Michigan State Football: 5 areas of concern following spring 2019

Michigan State football entered spring with plenty of question marks, but not all were answered. What are the main areas of concern after spring ball?

Shortly after spring ball concluded, we took a look at reasons to be optimistic about Michigan State’s 2019 season. The Spartans exceeded some expectations this spring with the offense and even replacing key players on defense, but not all questions were answered.

Actually, there are still some concerns about the upcoming season after spring ball and we’re going to touch on what could be the most alarming of the bunch — and no, there’s not much concern about the defensive side of the ball.

What are five biggest areas of concern following spring ball?

5. Utilization of tight ends

I’ll be honest, I was looking for a lot more from the tight ends during the spring game and nothing really stood out. Noah Davis and Matt Dotson were each targeted but neither came away with a reception and the highly-touted Trenton Gillison was rather quiet.

The tight ends, which used to be a focal point in the offense, remained irrelevant in the offense, which was an issue in 2018.

Heck, ever since Josiah Price graduated, tight ends have had a minuscule role which is a reason why the quarterbacks aren’t 100 percent confident in the pocket. Is it the tight ends fault? Probably not, but the quarterbacks aren’t utilizing some of the most sure-handed targets on the team effectively.

Rocky Lombardi did a solid job of building a connection with Dotson last season and the two worked well together, but Brian Lewerke essentially forgot he had tight ends.

This talented group of blocking pass-catchers needs to be utilized more to give the offense additional threats through the air.