Welcome To The Team
Coming into a new program as a coach means you need to learn your roster and build relationships with your players as fast as you can. Year two should be easier on that front since you would have gone through a full season together and hopefully you would know the majority of your roster. You’ll have to excuse Mel Tucker then if he doesn’t have a bit of a flashback to 2020.
The Spartans entered the 2021 off-season with the goal of flipping the roster in an attempt to find players that best fit Tucker’s vision for the program. That vision, oddly enough, began with a number of players deciding to leave the Spartans. Thanks to the new rules and landscape of the modern game, players who did not fit with the direction of the team left via the transfer portal.
When the dust settled before spring camp, a total of 16 players had filed to leave MSU from the 2020 squad and had been removed from the spring roster. The roster overhaul via the transfer portal and, in addition, the three players declaring early for the NFL draft, most notably cornerback Shakur Brown, left Michigan State thin in a number of areas across the roster.
But if the portal can take talent away, it can also bring new talent in.
Offsetting those 16 departures, Michigan State has brought in 10 players via the transfer portal and an additional three players from either D-II or D-III levels. Combined with the 19 players Michigan State brought in via the 2021 recruiting cycle that’s 32 new faces joining the program, some of whom may see immediate playing time.
Key additions brought in through the portal could be quarterback Anthony Russo from Temple, defensive end Drew Jordan from Duke, cornerback Chester Kimbrough from Florida, and linebacker Itayvion “Tank” Brown from Minnesota. These four players, along with the others who have joined, may see plenty of playing time this season as roles are up for grabs all over the team.
Tucker and his staff should be applauded for their aggressive approach to the transfer portal, but now face the task of bringing many of those players up to speed who are going to be learning new schemes and terminology. At least for the Spartan coaching staff, this time they can actually utilize an off-season program instead of watching the pandemic strip them of that ability.
Establishing A Run Game
During the Mark Dantonio years, Michigan State was known to be a team that didn’t air it out a ton on offense, but would beat you down over four quarters with the running game. To say Mel Tucker’s team deviated from that type of offense would be an understatement.
Michigan State finished 122nd in rushing yards last year averaging 91.4 yards per game. To emphasize how anemic the running game was, MSU’s two rushing touchdowns came from a quarterback and tight end. Heading into this season, it’s no secret that the Spartans will look to establish more of a threat on the ground.
MSU will be returning their two leading rushers from 2020 in redshirt senior Connor Heyward and Jordon Simmons, which MSU hopes will lead to an improved attack as both players will have experience under the offensive system. These two players though will be pushed for time by incoming transfers Harold Joiner III from Auburn and Kenneth Walker from Wake Forest.
Walker is the more seasoned player of the two, amassing 1,158 yards rushing with 17 rushing touchdowns, and could be the player most likely to see time in the backfield if it isn’t Heyward or Simmons. Any potential dark horse candidates for playing time would come from redshirt junior Elijah Collins, redshirt freshman Donovan Eaglin, or incoming 3-star freshman Davion Primm.
No matter who the lead back is or if they go running back by committee, the Spartans need better production from their running game and will most likely use this spring to begin figuring out how.
The D-Line Is Strong, The Rest Is Questionable
The Spartans, who switched their base defense to more of a 4-2-5 look before the season, finished slightly above middle of the road in terms of overall defense in 2020. Finishing 54th out of 127 teams in total defense, they gave up an average of 396.7 yards per game, and teams had the most success attacking via the air. The Spartans ended the season ranked 72nd nationally when it comes to passing yards allowed, giving up an average of 239.4 yards per game.
In this day and age in college football where we have seen an explosion of offensive production, those rankings above are not bad for a team changing staff and not having a regular off-season to prepare. Though for a defensive minded coach like Mel Tucker, I’m sure he is going to want to see some improvement in year two.
Leading that charge would be a defensive line which is returning seniors Jacub Panasiuk and Drew Beesley, both of whom are using the NCAA waiver for an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. In addition, the line will see help from incoming transfer Drew Jordan, who has 48 games and 21 starts in his collegiate career while at Duke, and will only add to an experienced and talented front.
The hope for the Spartans in 2021 might be that the line can be disruptive from the start, because the linebacker and secondary both are facing major questions concerning who should see the field.
At cornerback, three incoming transfers and three incoming freshman will compete for playing time against sophomore Angelo Grose and redshirt junior Kalon Gervin, the two most experienced players at the spot. The lack of experience up top is a major concern and why these off-season camps will be so important to identifying the players who can at least hold their own come fall.
What was just mentioned about the secondary could be said about the linebacker unit as well, though MSU may have acquired some players in the off-season that could prove intriguing. Transfer Itayvion “Tank” Brown was a 4-star linebacker in the 2020 class before sitting out all of last year. He is regarded as an outstanding athlete who is very quick for his size, and could be an ideal fit in the 4-2-5 scheme. It’s possible the staff on MSU may also provide incoming freshman Ma’a Gaoteote with plenty of playing time if he shows enough in camp, meaning the MSU defense could have two inexperienced but very athletic linebackers roaming the field.