Michigan State football 2017: Projected Spartans depth chart
The Michigan State Spartans will hope to rebound from a rough 2016 season, but feature a young roster loaded with question marks.
Following the most tumultuous season of the Mark Dantonio era both on and off the field, the Michigan State Spartans now face uncertainty in 2017 and beyond.
The normally steady Spartans entered 2016 riding a streak of five 11-win campaigns over the course of six seasons, including three Big Ten titles. While the Spartans lost a lot over the previous offseason, they ranked No. 12 in the initial AP Poll and picked up an early road win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame.
Michigan State would then completely fall apart with six straight losses, capped off by an ugly 21-17 defeat at Illinois. A blowout win over Rutgers kept things from spiraling out of control further, but the Spartans finished the year with a record of 3-9, their worst since 1982.
The Spartans’ defense, which had been so dominant during the run to the 2014 Rose Bowl, slipped all the way to 61st in the nation in points per game allowed, as Pat Narduzzi’s absence began to show. Even more troubling was an offense that scored a paltry 24.1 points per contest despite a passable performance from senior Tyler O’Connor, as losses at numerous other positions doomed Michigan State.
Things took an uglier turn during the offseason with the dismissal of Donnie Corley, Josh King and Demetric Vance, all of whom were charged with sexual assault in early June. While Dantonio was found to have complied with university rules, former recruiting director Curtis Blackwell was implicated and dismissed, and the scandal certainly raises some questions about the culture of the football program.
The team can’t get much worse on the field in 2017, but it looks like it’s going to be another rebuilding year in East Lansing. Michigan State is expected to start up to 14 underclassmen to begin the year, which isn’t exactly a recipe for success with trips to Ann Arbor and Columbus on the schedule.
Here’s how the Spartans’ depth chart is projected to play out entering the 2017 season, according to Ourlads.com.