Michigan State's Chris Kapilovic talks O-line depth, young guys who have stood out in spring practice

Michigan State has limited depth at O-line this spring, but several young players are getting extra reps as a result

In its third week of spring practice, Michigan State football is getting a jumpstart on the 2022 season.

One position group that has several question marks is the offensive line, and coach Chris Kapilovic discussed the Spartans current lack of depth at the position, while also expressing optimism about where MSU will be this summer and into fall camp.

On lack of O-line depth:

“What a difference a year makes, right? You had more than you’ve ever had, and now you got less than you’ve ever had. But that’s okay, you know? The positive to it is there are some young guys that are getting more reps than they ever would have normally, in a normal setting. So, we’re going through our lumps at times, but they’re getting better because of it.”

“Some guys are having to play multiple positions, and sometimes that’s a little unfair to them, but in the long run it’s going to benefit them and us with our depth. We’re doing a great job of how we’re practicing and not wearing them down too much. We’re not getting the same amount of team reps that we might normally get, which I hate it for all the other positions, but it’s just something we have to do. This is a chance for us to get good with our technique in a more individual time.”

On the importance of spring practice for O-line play:

“Normally, the cohesion is huge, but unfortunately, with the guys that are out right now, we’re missing the cohesion with them. But the flipside of that is the experience, the depth that the young guys will get from this ultimately will help our depth as the season goes. A young kid may get a third of the reps he’d normally get this spring, and now he’s getting all the reps. And when we get to fall camp, we get to the season, he’s had a lot more reps. Maybe he gets a job, or he’s pressed into service, [and] he’s had those reps and he’s ready to go.”

On OL Spencer Brown’s Peach Bowl performance, his development:

“I was pleased with his progress. Throughout the season, you know, we knew we had to get him ready. Because…like I said, I feel like I was living in a fantasy world having that many guys, and you know there’s going to be attrition as a year goes on. So, he played a little bit throughout the year, and then when it was his time to start in that game I thought he responded well. It was a really good front he was going against – I think they were second or third in the country in sacks. Was it perfect? No. But he showed some good progress, and I thought he did some good things – enough that you felt good going into this year that you could really believe that this could be our guy.”

On getting young players game experience in 2021:

“We didn’t have a ton of games that were really lopsided, to where you’d play those young guys, anyways. What would have happened was, the guys who were starters would have played every rep if we didn’t have the experience and depth we had. So, I don’t know if they necessarily lost out on the reps they would have got if we wouldn’t have had that many guys, to be honest with you. We were able to get a guy like Spencer Brown some quality reps, so I think that was a plus.”

“Right now, we’re dealing with redshirt freshman, so they were going to redshirt anyway. That’s kind of where we’re at. We’ll have a full allotment of guys once summer comes along, so we’ll be in good shape when that happens, and in the meantime we just get these young guys better.”

On young guys who are standing out:

“Spencer and Nick Samac – it’s crazy to say Spencer’s the veteran out there, but he kind of is, and Nick’s has done a good job.”

“Kevin Wigenton, Brandon Baldwin, Geno VanDeMark was doing some really good things until [he was sidelined]. You saw some improvement there from them. Dallas Fincher was a guy that was playing both center and guard – very athletic, and he’s finally gotten his weight [where] he’s pushing that 300 mark to where he can be out there and help us.”

“We a couple guys that were defensive lineman over there with us right now, getting some reps – [Evan] Brunning and [Jacob] Lafave – so those guys we redshirted last year are getting some good, quality reps.”

On center Nick Samac:

“That group last year was really like A and B, or co-starters. There was really no difference, so that’s the way I saw it. After the first game in 2020, [Samac] went the rest of the way, so he’s got a lot of reps under his belt. He played before that as well…he’s playing center and guard, so he’s cross-training as well. In fact, he’s athletic enough we could throw him out there at tackle if we needed to. We’ve even talked about it, just to get him some reps for emergency purposes. He’s handled that well, and he’s really trying to take over that leadership role that those older guys – Matt [Allen] – and some of those guys had. He’s really trying to be that for the guys, and he’s done a nice job with that.”

On depth, numbers improving by the end of spring:

“Unfortunately, it’s looking like – we may get one more, but that’s going to be about it. There’s probably some guys that could be out there if it was a game week, but it’s better to get them healthy and ready to go. So, there probably won’t be a full allotment of guys this spring.”

On Maverick Hansen, other DTs that could cross-train with OL:

“He’s doing a real nice job on defense, and they need him there. We know we’re going to be okay once we get to the summer, so we don’t want to do that with him at this point. Like I said, we were able to take a couple kids from over there who were doing a nice job for them, that were running with their twos and threes, that are coming over to help us and giving us some bodies, so that’s worked out okay.”

On how Kenneth Walker’s departure affects O-line play:

“It doesn’t change what we do, as far as, the scheme is the scheme. Ken was that guy that, his vision was special most of the time. There’s plays that there’s a hole there, and he’s supposed to go there, but he sees something else and he makes that cut, and everybody on the headphones is like, ‘Where the heck is he going?’ and then you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re good’. It is what it is. And then there’s times when he missed the hole and he didn’t get anything…but you’ll take what he brought to the table all day. But it didn’t change us. Now, schematically, we might put in some things that we didn’t have in that maybe can give us, hopefully manufacture, some of the things he brought to the table. So, that may happen, but the base schemes and stuff stay the same, other than the wrinkles that we’ll add throughout spring and fall camp.”

On coaching approach to lack of depth:

“That’s the challenge. Like, one half of my brain is feeling sorry for these guys, that they’re out here and there’s nobody else here, but the other side of me [says] I can’t waste this opportunity. And if I just baby them, and we accept mediocrity, then that’s what we’re going to get. So, we can’t do that.”

“Coach Tuck has done a great job of putting us in a situation where we’ve been able to limit the reps to where the expectation is, when they do go, they should be full speed and full throttle. In turn, I’ve got to coach them like there’s 20 out there. I don’t care if there’s five out there or seven, we have to get better every day. We talk about it, but when we cross those white lines, it doesn’t matter. Whoever’s out there has got to get it done.”

More on Brandon Baldwin and Kevin Wigenton:

“Baldwin has really tremendous size. He’s probably 6-foot-6ish, and he’s 310, 315 pounds. He was a basketball player, so he has athleticism. He has a high care factor. It’s just a matter of him just getting consistency.”

“Wigenton has really showed improvement in everything, technique and assignment, it’s just a matter of him getting stronger. He happens to have to go against, probably, our best D-tackle every day, so that’s always not going to be a good matchup for him. But at the end, it will pay off for him as long as he doesn’t lose his confidence, which we’ll do a good job of keeping that.”

“Ethan Boyd, on the other side, is another young guy that [is] big, long. He’s really gotten himself in good shape, and he shows some real flashes of being a really good player. But, like all young kids, consistency is the key – counting on them to do the right thing, make the right calls, use your technique and play at a high level. That’s tough for any lineman, and especially for those young guys. That’s the thing we’re really looking for from them.”

On pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan’s impact on MSU’s O-line:

“It’s an advantage for all of us to have him on the staff. I see energy in those guys that he’s working with, and the techniques they’re applying. My thing is, it’s the iron sharpens iron, so the more that he’s doing that we have to prepare for and block, [that] will ultimately help us. And then, for me as a coach even, once this thing slows down, I want to get with him and [ask], ‘What are the things that gie you problems? That give those guys problems?’ Because, as long as I’ve been doing this, you’ve got to grow and learn. You can’t be stuck in your ways. I really feel like it’s really brought a good energy to the team and I really think it’s a way for us, even in recruiting, it’s great. Even offensive line-wise, they know that there’s some interest from some big time guys on [defense], and that interests [offensive lineman]. So, I think that’s really brought a lot to the table.”

On new drills with/against Brandon Jordan’s techniques:

“We haven’t gotten that far yet, just because of the numbers. We do some stuff where we go one-on-one, and stuff like that, and so Coach [Jordan] is working on his stuff, we’re working on this stuff. But I think as we go through the summer and fall camp, we’ll evolve to that for sure.”

On changes in backfield, combined with low numbers in spring:

“Unfortunately, with the musical chairs and the guys that have been moving in and out this spring, there hasn’t been a lot of cohesion and rhythm, so I know that’s got to be frustrating for them a little bit. But then, there’s been some flashes. So, really, what we’re trying to do with the spring is make sure everyone understands the playbook and what we’re trying to accomplish, and then understand the technique it’s going to take, and then continue to build on it this summer, so that when fall camp comes and we have a full allotment, then we can really get that cohesion and that working together that you’re talking about.”

“I’ve been blessed to have some really good running backs in the places I’ve been, and it’s never been like, ‘The O-line is going to adjust to that running back’ or vice-versa. It’s like, ‘ Here’s the scheme, and then we’ve just got to execute it at a great level’, and then those guys bring to the table what they bring to the table. So, it’s not as complicated as that. It’s a matter of us executing, and the backs executing and then their skills will come to light.”

On general time frame of taking a new recruit and getting them game ready:

“I do feel like playing offensive line as a freshman is probably one of the hardest things. Just because you’re coming in and it’s learning a whole offense, it’s like learning a new language of communication, and then you’re 17 and 18 years old and sometime you’re going against 21- and 22-year-old men, and it’s physical on every play. So, that’s a lot to ask of guys. And sometimes you have guys who are ready. So, we always say we’re recruiting them to play, but if they’re not ready, yeah, we’ll get that redshirt.”

“I think if you had a perfect blueprint, if you were in a situation where you had an O-line, and you had great depth, and you didn’t have injuries, and you could redshirt a guy, and then play him as a redshirt freshman, and then he was a dominant player for two of three years – that would be the perfect template. But, unfortunately, that doesn’t happen very often. So, some guys are pressed into duty maybe before they’re ready, and we just have to make it happen. And some happen to be ready faster than others, but that’s probably the perfect template.”

On short-yardage situations:

“As well as we ran the ball at times, we weren’t as good in that 3rd-and-One or Two world as we should have been. So, that was a major study for us in the offseason, and it was interesting because there was a combination of reasons. Sometimes it was just bad up front, sometimes the back didn’t go to the right place, sometimes it’s the QB not with the right checks. It’s a lot of things that went to that, so we definitely want to be better there for sure, and it’s a point of emphasis. No question about it.”

Could tight end depth, bigger backs help with short-yardage?

“That’s you’re hope, that we’re in position to be able to do that, for sure. I think, like I said, come summer, we should have the personnel to be able to do those things and be good at what we do. We have high expectations for the guys that are coming back from the injuries, and the new guys that will be joining us, plus with the people in the backfield and the tight ends…so, I do think we’ll be in good shape.”

On realization that young O-lineman will play important roles in 2022:

“It’s definitely hit them this spring. So, like we said, there’s no excuses. We’re not letting anybody make excuses for them, and it’s time to go. You’re not a freshman any more. So, yes, they understand where we’re at, and they should be competing. It’s not like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to be ready to be backups’ just because some guys are coming back. Let’s win the job. Nobody has a starting job at this point. We’re going to go into fall camp, so any of these guys that return and have played before, if they think they’re just going to be able to walk in and rest on their laurels – it’s not going to happen. So, I want those young guys to challenge them. That’s the hope, for sure.”