Michigan State football: 4 things I’m looking for in Spring Showcase

On Saturday, Michigan State football is back for its annual spring game (showcase). What are some things to look forward to?

Michigan State football is back. Well, not officially, but it is the closest we will get until August.

The Spartans will be playing the green-and-white spring game, and this year it will feature an actual scrimmage. This will be the first sideline appearance for Jonathan Smith as a Spartan, along with most of the staff. The Spartans are coming off a season of adversity, where the Spartans finished 4-8 after firing Mel Tucker following the Richmond game for off-the-field misconduct.

There are plenty of storylines to watch. The team overhauls almost everything except the uniforms and Courtney Hawkins, so what are my main areas of focus?

1. The offensive war in the trenches

Under Mel Tucker, the Spartans had plenty of struggles in the trenches on the offensive side of the ball. Outside of the 2021 season, where generational running back Kenneth Walker III carried the team, there was no push no matter the opponent. This culminated with the final game of last season against Penn State, where the Spartans put up negative-35 yards rushing.

Tucker brought in tons of talent, including highly recruited prospects on the offensive line, but none seemed to pan out. To be fair, I think Stanton Ramil will be a star and could’ve started as a freshman, but he lost the year due to injury. We will have to wait until Ramil’s class graduates to have a final grade on recruiting, but the only lineman to be drafted when Chris Kapilovic reined as the line coach for MSU was AJ Arcuri, selected with the second-to-last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Spartans lose key stalwarts Spencer Brown (transfer) and JD Duplain and Nick Samac (graduation), but also add in the talented Holy Cross transfer Luke Newman and Oregon State transfer Tanner Miller, who likely replaces Samac at center. I will be curious about how this staff changes the scheme and the new push this offensive line brings.

2. The other side of the trenches

Defensively, Michigan State football has not had much pressure recently. The last time the Spartans had a true pass-rusher dates back to Kenny Willekes, who has had a (too short) NFL career and now is playing for the Michigan Panthers. To date, he is the last Spartan defensive lineman to be drafted. The players have been there recently, with the graduated trio of Jacoby Windmon, Aaron Brule, and Brandon Wright all having games where they took over. None could provide consistency and the staff did not capitalize on their talents to have them take the next step, however. All are projected to be undrafted in next week’s draft.

With Joe Rossi’s new scheme calling for a stand-up “rush end” and the hiring of Legi Suiaunoa to be the defensive line coach, there is a lot to pay attention to. Suiaunoa’s defense put up 36 sacks last season, and that rate of 3.0 sacks per game (remember, he left before the Oregon State bowl game) was good enough for ninth in the FBS. This is a stark difference from the Spartans, who put up 29 sacks, and 15.5 of those sacks have left through the portal or graduation. Suiaunoa will be helping the Spartans retool and rebuild the defensive line.

Rossi comes over from Minnesota, where his schemes have stifled MSU in each of the last two seasons. The rush end position will be one I am keying in on for Saturday. Jordan Hall put up 4.5 sacks last season from his linebacker position, and he was the first player I thought of when reviewing Rossi’s rush end from the last few years. Rossi also coaches the linebackers, and I am curious as to how he can help players such as Cal Haladay, who went from a Freshman All-American to a seeming regression in the last two seasons.

The Spartans bring in a pair of defensive line transfers with D’Quan Douse and Quindarius Dunnigan alongside linebackers Wayne Matthews III and Jordan Turner. All four of these players should see heavy playing time on both Saturday and this season.

3. How does the defensive backfield look?

This topic needs no further introduction. Michigan State’s defensive backfield has been tough to watch the last few seasons. Gone are the days of 2013’s “No Fly Zone”. The last three seasons have been the “First Class Priority Fly Zone”. Despite the talents of Xavier Henderson, Jaden Mangham, Dillon Tatum, Malik Spencer, and Kendell Brooks, the backfield could never mesh. At points, our corners and safeties looked to be playing glorified tag, and Blue Adams and Demetrice Martin will be looking to correct these issues. Part of this issue was due to the lack of defensive line pressure, but that has already been mentioned extensively.

The coaches have only had around 14 practices to really establish their system, so I am not expecting a miracle overnight.

Additionally, the receiver room is arguably the deepest group for talent on this year’s roster if you do not include kicker or punter. Oh, and did I mention the opposing quarterback is Aidan Chiles? This will be a trial by fire for the team. Iron sharpens iron, so this will be a good group to watch after a whole summer of practices. While I do not expect much, I am hoping for this group to be in position to make plays on the ball instead of what we have seen.

4. Freshmen making a mark

This team has brought in a lot of transfers, and despite the previously disappointing seasons, it will be hard for freshmen not named Nick Marsh to crack the lineup. That said, part of the fun in the spring game is looking for a player to root for even when their playing time is limited or none at all. The Spartans have two early enrollees at defensive back, with Jaylen Thompson and Justin Denson each practicing and potentially playing Saturday.

The only other defensive early enrollee is Brady Pretzlaff, who is a guy that Smith and Rossi highly coveted. Pretzlaff will be hard-pressed to see the field, with Hall, Turner, and Matthews headlining a loaded defensive group, but if anyone could crack the lineup against all odds, it would be the native Michigander.

Personally, I think the end of the spring game will give us our first glimpse of both freshmen quarterbacks Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee. One or both of them will likely be handing the ball to Brandon Tullis a few times, who could see the Luniewski twins paving the way. That covers all of the early enrollees, and I do believe we will see most, if not all, of them, playing pending their availability.

Final thoughts

Overall, this time of year is one of my favorites. The preseason preview for football is when names are made and narratives can be spun, as we will have nothing else to do until Week 1 of the season. Michigan State football is back in town, and this might be the highest anticipation in a long time. There is an actual scrimmage for the first time since the Mark Dantonio years, there is a brand-new coach and staff, we see Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh in Spartan jerseys for the first time, and so much more.

One last thing for us to think about: performances in Saturday’s game can affect player ratings for the newest EA Sports College Football in July. I cannot wait.