For Michigan State Football, Success Starts In the Trenches
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It has been over a week since Michigan State football fired head coach Jonathan Smith and hired former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Since arriving in East Lansing, Fitzgerald has quickly begun acclimating himself by attending basketball and hockey games and engaging with students.
While this is great to see from the new head coach, fans still want to see Fitzgerald and his staff address several key areas to improve the team ahead of next season.
Since the 2021 season—when Kenneth Walker III and Jayden Reed led the way—the Spartans have failed to make a bowl game. Although Michigan State has had talented pieces, the team has rarely looked cohesive.
For Fitzgerald to succeed in rebuilding the roster, he needs to start with the foundation—and that foundation is the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Offensive Line
This past season, the offensive line was expected to be an upgraded unit. Players such as Luka Vincic, Caleb Carter, Matt Gulbin, and Connor Moore arrived through the transfer portal and brought valuable experience. Before the season began, there was optimism that the line would take a step forward and improve in protecting the quarterback.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Michigan State allowed 37 sacks and recorded an overall pass-blocking grade of 57.8, according to PFF. Run blocking was slightly better at 63.2, but still not at a level the Spartans can rely on moving forward.
Injuries also played a significant role in the unit’s struggles. Vincic was ruled out for the remainder of the season after Week 3, starting left tackle Stanton Ramil missed a month, and several others rotated in and out of the lineup. With so much turnover, it’s understandable that the line struggled to protect the quarterback and open running lanes.
Fitzgerald must address this group through the transfer portal. His track record of recruiting and developing NFL caliber linemen like Peter Skoronski and Rashawn Slater at Northwestern should give fans confidence that he can rebuild the unit into a strength.
Defensive Line
While Michigan State did address the Offensive line in the portal last offseason, the defensive line left much to be desired. MSU was only able to bring in two players for the defensive line in Grady Kelly and Issac Smith.
The Spartans finished 12th in the Big Ten with 22 sacks and recorded 55 tackles for loss. Their leading sack producers—defensive end Jalen Thompson, linebacker Jordan Hall, and defensive tackle Quindarrius Dunnigan—each finished with just 2.5 sacks.
Compare those numbers with top defenses like Indiana and Ohio State, who posted 39 and 33 sacks respectively, and the gap becomes clear. The Big Ten’s sack leader, Caden Curry, had nearly half as many sacks on his own as Michigan State totaled as an entire defense.
No one should expect Michigan State to completely overhaul both lines and become elite in a single offseason. However, raising the standard—whether in pass protection or pass rushing—should be the baseline expectation under Fitzgerald.
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