3 most concerning position groups for Michigan State football after spring 2024

Michigan State's Khris Bogle, right, closes in on Akron's Cam Wiley during the fourth quarter on
Michigan State's Khris Bogle, right, closes in on Akron's Cam Wiley during the fourth quarter on / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA
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2. Defensive line

Surprised by this? Maybe you haven't been paying attention over the past few weeks.

It all started with Simeon Barrow entering the transfer portal as he was followed by Derrick Harmon, Bai Jobe, and Andrew Depaepe. If those losses didn't hurt bad enough, recent portal commitment Brandon Lane and Michigan State decided to part ways. So that marked five quality defensive line pieces that would be moving on in the span of a couple of weeks.

Harmon ended up picking Oregon, Barrow went to Miami, Jobe committed to Kansas, and Depaepe and Lane have yet to pick new schools.

Jonathan Smith has some work to do on the defensive line and while he did address that position on Monday with commitments from Nebraska defensive tackle transfer Ru'Quan Buckley and Cincinnati edge rusher Tyler Gillison, there's still plenty of depth to be addressed.

The line has the worst outlook that I can remember in years. There are still some solid pieces like Khris Bogle, Jalen Thompson, D'Quan Douse, Alex VanSumeren, Maverick Hansen, Avery Dunn, and Quindarius Dunnigan, but there's a lot of unproven talent there.