Michigan State football has Big Ten’s top two run-defending DTs for 2019

Michigan State football had one of the best defenses in the country in 2018 and that seems to be the case yet again as 2019 approaches.

Raequan Williams and Mike Panasiuk had themselves quite the year in 2018, combining to create one of the best interior defensive linemen duos in college football.

In fact, Pro Football Focus even ranked them as the top-two interior returning run defenders in the Big Ten, with a minimum of 200 run snaps.

For everyone worried about Michigan State heading into the 2019 season, those doubts have come on the offensive side of the ball as the defense is returning a ton from a unit that ranked in the top-10 nationally in a number of important categories.

The run defense, though, was No. 1 nationally for a good portion of the season and Williams and Panasiuk were a major reason for that. They created a mess in the middle of the defensive line, clogging all the run lanes and allowing guys like Joe Bachie, Tyriq Thompson and Andrew Dowell to stuff the other holes.

It also helps that these two guys are monsters, in terms of size, and their strength sets them apart. They have been menaces for opposing linemen since setting foot in East Lansing.

Unfortunately, both Williams and Panasiuk are entering their final seasons with Michigan State and they’ll leave a major void in the middle of that defensive line in 2020.

Let’s not think about life after Williams and Panasiuk, though, but instead realize just how special this interior lineman tandem will be in 2019.