Note: This is the fifth installment in a series reviewing Michigan State’s position groups and looking ahead to the 2020 season, assuming it isn’t canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Today’s position: offensive line
After five straight losses, Michigan State limped into Rutgers on Nov. 23 with a 4-6 record.
Needing to win their final two games of the regular season to become bowl eligible, the Spartans started a trio of true freshmen on the offensive line in left tackle Devontae Dobbs, left guard J.D. Duplain and center Nick Samac.
It was the first time during coach Mark Dantonio’s 13 seasons the team started three freshmen up front. It was a reflection of both the young talent the Spartans had and how they were forced into a difficult spot due to injuries while posting a 7-6 record for the year.
For the second straight season, Michigan State’s offensive line was a constant shuffle due to injuries and the group struggled. The Spartans used seven different starting combinations and, for the second consecutive year, right tackle Jordan Reid was the only one up front who started all 13 games at the same position.
The good news for Michigan State is it returns the bulk of its offensive linemen. Developing the group is the task of offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic, who was hired by new head coach Mel Tucker.
2019 recap:
Cole Chewins, who entered the season with 25 starts at left tackle in 37 career games, suffered a back injury during fall camp and never played a snap for the Spartans as a fifth-year senior. AJ Arcuri was listed as the starter at left tackle on the preseason depth chart but suffered an injury that sidelined him for the season opener. The redshirt junior went on to make five starts in seven games while missing six games.
With both Chewins and Arcuri out, Kevin Jarvis, a two-year starter at right guard, moved to left tackle. The junior started the first three games before suffering an apparent leg injury that ended his season. He appeared in only three games, allowing him to take a redshirt for the year.
After Jarvis was injured, fifth-year senior Tyler Higby made four straight starts at left tackle. He missed the final six games of the season due to injury and signed with the Minnesota Vikings after going undrafted.
Dobbs made one start while playing in four games and dealt with a late-season injury that resulted in him retaining a redshirt for the year. Backup left tackle Mustafa Khaleefah appeared in five games.
Luke Campbell started the first eight games at left guard and one at right guard but was limited to 10 games due to injury. Following the season, he revealed via Instagram he had surgery to repair an ACL and meniscus injury he played most of the season with.
Chris Kapilovic’s mission is to restore Michigan State’s rushing attack
Duplain, an early enrollee who moved from defense to offense during fall camp, started the final five games of the season at left guard. He appeared in 10 games total to burn his redshirt.
Matt Allen started the first eight games at center before suffering an apparent leg injury in a loss against Penn State. He missed the next four games before returning for the Pinstripe Bowl win against Wake Forest. When Allen was injured, Samac, an early enrollee, stepped in and started four straight games. He appeared in seven games total to burn his redshirt.
Jarvis’ move to left tackle at the start of the season created an opening at right guard. Matt Carrick started 11 games at the spot and his 714 snaps ranked second among the team’s offensive linemen. Blake Bueter made one start at right guard while playing in 11 games.
While the other four spots on the offensive line featured at least two different starters, Reid remained a constant at right tackle. He led the team in snaps for the second straight season after logging 950. The Spartans had two offensive linemen (Spencer Brown and Damon Kaylor) who didn’t play while redshirting as true freshmen. Redshirt freshman Dimitri Douglas didn’t appear in a game and transferred to Eastern Michigan.
The Spartans were solid in pass protection (aided by quarterback Brian Lewerke’s mobility) and tied for 18th in the nation in sacks allowed at 1.38 per game. However, they struggled generating a consistent push in the run game.
A year after averaging 124.8 yards per game rushing (the lowest total during Dantonio’s tenure), Michigan State averaged 127.2, which ranked 113th in the country, and the team had one of the worst offenses in the nation. The Spartans were held to fewer than 100 yards rushing in five of their final eight games.
Personnel breakdown:
Returning: AJ Arcuri (fifth-year senior), Luke Campbell (fifth-year senior), Matt Allen (fifth-year senior), Jordan Reid (senior), Kevin Jarvis (redshirt junior), Matt Carrick (redshirt junior), Blake Bueter (redshirt junior), Mustafa Khaleefah (redshirt junior), J.D. Duplain (sophomore), Nick Samac (sophomore), Devontae Dobbs (redshirt freshman), Jacob Isaia (redshirt sophomore), James Ohonba (redshirt sophomore), Spencer Brown (redshirt freshman), Damon Kaylor (redshirt freshman), Jack Henrichs (redshirt junior) and Dan VanOpstall (redshirt sophomore)
Incoming freshmen: Justin Stevens and Dallas Fincher
Gone: Cole Chewins, Tyler Higby, Bryce Wilker, Tommy Liesveld and Dimitri Douglas
2020 outlook:
Kapilovic has almost three decades of coaching experience and is a veteran offensive line coach with experience as a coordinator. He spent last season at Colorado before Tucker brought him to East Lansing.
Tucker and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson want to Spartans to establish a physical rushing attack and finish games grinding out yards on the ground. They bring back redshirt sophomore Elijah Collins, who rushed for 988 yards and five touchdowns last season and has the potential to be more productive, especially with an improved offensive line that will be important while the team breaks in a new starting quarterback.
The coronavirus pandemic has limited Kapilovic to virtual instruction so far due to spring practice being canceled. He said that may lead to players being more mentally prepared, but it doesn’t replace the physical reps that have been missed. The spring would have also been an important time to develop a group that’s growth is critical to the overall offense improving.
“I do watch a little bit (of film) just to kind of get an idea of what some of these guys have done and who they are,” Kapilovic said on April 1. “But the flip side of that is you like to come to your own conclusions from you working with them on the field and obviously, unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity for spring practice at this point. So that’s going to be a little tougher. It may be whatever we get done in the summer.”
Michigan State’s Chris Kapilovic looks to spark competition to crack OL rotation
Michigan State returns 10 offensive linemen who started at least one game last season. Reid has started 26 straight games at right tackle, Campbell has 26 starts between both tackle and guard spots, Allen has 16 starts at center, Bueter has started at both center and right guard and Carrick started 11 games at right guard last season. Arcuri is back after logging five starts at left tackle last season while Duplain, Samac and Dobbs all earned starts last year. Jarvis has 20 career starts and Kapilovic two months ago said he believed the redshirt junior was healthy again. Michigan State signed two offensive linemen in its 2020 recruiting class in Canadian tackle Justin Stevens, who was an early enrollee, and East Kentwood’s Dallas Fincher, who projects as a guard or center.
“In a perfect world, you’d like to be able to play more than the five. I think cohesion with that unit is critical, probably more so than any unit on the field, so you’d like to keep your five healthy obviously but there’s nothing better than competition,” Kapilovic said. “If I could say that I had eight guys I could count on, where I could have a third tackle, a third guard and even possibly another center that could get some reps, that would be great.”
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Kapilovic said Jarvis has the potential to play both inside and outside but may be a better fit at guard to start the season. He also thinks the Spartans have more depth at guard and center than at tackle and finding a rotation that doesn’t include a dropoff in play from the starter to the backup is important. Establishing that group won’t happen until Michigan State can practice but the overall goal remains clear.
“First and foremost, I want people to say that my guys played really hard and were physical,” Kapilovic said. “I think that’s got to be the staple for your offensive line and then it’s got to be for four quarters. And then from there, obviously you want them to be technically sound. We’re going to work on technique, we’re going to work on it and rep it until you can’t rep it anymore because I think that’s very important for our position.”
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