Michigan State Football: Next man up at every position

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Nov 22, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive lineman Joel Heath (92) prepares for the snap of the ball during the1st quarter of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Craig Evans is good. I mean, really good. Although he’s been fighting his way out of the dog house with coach Dantonio for the better part of the last year, due to ‘internal issues,’ Evans was a highly-regarded player coming out of high school as a consensus four-star recruit.

In an effort to drop his weight from the 330-pound range to where he was out of high school, around 300, Dantonio and his staff have ensured that Evans hit the weight room hard and work on his conditioning. He has done so and many believe he may be right back in the rotation.

According to Mike Wilson of 247Sports, Mark Dantonio likes what he sees potential-wise with the redshirt freshman tackle, but he wants to see it translate on the field.

"“He has had a good summer conditioning program and then he needs to get on the field,” Dantonio said. “He needs to develop as a defensive lineman. He’s got great ability. He hasn’t transitioned that ability. All that ability needs to start paying dividends,” Dantonio said."

In that same report, elite defensive end Shilique Calhoun had some nice things to say about Evans and his growth as an overall player.

"“I like his big body,” the senior defensive end said. “I promise you I love big D-tackles because they make my job so much easier. If you gotta double team him, that means you can only be one-on-one on me, so that makes my job easier. He’s definitely improved in a sense of maturity and understanding that he needs to be better in certain aspects if he wants to get on the field,” Calhoun said."

If Coach D taps the true potential of this big defensive tackle, we could see a superstar added to an already loaded d-line.

Next: Defensive end

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