This Offensive Lineman's Development is Critical to MSU's Offense
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Every single player that will take the field for Michigan State will be important, but certain players play bigger roles than others.
People will talk about junior starting quarterback Aidan Chiles, sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh, and perhaps some other skill-position players as keys to MSU's success. Usually when the offensive line gets brought up, the group is looked at like a monolith and only the overall play of the group is judged.
Among the members of the men up front, the most important piece could very well be redshirt sophomore and returning starter Stanton Ramil.
Ramil's 2024 Campaign
As a redshirt freshman last fall, Ramil was able to come onto the scene for MSU and earn plenty of playing time. The Binghamton, New York, native appeared in 11 of the team's 12 games and started eight of them, taking over as a starter in Week 4 against Boston College.
Ramil also brings plenty of size, as he is listed at 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds on MSU's roster.
In total, Ramil played 613 offensive snaps last season, all of which were at left tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. Allowing sacks and/or pressures wasn't a real big issue for Ramil; he only was made responsible for three sacks in 344 pass-blocking snaps. His main problem was the number of times he was flagged: six.
The former four-star recruit and Under Armour All-American graded out at 54.1 overall by PFF (average is 60.0) with a run-blocking mark of 55.4 and a pass-blocking grade of 58.7.
Importance of the Left Tackle
Again, every offensive lineman is going to be important. It's going to be tough for the offense to do anything if the five linemen out there can't get push in the run game and protect the quarterback when there's a pass.
What makes Ramil's job so important, though, is the role of a left tackle.
If he's in pass pro and an edge rusher gets past him, that defender is going to have a free rush at Aidan Chiles' blindside. That type of mistake could very well mean a fumble, which can definitely become the difference between a win and a loss.
Just as bad is that a blindside hit that Chiles does not see coming is a lot more likely to cause an injury than a hit that comes from the right side that he can brace for.
Another way to show the importance of the LT position is how much NFL teams are willing to pay players to play it. Tristan Wirfs of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the highest-paid left tackle in the league with a contract worth about $28 million per year. The only two offensive positions with players with richer contracts are quarterback and wide receiver.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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