Michigan State Football: Top 5 position battles to watch this fall

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 05: Jaylen Dunlap #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Felton Davis III #18 of the Michigan State Spartans battle for the ball in the end zone during the game at Memorial Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. Illinois defeated Michigan State 31-27. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

1. Safety

The defensive backfield has been almost completely wiped out. That’s actually not the worst thing to happen to this unit. The Spartans’ secondary was one of the worst in the Big Ten in 2016, so losing some guys who may have been holding the unit back could engineer a fresh start.

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Back is rising sophomore Justin Layne. As mentioned earlier, he converted from wide receiver to cornerback during the 2016 season and he seemed to fit into the defensive scheme well. He looked like an every-week starter for the Spartans at corner and figures to have the spot locked up this fall. True freshman Josiah Scott is the other projected cornerback starter.

The safeties are both new, though. Gone are Montae Nicholson and Demetrious Cox. They had underwhelming final seasons with Michigan State, but the former was drafted in the fourth round in 2017 by the Redskins.

Who will replace them? Some early candidates, and my current favorites, are David Dowell and Khari Willis. They seem to be the best suited for the spots, but you can’t sleep on Matt Morrissey and Grayson Miller. Heck, converted cornerback Austin Andrews could contend as well.

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The safety positions should be watched closely this fall because the Spartans have a lot of veteran leadership to replace.

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