Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from 2018 spring game

Michigan State football has concluded its spring game with plenty of questions answered, but what exactly did we learn from the Spartans’ showing?

The 2018 Green & White game is already in the books as Michigan State defeated Michigan State, 32-30. All jokes aside, the offense took down the defense in a surprisingly-exciting spring contest which featured solid play from the quarterbacks and a potential breakout candidate at running back.

Defensively, the Spartans were solid, but there’s still some work to be done. Not everyone dressed, so it was difficult to tell just how good this team is going to be on both sides of the ball, but the bar is likely set at 10-11 wins this season.

Moreover, Brian Lewerke has the mindset of a leader, stating that anything less than a Big Ten title in 2018 is a disappointment.

What’d we learn from Michigan State’s 2018 spring game?

5. Defensive line looked solid, had good push all game

While not many people paid attention to the offensive and defensive lines, I thought the latter did a solid job of getting to the quarterbacks. Brian Lewerke looked calm in the pocket and got the ball out quickly, so it was tough to tell if there was a true rush, but guys like Mike Panasiuk, Jacub Panasiuk, Raequan Williams, Kenny Willekes and even Dillon Alexander were making plays.

Lewerke did a good job of diagnosing blitzes and escaping pressure, but the line got to Rocky Lombardi and Theo Day — Day got his “welcome to college” moment from Alexander in the second half.

The defensive line is somewhat of a question mark, especially at the ends, heading into the 2018 season, but it looked to get a good push all afternoon and force some uncomfortable throws from Lombardi and Day mostly.

If Dillon and Justice Alexander can step up this fall, the Spartans will have that much less to worry about on the defensive side of the ball.