Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Football: 5 reasons to be excited about 2019 after spring

By Connor Muldowney

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 03: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans runs past Byron Cowart #9 of the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Capital One Field on November 3, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 03: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans runs past Byron Cowart #9 of the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Capital One Field on November 3, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
EAST LANSING, MI – NOVEMBER 24: Running back Jonathan Hilliman #23 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights is tackled by defensive tackle Raequan Williams #99 of the Michigan State Spartans and linebacker Tyriq Thompson #17 of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at Spartan Stadium on November 24, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State defeated Rutgers 14-10. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – NOVEMBER 24: Running back Jonathan Hilliman #23 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights is tackled by defensive tackle Raequan Williams #99 of the Michigan State Spartans and linebacker Tyriq Thompson #17 of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at Spartan Stadium on November 24, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State defeated Rutgers 14-10. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

2. Run defense is elite yet again

After watching the spring game, one thought came to mind: that top-five run defense from a season ago is going to be even better in 2019.

It wasn’t even the offensive line’s fault. Heck, the big guys up front did a solid job protecting the quarterback and didn’t allow many tackles for loss, but the defensive line was just unbelievable. The run game couldn’t get off the ground and that just goes to show how good this unit truly is.

Raequan Williams leads the group and Mike Panasiuk also looked good. Jacub Panasiuk is growing into a problem for opposing linemen and the same can be said for Naquan Jones. This is a deep, talented unit and it did all of this damage during the spring game without Kenny Willekes who is still rehabbing his leg.

If you thought the 2018 defensive line was good, it’s going to be even scarier against the run in 2019 and it could find its way to the quarterback more often, too — it’s essentially the same group of guys.

Good luck, Big Ten, you have to find a way to block these guys.

Home/Spartans Football