Three Reasons the Michigan State Spartans Can Win The Big Ten

OFFENSIVE LINE

It never looked good last season for the Michigan State Spartans on the offensive line. Having to try nine different combinations due to injuries, it was all coach Mark Dantonio could do, but shuffling the deck with the offensive line was never going to fix the real problems.

(LG) David Beetle was out for seven games, (RG) Kevin Jarvis and backup (RG) Luke Campbell both missed four games. (C) Matt Allen missed three of his own and even though (LT) started nine games last year, he was not 100% in any, only playing a handful of snaps in multiple games. That’s a lot of injuries for an already undermanned offensive line.

What I mean by undermanned is they were tiny, well tiny for college football lineman, according to Michigan State’s 2018 media guide, here are the weights for the offensive line at the start of 2018;

• Cole Chewins – 290
• Tyler Higby – 285
• Matt Allen – 300
• Kevin Jarvis – 321
• Jordan Reid – 275

For comparison, a local favorite and Big Ten rival Michigan’s starting offensive line’s weight;

• Jon Runyon – 310
• Ben Bredeson – 320
• Cesar Ruiz – 319
• Michael Onwenu – 350
• Jalen Mayfield – 296

For an even more straightforward breakdown, that’s an average of 294 pounds for Michigan State and an average of 319 pounds for Michigan or 1,470 vs. 1,595. However you want to weigh it up, it’s a big difference.

Having three of five of your starting offensive lineman under 300 pounds is not ideal, especially in the Big Ten and even more so when you’re trying to run the type of offense Dantonio likes. As detailed below, I think the coaching staff had a clear message to their returning front lineman. Here are the starting weights of the same five returning starters;

• Cole Chewins – 303
• Tyler Higby – 300
• Matt Allen – 303
• Kevin Jarvis – 307
• Jordan Reid – 305…message received.

The talent made some gains as well with the signing of Belleville’s own four-star recruit Devontae Dobbs, who 247sports.com has ranked as the top overall OG in the nation, though he has been practicing a whole lot at LT so far this summer. As reported by Matt Wenzel of Mlive.com, Dantonio is on record saying at a press conference last December

"‘I do believe that. From an offensive line perspective, this may be the best class we’ve ever signed in my 12 years here’."

The coaching staff has also been raving about three-star freshman G Nick Samac. Between the new additions and healthier bodies, expect much-improved line play from the Spartans. Which is the most critical key to a Michigan State title run, and would make my next two keys 10x easier to execute.