Talented redshirt freshman linebacker Brandon Randle is switching positions from linebacker to defensive end for Michigan State football.
There have been times under Mark Dantonio when a player has been asked to switch positions for the betterment of the team. Michigan State football has been one of those programs that’s not afraid to change a player’s position based on need, but it’s up to the actual athlete to decide if he’s going to embrace it.
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Redshirt freshman linebacker Brandon Randle has been given an opportunity to start with a slight position change. He’s moving from his normal Sam linebacker position to defensive end, according to Jeremy Wanemuende of 247Sports.
While this may seem like a huge deal, it’s actually not that uncommon. There are programs in college football that embrace the linebacker/end hybrid and guys like LSU’s Arden Key excel in that regard. Randle isn’t a big guy, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing just 225 pounds, but neither is Key and the latter is a projected All-American end/linebacker.
Dantonio is famous for saying that if he had to guess, without looking at star rankings and just based on play, Randle would have been a five-star recruit in his eyes. He was named an Army All-American and was one of the Spartans’ highly-touted recruits in 2016.
Making a move like this will not only help the Spartans’ depth, with the departing player hurting it to begin with, but it will also give his collegiate career a jumpstart.
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We could see Randle making a name for himself on a national level this fall thanks to the position change. Not often do you see a kid who can run a 4.4 40-yard dash playing defensive end. Scary sight for offenses.