Michigan State Football: Offensive Depth Chart Prediction
The NCAA Division I Council approved a six-week practice plan for football. It will begin in July and go from voluntary summer activities to your prototypical fall camp before the season starts. So, what does this mean? As of now, college football is happening, and the Michigan State Spartans will kickoff September 5 against Northwestern.
But not before Spartan Nation predicts what the depth chart will look like come week one. We're going to focus on the offense first.
Quarterbacks
Starter: Rocky Lombardi, jr.
Reserves: Theo Day, so.; Payton Thorne r-fr.
With the annual spring game plus camp being canceled, it is difficult to tell who will be under center for the 2020 college football season, but Lombardi is the only quarterback with any real game experience.
He saw playing time over his first two seasons, completing 7-of-21 passes for 74 yards and two interceptions last year. However, Day and Thorne aren't going to roll over. Lombardi will be pushed by the pair to help improve the lackluster passing game that finished with 17 touchdowns and 15 picks. Brian Lewerke, former Spartan, was responsible for 13 of them.
One of the tougher questions is, who will this group throw too?
Running Backs
Connor Heyward (PHOTO: Jon Schopp)
Starter: RB Elijah Collins, so. FB Max Rosenthal, jr.
Reserves: RB Anthony Williams, so.; RB Connor Heyward, jr.; RB Brandon Wright, so.; RB Jordon Simmons, fr.; FB Reid Burton, sr.
Before the passing game comes around, the Spartans need to establish the run game. Once upon a time, pounding the rock was where MSU lived, but recently they've come up short. If the offensive line can stay healthy, it might happen with what I assume will be Elijah Collins seeing the bulk of the carries.
He finished last season with 222 carries, 988 yards, averaged 4.45 yards per carry, and scored five times.
However, the unit as a whole only managed 1,653 yards and 3.5 YPC.
Second-string running back, Anthony Williams contributed 118 rushing yards and a touchdown. In contrast, Connor Heyward had 131 all-purpose yards in four games, preserved his redshirt, and entered the transfer portal before returning to Michigan State.
Wide Receivers
(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
Starters: Jalen Nailor, so.; Jayden Reed, so.; Tre Mosley, so.
Reserves: CJ Hayes, jr.; Laress Nelson, sr.; Ricky White, fr.; Terry Lockett, fr.; Ian Stewart, fr.; Javez Alexander, so.
The wide receiver unit is going to be one of the biggest keys to the Michigan State offense. In their six losses, MSU threw three touchdown passes with double-digit interceptions.
In games, when they threw three touchdowns or more, their record was 3-0. MSU needs to find ways to become more consistent. They averaged 22 points per game, the second-lowest point total in the Dantonio era. At one point, the Spartans led the nation in drops.
Last season, Pro Football Focus ranked 130 FBS quarterbacks following the six-week mark. Brian Lewerke was 44th overall, but the evaluation said, "If his receivers can give him some more help (23 drops — most in the country), his yardage totals and numbers should even be on the rise."
Due to an injury, Nailor missed nine games after the season opener but returned to play in the last three, helping push the Spartans to a three-game winning streak to end the year. He hauled in five catches for 60 yards, including a 23-yard reception, his season-long to defeat Wake Forest in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, 27-21.
Tight Ends
TE Matt Dotson (PHOTO: Duffy Carpenter @DuffyCarpenter1 )
Starter: Matt Dotson, sr.
Reserves: Trenton Gillison, so.; Adam Berghorst, r-fr.; Tommy Guajardo, fr.
Matt Dotson missed the last four games of the season following his Achilles injury against Illinois in November. The upperclassmen ended his junior campaign with a career-high 16 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown in four starts and eight games.
When tight ends coach, Ted Gilmore, was asked about where he was in the recovery process he said, "Well, honestly, I can't because like I said we were just getting ready to get to the point where we could do those kind of things. So, I can't really speak to that at all, but I do know he's going to be an important piece of the puzzle, and I'm looking forward to getting him back sooner than later."
I believe Gillison will remain the backup if Dotson is healthy to start the season. However, he had a nice year as well – finishing with 12 receptions for 147 yards. He had a career-high four catches for 88 yards during the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Demon Deacons, including a 64-yard reception.
Offensive Line
Starters: LT Kevin Jarvis, jr.; LG Luke Campbell, sr.; C Matt Allen, sr.; RG Matt Carrick, jr.; RT Jordan Reid, sr.
Reserves: LT A.J. Arcuri, sr.; LG J.D. Duplain, so.; OL Nick Samac, so.; RG Blake Bueter, jr.; RT Devontae Dobbs, r-fr.
It's no secret that Michigan State's offensive line has been beat up the past two seasons. It's a group who struggled to stay healthy, and for the second straight year, right tackle Jordan Reid was the only player to start all 13 games in the same position.
Against Rutgers, the Spartans started three freshmen (LT Devontae Dobbs, LG J.D. Duplain, and C Nick Samac) for the first time in Mark Dantonio's 13 seasons as head coach.
They were forced to use seven different starting combinations.
The bright side is MSU returns ten offensive linemen who started in at least one game and five who have a minimum of ten starts under their belts. Although, remaining healthy to protect Elijah Collins and their quarterback will be their biggest priority.
It all starts up front.
