Michigan State football: Offensive line showing 'buy in': 'We're gonna dominate'
Even though some of the Spartans' key pieces up front heading into Jonathan Smith's second season weren't here a year ago.
'We've taken it on fully,' new center Matt Gulbin said after MSU's third preseason practice Thursday, July 31. 'I think it comes down to if we're not good, we're not gonna be good (as a team).'
That means showing marked improvement in blocking, both in the run game and in protecting dynamic second-year starting quarterback Aidan Chiles.
UNDER CENTER: Michigan State football QB Aidan Chiles spent his summer beefing up his body — and his brain
With last season's change in scheme and coaches, MSU averaged just 115.3 yards per game on the ground last season, ranking 110th out of 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. It was an incremental improvement over 2023, when the Spartans languished through a program-worst 89.5 rushing yards per game.
'We gotta run the ball,' left tackle Stanton Ramil said during Big Ten football media days. 'And as soon as we're able to run the ball, we're gonna be able to dump it to our playmakers. … If we're able to run the ball – and I think we're gonna be able to run the ball – we're gonna dominate.'
The Spartans also allowed 36 sacks, tied for 18th-most in the FBS, as another culprit in going 5-7 and missing the postseason for the third straight year. Eight of the teams that allowed more sacks than MSU played 13 or more games, and Chiles got dropped in all but one game a year ago (against FCS-level Prairie View A&M).
'We have to take the responsibility and accountability to grind and give Aidan time,' Gulbin said. 'And we got a bunch of playmakers, and we gotta give them time to make plays. It's really on us to be able to facilitate the offense. I think we've done a good job of that. We took a lot of strides in the summer.
'We're not there yet, but we're definitely getting there.'
STICKING TOGETHER: Less roster churn brings more wins, Jonathan Smith hopes
Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said Thursday that finding the right combinations up front is one of the main priorities for the Spartans over the next month heading into the Aug. 29 opener against Western Michigan.
'It's up there,' Lindgren said. 'We got a bunch (of priorities), the list is pretty big. But that is, just kind of sorting it out. We feel really good about it. I feel like we got some really good options – it's just who's gonna end up where and which five are we gonna end up with.'
Gulbin, a senior who predominantly played guard at Wake Forest, will replace Luke Newman at center. Newman's former Oregon State teammate Luka Vincic – another pupil of offensive line coach Jim Michalczik – arrived in January via the portal and expects to slot in at right guard. Conner Moore, a second-team All-American at FCS-level Montana State, has been working at right tackle opposite returning starter Ramil on the left side. Returning right tackle starter Ashton Lepo is back as well, and Michalczik stresses position flexibility for his tackles and guards to be able to work on either side.
Vincic said Thursday that Michalcik has a 'set of rules' that paved the way for Oregon State in 2023 to finish the regular season No. 2 in the nation in run blocking before he brought them with him to MSU with Smith. The Beavers averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 180.8 rushing yards per game with 26 touchdowns that season. The Spartans managed just seven TDs on the ground from their running backs last season and 11 total, three of them from Chiles.
'We come to the line of scrimmage, we have a procedure for everything we do, how we ID things and how we operate,' Vincic said Thursday. 'I think the group at Oregon State that last year that this coaching staff was there was a very veteran group who learned it very well and could operate well, and everyone kind of bought into that system. And I think that's something I'm kind of seeing this group do now, everyone starting to buy in. It's a really cool thing to see.'
At left guard, Kristian 'Big Dooley' Phillips and Gavin Broscious are back from injuries that cut short promising starts to the 2024 season for both. MSU also has former four-star recruit Cole Dellinger returning from injuries that limited him his first two years as a Spartan, adding more depth and up-and-coming talent on the interior from three carryover prospects from the previous coaching staff.
'All three are coming along,' coach Jonathan Smith said after the first practice, 'and it's nice to finally watch them healthy. … We got snake-bitten a little bit early in the season, a couple guys go down early in the season. But we want to be able to play more than five guys on the O-line. It's a physical brand of football, so you need depth. And we are trying to create more and more and feel good.'
Smith and Michalczik also prioritized bolstering the offensive line in the first two recruiting classes and through the portal. Guard Caleb Carter arrives from FCS-level Western Carolina for his final season. Rakeem Johnson got pressed into starting duty at guard as a true freshman against Ohio State last season while still preserving a redshirt, and fellow youngsters Rustin Young, Andrew Dennis, Payton Stewart, Cooper Terpstra and twins Charlton and Mercer Luniewski will push for roles in what MSU hopes can be a true two-deep.
Their readiness will be key to giving Michalczik the ability to use more than the static five linemen the Spartans had last season due to the glut of injuries and outbound transfer attrition after the coaching change that brough Smith and staff to campus.
'I think our depth, we feel good about putting a number of guys out there,' Lindgren said, rapping on a wooden podium for continued luck. 'I just think going into the season, I feel so much better going into the year with some healthy bodies that are going right now, that have some experience and are strong enough to go out there and play for us and win games for us.'
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football offensive line counting on improvement
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