Michigan State Football: 2017 season preview and predictions

Michigan State football opens fall camp next week and there will be a lot of question marks surrounding the Spartans in 2017.

Looking back at Michigan State’s 2016 season, there’s only one word that can truly describe it: disaster. Not only did the Spartans fall from grace harder and faster than any team in recent memory, but they also followed it up with one of the worst offseasons in school history as well.

In fact, the team experience blow after blow, losing guys via transfer — Jon Reschke, Vayante Copeland — and some were booted from the program for their roles in sexual assault cases — Donnie Corley, Auston Robertson, Josh King and Demetric Vance. Heck, one player, Thiyo Lukusa, even quit football altogether because he lost his passion for it.

Going 3-9 and then experiencing that kind of offseason can take a toll on a program, but at Big Ten media days this past week, Mark Dantonio seemed optimistic about the future of Michigan State football. While some Spartans had been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, he has been at the center, making a positive impact on those remaining players.

The rest of the Big Ten is aware of the head coach’s track record and you better believe they aren’t ready to count Michigan State out even after the year it had. The Spartans have been one of the Big Ten’s best over the past 5-6 years and teams know that.

Let’s take a look at what the 2017 season could bring for the green and white.

Offense

Let’s start things off with the most important position on the field for the Spartans after a lackluster performance in 2016. The offensive line was one of the worst in the Big Ten and it proved that by allowing sack after sack and running each quarterback that took control of the offense running for their lives.

Cole Chewins is back at left tackle and could be a stud at the position. Luke Campbell is expected to get the start at right tackle and the coaching staff has been singing the redshirt freshman’s praises. Tyler Higby, Brian Allen and David Beedle look to round out the young, solid unit. The improvement will be obvious in 2017.

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At tight end, Matt Sokol will be starting and Matt Dotson will be a name to watch as a true freshman and Noah Davis will be contending for time.

Wide receiver is another question mark as the Spartans lost R.J. Shelton and Donnie Corley from last year’s team. Felton Davis III returns along with Darrell Stewart Jr. as the most veteran starters but Trishton Jackson is the projected No. 1. Don’t sleep on Cam Chambers, either, as the redshirt freshman was an Army All-American.

Lastly, LJ Scott is the lead returning running back and made the Doak Walker Award watch list. He was just six yards shy of 1,000 yards last season and he adding a receiving element to his game. Gerald Holmes will back him up and will be a captain this year as a senior and Madre London, a junior, will also get some touches.

Will Brian Lewerke be the next great Spartan QB?

After a horrid season from the Spartan quarterbacks in 2016, the reigns will be handed to redshirt sophomore Brian Lewerke in 2017. He played a little last year, passing for 381 yards and two touchdowns, but he suffered a broken leg in a comeback effort against Michigan and missed the remainder of the year.

Michigan State has been known for churning out high-quality quarterbacks such as Brian Hoyer, Drew Stanton, Kirk Cousins and Connor Cook, but will Lewerke be the latest “great” to join that group in the NFL?

Heck, Dantonio has already compared him to Cousins. If he struggles, though, expect redshirt freshman Messiah deWeaver to get some snaps as well.

Defense

The front seven will play an important role for the Spartans in 2017. Last year, the Michigan State defense recorded just 13 total sacks which was the lowest number for the program in over 20 years. The usually-stout defense looked pedestrian.

Changes were made in the offseason and almost the entire unit will be new. The linebackers will be led by a veteran presence in Chris Frey, though. Middle linebacker will be manned by true sophomore Joe Bachie, who has impressed the staff, and the other outside linebacker spot will be Andrew Dowell’s to lose.

The line was atrocious last year, but the future is bright. Demetrius Cooper, a senior, is working his way back after off-field issues. He is projected as a starting end. Former walk-on Kenny Willekes is another name to watch at defensive end, along with recently converted linebacker Brandon Randle.

The tackles should be set with Mike Panasiuk and Raequan Williams locking those two spots down. The front-seven is young, but it’s the change the defense needed.

New-look secondary signals fresh start

Essentially everyone who started in Michigan State’s secondary is gone. I take that back, one young star remains as Justin Layne is the lone returning player in the secondary with some starting experience.

The secondary struggled mightily in 2016 and looked like a far cry from the ‘No Fly Zone’ era that featured Trae Waynes and Darqueze Dennard. With Demetrious Cox and Montae Nicholson gone from the safety spots and Vayante Copeland and Darian Hicks departing from the cornerback position, there will be an entirely new look in the secondary.

And that’s not a bad thing.

This unit needs a fresh start and guys like David Dowell, Khari Willis, Grayson Miller, Austin Andrews and Matt Morrissey will provide depth, and young talent, at safety while Layne and Josiah Scott will start at corner with Tyson Smith, Josh Butler and TJ Harrell providing depth. Talent is there.

2017 schedule

Looking at the schedule, the Spartans seem to have a favorable first month of play. In fact, Michigan State doesn’t leave the state of Michigan until Oct. 14 when it travels to Minnesota to face P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers.

The Spartans need to take advantage of four home games to begin the season and there’s a good chance they could begin 4-0. Traveling down the road to Ann Arbor for the fifth game will be a challenge as the Wolverines are improving each year under Jim Harbaugh. That could very well be the Spartans’ first loss.

Getting Indiana at home on Oct. 21 will be a much-needed break from a tough stretch — but the Hoosiers are still no slouches. Northwestern, Ohio State and Rutgers round out the season’s road games and if the Spartans can win two of them, that would be a resounding victory.

Maryland and Penn State are the final two home games of the season. Could an upset be in the works?

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Prediction: 7-5 (4-5 Big Ten)

I see Michigan State starting the season 4-0 on the back of a resurgent, young squad. Beating Iowa and Notre Dame at home will be huge confidence-builders, but it won’t be enough to take down the Wolverines at the Big House. Minnesota will account for the second straight loss but the Spartans will bounce back with a win over Indiana before losing three straight. They will beat Maryland and Rutgers in the final two games to earn a bowl-bid and lock up a winning season.