Michigan State Football: Can JD Duplain be next position-change star?

JD Duplain was an offensive guard at the high school level but made a position change for Michigan State football and could be a defensive line star.

Mark Dantonio has a solid track record of changing players’ positions for the better of the team and having them turn out to be stars.

Jeremy Langford, Justin Layne, Keith Nichol and even Khari Willis (played running back in high school) are just a handful of examples and currently Jack Camper and La’Darius Jefferson have switched up positions and could be on track to become stars for Michigan State.

Heck, even Keshawn Martin was a quarterback in high school but turned into one heck of a receiver at Michigan State.

Who could be next after Camper and Jefferson on the current squad? Look no further than JD Duplain, a former three-star offensive guard from Ohio who has made the switch to the defensive line.

Duplain was considered one of the top offensive line prospects in Michigan State’s 2019 class and even enrolled early before making the switch official. Many programs saw him as a solid offensive line prospect but he trusted the Michigan State staff and took on a new role to help the team and potentially further his career.

The Strongsville, Ohio, native stands 6-3 and weighs in at about 290 pounds, making him a perfect tackle prospect. And he’s one of the more physical players from the Spartans’ 2019 class with plenty of strength. He has enough power to manhandle opposing linemen and his time spent on the offensive line could help him dominate on the defensive line.

While I’d almost expect a redshirt in 2019 despite enrolling early, I could see Duplain playing in 3-4 games, gaining valuable experience and coming back in 2020 to help replace a couple of All-Big Ten defensive tackles.