Michigan State football: Quarter-season offensive depth check

We are now a quarter of the way through the Michigan State football season and the offensive depth has taken a slight hit.

Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line — that’s all I’ve heard since Jonathan Smith took the reins of Michigan State football following the 2023 season. Now that we’re through three games, the injury bug might be hitting us earlier than expected for that specific position group. 

That said, there are plenty of bright spots.

Tired: offensive line depth
Wired: skill position depth

Let’s hit on the literal elephants in the room first.

There were two key injuries the last couple weeks. Let’s highlight where we started and where we’re at right now.

Week 1 OL starters:

LT: Brandon Baldwin
LG: Luke Newman
C: Tanner Miller
RG: Kristian Phillips
RT: Ashton Lepo

Week 2 OL changes

• Gavin Broscious in for Phillips (out for long-term injury)

Week 3 OL changes

• No changes to starters
• Broscious exits game with potential season-ending injury
• Dallas Fincher replaces Broscious

Week 4 OL starters (projected):

LT: Brandon Baldwin
LG: Luke Newman
C: Tanner Miller
RG: Dallas Fincher
RT: Ashton Lepo

Heading into the biggest game of the year so far, the Spartans are already down to their third-string offensive guard. That’ll be the case for the rest of the year. For the rest of the line, the backups are either freshmen or guys with limited snaps. This is the kind of thing you’d expect after the gauntlet portion of the schedule, not heading into Week 4. Gulp. Especially since they’re playing a Boston College team on the road, under the lights, during their Red Bandana game.

READ: 3 takeaways from MSU’s win over Prairie View A&M

Oh yeah, and the Eagles have looked solid this year so far. Concerns are mounting.

Now let’s take a look under the hood of the skill positions.

Here’s where the depth of this team shines. After a dominant win against Prairie View A&M, Michigan State football was able to see more of the backups. Outside of the Spring Showcase, we haven’t seen much from these guys.

Let’s start at quarterback.

Backup QB: Tommy Schuster

Hailing from the University of North Dakota, the Michigan native got his first snaps of the season on Saturday. He looked every part of a quarterback with experience. He’s sharp, he completed 80 percent of his passes against Prairie View A&M, and he is the exact guy you want as a backup. God forbid, if Aidan Chiles ever went down, I’d trust Schuster to be a serviceable backup. That could come in handy towards the end of the year.

Backup RB: Brandon Tullis

This is the position group that got the least amount of shine against PVAMU. Taking snaps on the last series of the game, you can tell the freshman running back has the tools to be a certified starter in the Big Ten. With an awesome spring game and some good vision during his college debut, Tullis can slide into that secondary running back role behind Nate Carter or Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, if needed.

Backup WRs: Aziah Johnson, Antonio Gates Jr.

In my opinion, redshirt freshman Aziah Johnson was a pleasant surprise during the spring game. He’s gotten more run than I was expecting this year, too. As the first guy to rotate in for the receiver group, Johnson will be a great option to replace Alante Brown. A serious big-play threat, he’s caught three balls this year for an average of 24 yards per play.

On the flip side, Antonio Gates Jr. was always expected to be a contributor by the time his career in East Lansing was over. One more injury to the receiver room could force him into playing a significant role in 2024. Against PVAMU, he caught three passes for 42 yards and appears to be a solid backup if one of our starters goes down.  

Backup TEs: Michael Masunas, Brennan Parachek 

I’m still conflicted whether Michael Masunas should be listed here as a depth piece in the tight end room. He’s played a lot of ball this year even if it isn’t in passing situations. The guy can block and he’s shown flashes of being able to leak into uncovered territory. Since Michigan State football has tight end Jack Velling as the solidified No. 1 option, Masunas will stick here for now.

Brennan Parachek, on the other hand, has all the raw talent needed to be a great tight end. The problem will be that he’s third in line. We’ve seen plenty two-tight end sets out of the offense this year, one injury will have him playing in a blocking role at a minimum.

All I’m trying to point out with this article is that the offensive line is getting close to panic mode but the skill positions are better than expected. You’re not getting the two guards back. You need someone to step up. Fincher, AJ Dennis, Rakeem Johnson, I’m looking at you. An injury to a skill player may just be a bump in the road.

The next five weeks could be really tough.

I’m excited to see how it all plays out.