Michigan State DT's

I will start off with this story via black shoe diaries Thank the heavens Pat and I are not OSU fans.  The second image in the comments is classic.

So here we are.  MSU lost an all american defensive tackle in Jerel Worthy and someone who was getting a lot of draft interest before a knee injury in Kevin Pickleman.  So where are we now?  Your pre season starters are Anthony Rashad White at NT and Tyler Hoover at DT.  For the MSU spring game, these two guys were each a senior captain.  Tyler missed most of last year with a broken rib (he only played in the first game). Along with not much time played at the position last year; Hoover used to be a DE.  I guess the thinking is that Hoover's speed will  be a good counter for White's girth. 

 White is a massive man at 6-2 320.  MSU fans may remember him best for blocking the Georgia FG in triple OT at last years bowl game.  That is pretty much the bulk of his highlights.  White has appeared in numerous games but has played behind Worthy to this point.  The scoop on White is that the potential is there, he just needs to keep consistency up.  Obviously with that size, he can plug holes in the middle.  White will line up at the three technique which is between the guard and tackle.

--With these two, Hoover and White, there should be a lot of switching between positions during games and depending on match-ups.  I know the staff wants Hoover to play at the three technique--

The third man on the list and probably the one to keep an eye on the most is James Kittredge.  Kitt is a transfer out of Vanderbilt and this is his first year with the Spartans.  Kitt will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Spartans.  Out of high school, Kitt was a 4 star DT recruit, Vandy flipped him to the offensive line, and that may have lead to him wanting to leave.  Here at MSU Kitt will be all DT all the time.  People are very excited about this guy.  Kitt was the first DT taken at the MSU spring game draft.  With only a spring game and a season on the offensive line, there is not a lot to say about Kitt.  However, MSU needs him to be a guy that is always playing at a high level.  We cannot afford him to have off plays when he is in the game.

From there, MSU has Brandon Clemons (taken number 2 in the spring game draft), Damon Knox and Mark Scarpinto. All three of these guys are red shirt freshmen.  Knox was twice named scout team player of the week last year. Most of the praise coming to these three that I have read has been directed toward Clemons.  Though with this triad, the future is bright.


PREDICTION

I predict that Kitt will earn a lot of playing time while White and Hoover are both solid at the line.  None of these guys are All American caliber.  However, the starters are very seasoned and should know what to expect here in the B1G.  I do not see a lot of big  numbers, but there should be opportunities there because of our DE's (read here on Friday). White should play most to all of the games and should hit 40 tackles. I would say the biggest strength of the MSU DT position is that it is deep.  There is a good mix  of young and old talent.