Spartan defensive front has a lot of new names, but can any of them make a name for themselves?
Welcome to August and welcome to TOC’s 2024 Football Preview series. Like last year, we will be diving into each position group on this year’s team and analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the positional previews, we will try to make some predictions for the upcoming season and get you all sipping the green Kool-Aid.
But before I dive into this first position group preview, a quick story. I recently came back from a vacation. I was backpacking through Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. My last stop was Warsaw (awesome city!). I had just checked into my hotel on a restaurant-lined avenue and was heading out to start sightseeing. Right outside the hotel door was the sidewalk seating area of the neighboring restaurant, and at the very first table closest to my hotel door, I see an older gentleman wearing an MSU hat. Naturally, I struck up conversation with him. He attended Michigan State University in the 1960s during the Duffy Daughtery era at the time of such Spartan legends like Bubba Smith and George Webster, and he was in attendance for the 1966 “Game of the Century”, the 10-10 tie versus Notre Dame. And naturally I told him that I write for an MSU blog. That conversation with this fellow Spartan even had me a little excited to be home from my trip and get back to writing. And so with that…
Our breakdowns of position groups will begin with the meat of the defense, the linemen. As will be the case with just about every position group, there is a great deal of turnover from the 2023 team.
Returning Players: Maverick Hansen, Khris Bogle, Jalen Thompson, Ken Talley, Alex VanSumeren, Avery Dunn, Ben Nelson
Departed Players: Simeon Barrow, Derrick Harmon, Zion Young, Andrew Depaepe, Jarrett Jackson, Bai Jobe, Brandon Wright, Tunmise Adeleye, Dre Butler, Jalen Sami
Transfers In: Quindarius Dunnigan, Anthony Jones, D’Quan Douse, Ru’Quan Buckley, Ben Roberts, Jalen Satchell, Tyler Gillison
Recruits In: Mikeshun Beeler, Kekai Burnett
To summarize, the Spartans are returning 7 players to the DL, are bringing in 7 transfers and 2 recruits, and saying goodbye to 10 guys either to the portal, the NFL, or just to no more eligibility.
While the two biggest names from the above list are, arguably, Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon, last year’s starting tackles, there still are some names available for new head coach Jonathan Smith to forge a strong front line of defense. Between returning Spartans and new players, we could see some good camp battles to sort out the starters and the depth.
The Spartans will be employing a 4-3 base defense so, just like last year, there will be two tackles and two ends on the field for most plays. The biggest piece returning to the interior is Maverick Hansen, who will be using a Covid year for a fifth year playing for the Green & White. Though last year was not his best statistically, he did pick up some valuable experience getting to start four games.
On the outside, Khris Bogle is the best returnee, another guy taking a Covid year to come back. He spent his first three years at Florida and the last two in East Lansing, and while we have not seen him improve statistically from his Gator years, it is possible that he was the victim of being on a bad team with bad coaching. Hopefully the new regime gets him back on track.
Beyond those two, Jalen Thompson is really the only member of last year’s team who could get his name into the starting lineup conversation.
The two true freshmen, DT Beeler and DE Burnett, are both three-star recruits; it would be unlikely to see either of them get substantial playing time this season, unless they come in and prove those rankings to be way off (or if the injury bug hits hard).
The good news for MSU is that they are bringing in one of the best transfer classes in the nation, with 247 Sports putting the Spartans’ haul at 12th best. And while the portal acquisitions on the DL are also three-star players, they at least have college experience. Quindarius Dunnigan is probably the best guy coming in and he should claim a starting position on the edge. Last year, playing at Middle Tennessee State, he earned 2nd-team Conference USA honors and had an impressive stat line with 35 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3 sacks, and 8 PBUs.
On the interior, D’Quan Douse from Georgia Tech could also claim a starting spot. He, too, had 35 tackles last year along with 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, and 14 QB pressures.
Also a DT, Ben Roberts from Oregon could become a major contributor. He is a redshirt sophomore who only played five games last season, but he was a four-star recruit and was one of the best DL recruits in the 2022 class.
If I am predicting the starting front for MSU’s defense in 2024, it would be Khris Bogle and Quindarius Dunnigan at DE and Maverick Hansen and D’Quan Douse at DT. The top contenders for the second unit probably are Jalen Thompson, Ken Talley, and Tyler Gillison on the edge and Ru’Quan Buckley, Ben Roberts, Jalen Satchell in the middle.
Seeing these names and reading their respective stat lines from previous seasons is not striking fear in anyone’s mind. This is not going to be the best unit on the team. Defensive Line Coach Legi Suiaunoa, who also came from Oregon State, is going to have to do a stellar job to get his group to take a step forward and not be the easily defeated line they were in 2023.
29 days until kickoff.
GO GREEN! GO WHITE!