Senior offensive lineman Jordan Reid became the second Michigan State football player to opt out of the 2020 season on Friday morning, joining senior defensive lineman Jacub Panasiuk.
Reid has been the only consistently health Spartan along the offensive line over the last two seasons, starting 26 of 26 games at right tackle. That fact means his departure leaves a hole in a unit that can ill afford to have holes at this point in time.
That begs the question, now what? What does the MSU staff do to replace the lone consistent starter on the offensive line.
I’ll go through a few names to keep an eye on in a bit, but it is worth mentioning that Reid’s day at tackle may have been numbered anyway. I’m not sure what the “rep chart” at MSU looks like on the offensive line right now, but there’s a chance Reid would be kicking inside to guard this season. Reid, listed at 6-foot-4, doesn’t exactly fit the profile of what the new staff wants in its tackles. It may not seem like a big deal because it’s only a couple of inches, but 6-foot-6 and taller–with long arms–is the new standard. Reid’s experience is nice, but he and every other lineman are learning a new offense with new blocking schemes. MSU dabbled in zone blocking in 2019, but will go full fledged in 2020. Lastly, Reid’s best future is at guard or even center. He’s built and moves like an interior lineman.
On paper it looks like MSU lost a shoo-in starter at right tackle, but that might not be how the staff is looking at this depending on what their plans for Reid were.
Let’s get to some names to keep an eye on for the right tackle spot.
Luke Campbell – RS Sr
Campbell played on the interior in 2019, but his best results at MSU have come at right tackle. During his freshman season at MSU Campbell was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team at tackle and received honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. He was a good guard when healthy, which wasn’t often enough, but he’s built more like a tackle, specifically a right tackle.
Spencer Brown – RS Fr
Brown took a redshirt in 2019 as a leg injury kept him out for the year. Brown stands at 6-foot-6 and came to MSU as a top 500-ish recruit in the class of 2019. Whether or not he can play is yet to be determined, but he is a future tackle at MSU. The future could be this year.
Devantae Dobbs – RS Fr
Dobbs, a former top-60 recruit, could very well stick at tackle for the 2020 season, but he’s another one with a future on the interior. At some point Dobbs will switch to guard, which is where he will play in the NFL if it all works out. The staff could opt to keep Dobbs at tackle for another year in which case right tackle would probably be the preferred spot given that he’s somewhere around 6-foot-3. He does have some tackle experience, playing as a reserve left tackle during the 2019 season.
Damon Kaylor – RS Fr
Kaylor is another young name to keep an eye on. His time on the field might not come in 2020 as he was a developmental, toolsy recruit in the class of 2019. He wasn’t a highly-ranked recruit, but at 6-foot-6, 315 lbs. his future is protecting the edge.
Mustafa Khaleefah – RS Jr
Khaleefah has been stuck near the bottom of the depth chart during his time in East Lansing. He saw some time in 2019 with less-than-stellar results. Khaleefah came to MSU as a developmental prospect with the frame to one day be an effective tackle. He hasn’t gotten there yet, but maybe a new staff can help him unlock his potential.
AJ Arcuri – RS Sr
I’ll list Arcuri here as well even though he’s probably the favorite to be the starting left tackle. Arcuri has battled through injuries and when healthy did well on the edge for MSU in 2019. He’s got the size and athleticism to make it work at left tackle, he just has to stay healthy. If the staff goes in another direct on the left side, then Arcuri would certainly be considered for right tackle.
