Michigan State Football: 5 biggest questions facing defense in 2019

4. Will there be a drop-off in the secondary?

Michigan State returns Josiah Scott to the cornerback position but lose Justin Layne to the NFL. The former four-star receiver turned starting cornerback played three years on the defense before getting selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Where does this leave the position? Most likely in the hands of fifth-year senior Josh Butler.

Is this a bad thing? According to the coaching staff, Butler has been working hard to make the position his own and you don’t often hear “it’s his job to lose” unless it’s locked up with a strong offseason and that’s exactly the sentiment everyone is getting across with Butler at starting corner.

Will there be a drop-off from Layne to Butler? It’s possible because Layne was such an impressive athlete and had incredible size for the position, but Butler is more than prepared and has plenty of experience. He’s waited four years for this and you know he’s not just going to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

If he struggles, Michigan State has plenty of talented depth behind him in Kalon Gervin, Shakur Brown, Tre Person, Davion Williams, Julian Barnett and Christian Jackson.

As for replacing Khari Willis, the staff feels confident about talented sophomore Xavier Henderson. He may not be the same leader — yet — that Willis was, but he has all the talent in the world.

There shouldn’t be any major drop-off.