Michigan State football: Will offensive line put it all together in 2021?

When Mel Tucker hired Chris Kapilovic, he knew he would have his work cut out for him with Michigan State football.

Kapilovic had a history of turning offensive lines around in short periods of time — just look what he did at Colorado — but Michigan State’s trenches had been lackluster for years. In fact, it was a big reason the Spartans’ offense struggled so much over the previous 3-4 seasons.

But it was a great hire for Tucker because if anyone was going to fix arguably the weakest area on the team, it was Kapilovic.

In year one, the line showed flashes, but overall it was mediocre. There were some solid pieces, but there was just too much to fix in a short period of time. Over a seven-game stretch, the line was bad, but it was as bad as it had been over Mark Dantonio’s final seasons.

Still, if there’s one area that must improve in 2021 if Michigan State is going to win anything of value, it’s the offensive line and Kapilovic can get it done.

What does Kapilovic have to work with?

Looking at the returning pieces from last year, there are a handful of talented guys who could get the starting nod such as AJ Arcuri, Kevin Jarvis, Nick Samac, Luke Campbell, JD Duplain, and Matt Carrick.

And then there are guys with very little playing experience who could be part of that ‘next man up’ group in James Ohonba, Spencer Brown, Dallas Fincher, and Jacob Isaia.

Lastly, there are the newcomers in Jarrett Horst, Geno VanDeMark, Ethan Boyd, Kevin Wigenton, and Brandon Baldwin who could all crack the two-deep this fall. Each one of those guys has the talent and potential to have a solid career in East Lansing and turn the offensive line around.

The group of guys Kapilovic has to work with this season as opposed to last is deep and it’s talented. He has guys who should be able to rotate effectively and there may not be that much of a drop-off from a starter to a backup like there has been for the past few years.

The real question is: will the line put it all together this year?

If I had to guess, I would say this would be the start of a noticeable turnaround. The run game will no longer be two yards and a cloud of dust. The Spartans will be able to run between the tackles effectively and whoever starts at quarterback won’t be running for his life all season long.

Spartan fans will feel good about the direction of the line in 2021.