Michigan State Football: Who will replace Justin Layne in 2019?
Michigan State football will be down an All-Big Ten cornerback in 2019 but who will replace Justin Layne as he heads off to the NFL?
On Friday night, Michigan State football received some positive news as Justin Layne announced he would be forgoing his senior season to enter the 2019 NFL Draft.
Why is this good news? It gives the Spartans another notch on the NFL draft belt and gives the Spartans an opportunity to start one of their young cornerbacks.
The Spartans will return Josiah Scott who could either be a junior or redshirt sophomore, depending on if he plays in the Redbox Bowl — which seems likely at this point. But he will be joined by a brand new starter on the other side.
Who will it be?
Let’s take a look at the current roster at the cornerback position and break down who has the best chance to start in Layne’s place.
Christian Jackson, Davion Williams and Kalon Gervin all have redshirts to their name as freshmen and each has a good chance of cracking that starting rotation, but they’ll have to battle it out with Josh Butler and Shakur Brown.
Don’t sleep on a guy like Julian Barnett, the No. 62 recruit in the country, who is an incoming freshman for the Spartans but don’t be surprised if the green and white adds another defensive back to its 2019 class.
The favorite, in my opinion, has to be Gervin. He’s one of those uber-talented kids who won’t be sitting on the bench long. I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State began the season with Butler starting, but the torch will soon be passed on to Gervin. Each of those freshmen has a good chance as I believe each has an NFL future.
My under-the-radar choice? Brown. I think he’s far too talented to let a second-year player surpass him on the depth chart. He’s been solid this season but needs more consistency.
Next. 5 reasons to be excited about 2018 Redbox Bowl vs. Oregon. dark
Layne earned this trip to the NFL after beginning his career at wide out, working hard to transition to corner and becoming a leader from the now-infamous 2016 recruiting class. Michigan State is sending another defensive back to the league — shocker.