Michigan State has fallen short of expectations for years now. Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith failed in East Lansing because of poor roster building and semi-mediocre portal recruiting. They each got better recruiting at the high school level over the years, but the player turnover was ridiculous.
Now, it’s up to Pat Fitzgerald to fix that and address some key needs on both sides of the ball. He’ll need to get to work when the transfer portal window opens up next month.
Which position groups are in the more dire need of addressing?
1. Offensive line
The offensive line has been lacking for years, and now it’s going to be up to Fitzgerald and new offensive line coach hire Nick Tabacca to focus on that in the transfer portal early on. There are some nice pieces already on the roster like Stanton Ramil, Conner Moore, Luka Vincic, Kristian Phillips, Andrew Dennis, and Rustin Young, but it may be difficult to retain all of them under a new staff.
If they are all retained, it wouldn’t hurt to add a piece or two to compete for starting jobs in the spring. Even if they’re all back, this unit has proven it could use some help.
Priority No. 1 is addressing the offensive line.
2. The entire secondary
Michigan State is getting Aydan West back so there’s a quality piece for the future, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Nikai Martinez return after playing just four games this past season which means he retained his redshirt.
Still, the secondary needs help. A couple of guys have already hit the transfer portal from the secondary, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see more leave. Plus, the secondary has been poor for years.
I know Fitzgerald is going to focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball, but he has to really harp on the cornerback and safety positions.
3. Defensive line
Derrick Simmons was the most important name that I wanted to see return this offseason, and he’s already hinted at that. Jalen Thompson and Alex VanSumeren would also be huge to retain for veteran leadership purposes, but I’m assuming a lot of guys are waiting on the defensive line coach hire.
When that happens, I’d expect to see some departures, but this is a group that could use a reset button; it’s struggled to get much of a pass rush for years.
A good defensive line coach hire is going to go a long way this offseason at a position of need.