Michigan State Football: 5 position battles to watch in spring 2019

Which five position battles will be the most exciting to watch as Michigan State football begins spring practice in March, leading into April?

The weather is warming up — ever so slightly — and snow is melting which means one thing: Michigan State football is gearing up to begin spring practice. Well that and the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner.

Michigan State is coming off a disappointing season, mostly because of the offensive side of the ball, and some staff shakeups are supposed to help matters, but time will tell.

Some position groups have depth while others are losing key players and will be decided this spring. Can the Spartans make up for losses of Khari Willis, Justin Layne and LJ Scott?

These five position battles should take center stage this spring.

5. Safety

Losing Khari Willis is going to be tough for a variety of reasons, the biggest being his leadership on and off the field. He was one of the best vocal leaders on the team and the defense fed off his energy.

The senior safety was a captain and one of the best safeties in the Big Ten, earning all-conference consideration as he finished with 77 tackles and seven pass breakups while improving that secondary drastically as the year progressed.

Who replaces him, though?

The two best options, in my mind, are sophomore Xavier Henderson and redshirt freshman Michael Dowell. Will we see another Dowell starting for the green and white on the defensive side of the ball or will Henderson break through and play like everyone has expected and seen flashes of?