Michigan State Depth Chart Preview: Luke Newman poised for instant impact at RG

East Lansing, Mich. – The following is the fourth in a series of articles projecting Michigan State’s football depth chart, heading into preseason camp. Our goal is to provide analysis on the latest developments at each position, and reacquaint the fanbase with names and faces on the roster heading into Jonathan Smith’s first season at Michigan State.

RIGHT GUARD:

1. LUKE NEWMAN (6-4, 310, Gr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | Brother Rice High | Holy Cross transfer).

Newman quietly might be one of the most important impact newcomers on the roster. Newman comes back to his home state for one year of eligibility after being a two-time, first-team Associated Press FCS All-American offensive lineman at Holy Cross.

Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik told SpartanMag that Newman is tabbed for right guard on the Michigan State depth chart for 2024. However, Newman has the flexibility to compete for a starting job at either offensive tackle position, if called upon.

I watched all 59 of his snaps against Boston College in week two of the 2023 season, and Newman was excellent all day against the Eagles. I didn’t chart him with a single negative play through the first three quarters of the game. He consistently stifled Boston College pass rushers and was rotund in the run game.

In the fourth quarter, there was one play on a third-and-six in which Newman was caught leaning a bit inside, probably anticipating a counter move to that area. Boston College defensive end Edwin Kolenge (6-3, 252, R-Fr.) crossed Newman’s face to the outside and attempted a dip-and-rip. Newman tired to push him wide and resisted the temptation to hold. The Holy Cross QB was about to get heat from Kolenge when he threw a completion to the boundary for a first down.

Other than that one small assignment error, Newman was rock solid all day. He erased Kolenge and all other defensive ends, and stunting linebackers throughout the game.

Newman looked like a mature veteran with good quickness, good athleticism, good strength and good know-how. I’m trying to think if either starting offensive tackle for Michigan State had a game in 2023 as good as Newman’s game against Boston College and I doubt it.

At 6-4, Newman doesn’t have ideal side to play offensive tackle, but he got it done with no problem against Boston College. Meanwhile, Michigan State’s presumptive starting o-tackles Brandon Baldwin are both listed at 6-7, but I’m not sure they’re as fundamentally-sound and physically solid as Newman.

If Baldwin and Lepo come around as functional-to-good offensive tackles and Michigan State has the luxury of putting a player of Newman’s caliber inside at right guard, the Spartans might have the pieces to surprise up front. Those are big ifs, but don’t close the door on the possibility of this unit coming around. I have strong confidence that Newman will be capable of doing his job at right guard.

Last year, center Nick Samac and left guard J.D. Duplain were pretty good, but didn’t have the type of senior seasons that they expected of themselves, despite the fact that Samac was selected in the NFL Draft. I’m not one to heap too much praise or expectation onto incoming transfers, but I expect Newman to be better in 2024 than Samac or Duplain were last year. I realize that’s a strong statement, and I’m comfortable in making it.

Is there a chance Newman could get tapped to play either offensive tackle position? I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State cross-trains Newman at offensive tackle, once he gets the system nailed down at the guard position. How long will it take him to get acclimated to a new position in a new system? That’s a great question and I don’t have a good answer. The sooner he gets a handle on right guard, the sooner he can begin to flex out and provide Michigan State with depth at the tackle positions.

THE BOOK ON NEWMAN

Against Boston College, you never saw him get off-balance, out-quicked or out-muscled.

He’s athletic enough to remain low, agile and solid while changing direction.

Newman moves his feet well and comfortably in pass protection.

PASS PROTECTION FIRST HALF:

+ Low, solid and sturdy vs Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku (6-2, 251 Jr).

+ On third and long, Newman’s initial kick set is long and low and under control, gets to a base quickly and was set to combat a counter move to the inside by Ezeiruaku.

+ Put a dent in Khris Banks (6-2, 304, Sr., DT) when picking him up on a T/E stunt. If Newman makes first contact, it’s low and dense.

+ No problem in pass pro vs a straight inside move by Boston College DE Edwin Kolenge, 6-3, 252, R-Fr.), then he picked up DT Drew Kendall (6-4, 292, R-Soph) on a stunt, and handled him comfortably.

+ Completely stifled a speed rush attempt and then shoulder club attempt by Ezeiruaku.

+ Easily shut down an inside pass rush move by Neto Okpala (6-0, 251, Jr), then came off of him to pick up the stunting DT. Aware, comfortable, Steady.

In the third quarter, I charted him with three plus plays in pass protection, no need for details.

In the fourth quarter, another plus play against Kolenge’s speed rush attempt.

Newman was quick out to him, got his hands on him, kept his feet moving without a problem, locked him up.

RUN BLOCKING

Boston College’s best defensive lineman last year was defensive tackle Cam Horsley (6-3, 315, Sr.). He was an honorable mention All-ACC choice in 2023.

Newman met up with Horsley a handful of times in this game, and never lost. Usually, when Newman met up with Horsley, it was when Newman was down-blocking to the inside, which gives the offensive tackle an angle advantage, often with double-team help.

We didn’t see many instances in which Newman drove into a d-lineman with a conventional base block. Much of Holy Cross’s run scheme was predicated on Newman down-blocking and washing defenders to the inside while linemen pulled to the area he was road-grading. It’s an effective gap blocking scheme which helped Holy Cross rank No. 3 in the FCS in rushing offense. at 264.2 yards per game.

(Football 101: Down-blocking is when an offensive lineman blocks inward toward the center while the play design comes from the opposition direction, and advances behind him. For instance, picture the left tackle blocking inside toward the left guard and center, blocking the first defensive man in his path, trying to displace the defender to the inside. Meanwhile, the right guard is pulling and lead blocking for the running back on a play designed to attack the left tackle area. Down-blocking can be run to the right or left.)

The rundown:

= Solid on down-block vs Horsley on a first-and-10 in the first quarter. Horsley attempted to long arm Newman and then attempt an arm-over (swim move). Newman stayed sturdy, earned a stalemate. He gave as good as he got on this play. Horsley was better than Newman is accustomed to in the Patriot League but Newman was solid on his first crack at him.

+ Next play, when down-blocking, Newman combined for a double team with the center and buckled Horsley a bit.

+ Down block on first and goal at 1-yard line vs a goal line defense. He downblocked Horsley, turned his hips and sealed. Horsley was never able to put a dent in Newman.

+ On a fourth-and-1 in the red zone and Boston College in a five-man goal line defense, Horsley moved to the three technique to Newman’s side. Newman blocked down, latched into Horsley and moved him a yard inside. Holy Cross picked up the first down.

+ The first time they ran inside zone all day, Newman combined for a double-team block on Horsley and got three yards of movement on him, on a third-and-two run which went 14 yards for a TD, cutting Boston College’s lead to 31-28 with 7:34 left.

(Holy Cross got the ball back and was driving for a potential score or go-ahead touchdown in the final minute when Holy Cross’ quarterback fumbled during a keeper).

THE TAKEAWAY: Newman has been a Big Ten playing in the Patriot League for the past few years. He wants to test himself at the Power Four level, and Michigan State offered an opportunity to do it, back in his home state. I’ve heard some whispers about Newman being an NFL hopeful. I wouldn’t close the door on that.

2. DALLAS FINCHER (6-4, 315, R-Sr., East Kentwood, Mich.)

Fincher served as the back-up center last year, and saw some fill-in playing time. This spring, he worked as a second-string center and second-string right guard.

In the Spring Showcase, he was the second string center early in the first quarter while Cooper Terpstra playing second-string right guard. Then, Fincher and Terpstra flip-flopped at those two positions in the second quarter and fourth quarter. It’s clear that Michigan State is cross-training both players, in an attempt to evaluate the top second stringers and also manufacture some depth.

If an emergency arose at right guard, would Fincher slide over to right guard, or would Terpstra – an intriguing young walk-on – get the call? Or perhaps a true freshman? Those are questions that the coaching staff will continue to pursue through August camp. The good news is that Fincher is a known commodity with experience. But the Spartans could use a big step of improvement from him for his senior year, and he has never taken a rep at offensive guard in a college game.

Fincher played in nine games last year at center, with starts in two games – the season opener against Central Michigan and the season finale against Penn State.

He played 180 snaps on offense last year and 15 snaps in 2022. He served as Nick Samac’s back-up at center throughout the 2023 season while Kevin Wigenton and Kristian Phillips served as the back-up guards.

With Wigenton and starting right guard Geno VanDeMark having transferred, and Tanner Miller transferring in at center, the question of where to put Fincher became an interesting one during spring practice. It didn’t take long for Miller to establish himself as the top center in the program.

In 2023, Pro Football Focus graded Fincher at 71.2 in pass blocking (“above average,” on the official PFF scale) and 55.7 in run blocking (below average). He ranked No. 2 on the team in pass blocking, for offensive linemen with at least 100 snaps.

Fincher’s most extensive action last year came against Indiana, playing 70 snaps after Nick Samac went down with a season-ending injury. PFF graded Fincher at 74.5 in pass blocking (“above average”) and 53.0 in run blocking (“below average”) against the Hoosiers.

In the Penn State game, Fincher started and split time with JD Duplain at center. Against the Nittany Lions, with the Spartan offense failing miserably, he played 30 of Michigan State’s putrid 45 offensive snaps. He graded out at 55.2 in run blocking (“below average”) at 38.8 in pass blocking (“very poor” on the PFF scale) against the Nittany Lions.

Fincher was functional as a reserve last year. In the Spring Showcase, SpartanMag charted him with three negative plays and a few functional stalemates:

– Was not strong against a D’Quan Douse pure bull rush. Douse got two hands on him and pressed Fincher back into the pocket.

– Had problems against freshman walk-on DT Jaxson Wilson on a bull rush, allowing Wilson to press the pocket.

– Allowed linebacker Brady Pretzlaf to knife past him on a run blitz late in the scrimmage. Pretzlaf assisted on the tackle.

= Fincher was functional but a bit unsteady against Maverick Hansen late in the scrimmage while the second-team offense gained a first down in the four minute drill.

Fincher is useful as an experienced back-up, but he needs to make a lot of progress during the off-season under the new coaches if he wants to be a more productive, reliable player than he was a year ago, especially in run blocking.

Fincher came to Michigan State listed as a three-star in the On3 Industry Recruiting Rankings, ranked No. 14 in Michigan and No. 454 in the country.

Cooper Terpstra (54) and Dallas Fincher (72) at the Spring Showcase. (Photo by Donté Smith for SpartanMag.com).

3. COOPER TERPSTRA (6-4, 308, R-Fr., Holland West Ottawa)

Terpstra redshirted in 2023 as a true freshman, and we didn’t hear a lot about him from the previous staff while he was on the scout team. Michigan State made a concerted effort to bring in better freshman walk-ons in 2022 and 2023 after being caught without enough offensive line walk-ons in the spring of 2022, resulting in a shortage of offensive reps in scrimmaging throughout spring practice of that year. Jacob Merritt, Ben Nelson and Andy Hartman came aboard as walk-ons in the fall of 2022, and Terpstra joined the band in 2023. Nelson has since moved to defensive tackle, because of more pressing problems there in 2023, and Hartman transferred to Grand Valley State in June after a constructive spring at Michigan State.

Terpstra made a surprising rise to second string at right guard this spring, and also saw a lot of second-string reps at center. Is he just a place holder, or a guy who could emerge as a playing group guy in the future? The last time Michigan State had a walk-on rise into the playing group as an impact starter was Blake Bueter, who earned a few starts as a redshirt-freshman and sophomore before becoming a full-fledged starter and an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick during the Kenneth Walker year of 2021.

Terpstra is just getting started, but he is showing some ground-bound toughness.

My Spring Showcase notebook on Terpstra:

+ He worked well with Kristian Phillips on double-team blocks.

* At right guard in the first quarter against Maverick Hansen, Terpstra wasn’t bad. He was competitive.

+ Fine in pass protection on third-and-11 in the first quarter against DE Ken Talley.

* Terpstra was sturdy all day, but needs to improve his ability to cover ground. Athleticism and mobility are prerequisites in the new system.

MID-SUMMER ANALYSIS: Geno VanDeMark had a decent first year as a starter in 2023. VanDeMark was probably set to make a nice level of improvement in 2024. I won’t be surprised if Newman exceeds where VanDeMark would have been. … If everyone stays healthy, Fincher could deliver 10 solid offensive snaps per game, which would be welcomed and useful for a second-string role. But Fincher will show up at camp trying to earn a starting job, as he should.

Depth Chart Projection Series:

Left Tackle full story.

Right Tackle full story.

Left Guard full story.

SpartanMag’s Projected Michigan State Depth Chart

LEFT TACKLE

Brandon Baldwin, 6-7, 327, Sr., Detroit

Stanton Ramil, 6-7, 312, R-Fr., Alabaster, Ala.

Mercer Luniewski, 6-6, 320, Fr., Cincinnati

Jacob Merritt, 6-6, 286, R-So., Northville, Mich.

RIGHT TACKLE

Ashton Lepo, 6-7, 296, R-Soph., Grand Haven, Mich.

Charlton Luniewski, 6-5, 289, Fr., Cincinnati

Andrew Dennis, 6-5, 295, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

LEFT GUARD

Kristian Phillips, 6-4, 315, R-Soph., Conyers, Ga.

Gavin Broscious, 6-5, 288, R-Soph., Surprise, Ariz.

RIGHT GUARD

Luke Newman, 6-4, 310, Gr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich | Holy Cross transfer

Dallas Fincher, 6-4, 315, Sr., Kentwood, Mich.

Cooper Terpstra, 6-4, 308, R-Fr., Holland, Mich.

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