Tag: Michigan State offensive line

Watch MSU football OL Luke Newman talk OSU game

Senior OL Luke Newman speaks to the media ahead of Ohio State game

Michigan State football’s offensive line will need to step up in a big way against Ohio State this Saturday under the nights inside of Spartan Stadium if the team is going to pull off an upset and bounce back from a loss to Boston College.

MSU’s offensive line unit has been beaten up by injuries and still has to get comfortable playing a new starting group.

Senior transfer offensive lineman Luke Newman spoke to the media and talked about the progression of the offensive line and the upcoming challenge with the Buckeyes.

Watch the media session via Spartan Mag on YouTube:

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Michigan State football true freshman OL next in line to step up

For depth on the OL, MSU may have to turn to a diamond in the rough true freshman to fill the void:

Michigan State football has lost two right guards to injury, leaving an already shallow unit even more depleted. With Kris Phillips and Gavin Broscious out, the Spartans will first turn to veteran Dallas Fincher to fill the void left at the starting right guard spot.

After Fincher, the Spartans may have to turn to an unlikely source to fill other voids on the offensive line.

Rakeem Johnson, a native of Boise, Idaho, was brought over by the Spartans staff in the 2024 recruiting class. He was rated a middle to low three-star by various recruiting services, but the Spartans may have found a diamond in the rough.

Johnson was the first freshman off the bench in MSU’s win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday, playing 24-of-68 offensive snaps for the Spartans at right tackle. He showed the talent the MSU coaching staff raved about throughout camp.

Outside of the presumed starting five on the offensive line (Brandon Baldwin, Luke Newman, Tanner Miller, Dallas Fincher, Ashton Lepo) MSU only has Stanton Ramil as a backup offensive lineman with any experience or as someone who has shown the needed skills.

The true freshman from Boise is going to have to mature quickly and give the Spartans meaningful snaps at a crucial position.

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Michigan State football veteran OL tasked with stepping up in big role

With two major injuries to the OL, the Spartans will turn to a fifth year senior to fill the void as the starting right guard

Michigan State football has suffered two pivotal injuries to the offensive line. Kris Phillips, the starting right guard, suffered a season ending injury in the team’s opener against Florida Atlantic. In the Spartans week three game against Prairie View A&M, backup right guard Gavin Broscious suffered what seemed to be a season ending injury, having been carted off the field in the game.

Now, the Spartans are going to turn to a fifth year senior to fill the void.

Dallas Fincher, a legacy at Michigan State, was a high 3-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. Although highly touted from Grand Rapids, the offensive lineman’s career has not amounted to what was expected, and Fincher has failed to crack the starting rotation.

With the injuries to both Phillips and Broscious, it is now up to Fincher to fill the void at the starting right guard spot.

Michigan State’s offensive line has struggled to start the 2024 season, and while Fincher was not tabbed out of camp to be a starter, his veteran presence will need to be pivotal in the success the unit has going forward.

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Michigan State football has winner in RG starting job battle

Michigan State football has a winner in the battle for starting RG:

One of the most noted battles Michigan State football has had going into training camp, who will start at right guard for the Spartans. The job was set to be given to a young guy, with redshirt sophomores Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious battling it out for the right to start.

According to 247Sports’ reporter Justin Thind, it is Kristian Phillips that won the battle and will start against Florida Atlantic week one.

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OT Brandon Baldwin removes name from NCAA transfer portal, returns to Michigan State football

Brandon Baldwin, who has started 15 games at left tackle the past two seasons, has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal:

On the same day the Spartans learned Ethan Boyd would return to Michigan State, the offensive line gained another boost: Left tackle Brandon Baldwin also removed his name from the transfer portal and will return to East Lansing for 2024. Baldwin started all 10 games he played in during the 2023 season, while starting in five games during the 2022 season.

Baldwin is an experienced offensive lineman that Smith will love to have a part of the program as he looks for a quick rebuild.

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Michigan State football OT Ethan Boyd removes name from NCAA transfer portal

OT Ethan Boyd is removing his name from the portal and returning to MSU:

Michigan State won a huge recruiting battle in the transfer portal on Monday afternoon, getting offensive lineman Ethan Boyd to remove his name from the NCAA transfer portal.

Boyd is in line to be a starter at either the right or left tackle position for Michigan State in 2024 and retaining his talents was a crucial win for Jonathan Smith and his staff.

Boyd was pursued by power conference teams, but the Spartans were able to hang on to the East Lansing native.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

OT Brandon Baldwin transferring from Michigan State football

OT Brandon Baldwin is transferring from Michigan State f

Michigan State offensive tackle Brandon Baldwin has announced that he is transferring away from the program.

The Detroit (MI) native went to Southfield A&T High School before heading to Independence Community College (KS) to start his college career. From there, Baldwin came to Michigan State, where he played in 21 games over three seasons with MSU.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Michigan State Football: Offensive tackle Mustafa Khaleefah opts out of 2020 season

Redshirt Junior offensive tackle Mustafah Khaleefah has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 reasons.

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Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has announced that redshirt junior offensive tackle Mustafa Khaleefah has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season. The opt-out was cited due to COVID-19 reasons.

Khaleefah was a member of the 2017 recruiting class, being ranked as a 3-star prospect out of Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Michigan.

In his three seasons at Michigan State, the offensive tackle has been seen on the field in seven games, playing just over 40 snaps on the offensive line. Khaleefah has never started a game with the Spartans. It is unknown at this time if Spartan nation will see Khaleefah return to East Lansing for spring ball or the fall of 2021.

Khaleefah joins fellow offensive lineman Jordan Reid and Justin Stevens on the list of opt-outs Michigan State football has had this season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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