Michigan State’s Nick Samac sits out first day of August camp with undisclosed ailment

East Lansing, Mich. – Don’t expect injury and availability updates every day through August camp at Michigan State, but head coach Mel Tucker acknowledged on Thursday, the first day of practice, that sixth-year senior center Nick Samac was sidelined for the day.

No further information was available about Samac’s ailment, but SpartanMag still projects Samac to be the starting center for Michigan State’s season opener on Sept. 1 against Central Michigan. SpartanMag is not expecting Samac to be out long.

With Samac out, Dallas Fincher (6-4, 300, R-Jr., Kentwood, Mich.) stepped in as the first-string center for the day. He was backed up by Kevin Wigenton (6-5, 315, R-Soph., Colts Neck, NJ) at center.

Wigenton worked as the second-string right guard for most of the spring, with Fincher playing second-string left guard and center. But their roles changed a bit on the first day of August camp.

“They are good players,” Tucker said. “We brought them here to play. Geno (VanDeMark) can also play in there.

“Coach Kap (Chris Kapilovic) is a really good coach. He can develop players. Guys have to learn multiple positions, so I feel good about our depth there.”

Samac (6-4, 300, R-Sr., Mentor, Ohio) has been a starter or second-stringer since his true freshman season at Michigan State in 2019, when he started four games.

Samac has 22 career starts and has played in 38 games. He is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was honorable mention All-Big Ten by coaches and media last season. He rode a stationary bike, vigorously, during Thursday’s practice.

Fincher played 15 snaps on the offensive line last year and 45 on special teams. He is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Wigenton played 12 snaps on the offensive line last season and 14 on special teams. He was Academic All-Big Ten last year.

During the spring, true freshman Cole Dellinger (6-4, 290, Clarkston) saw time as a third-string center.

Also in the spring, J.D. Duplain (6-4, 300, R-Sr., Strongsville, Ohio) – who has started 35 games at left guard – worked at center. Kapilovic said at the time that Duplain played center in order to create depth and options at the position, as well as to increase Duplain’s value as a potential pro in the future at multiple positions.

It’s unclear whether Duplain repped at center on Thursday.

COMP’S TAKE: Tucker can say that Fincher and Wigenton are quality players, and it’s true that they might develop into solid contributors on gameday at some point, maybe soon, but make no mistake about it, Samac is a key fixture in this offense whereas Fincher and Wigenton are unproven reserves. Fincher and Wigenton are coming along as options, but neither one is at Samac’s level at center.

The combination of Samac at center and Duplain at left guard gives Michigan State an uncommon level of experience at those two positions. They played together as spot starters as true freshmen way back in 2019 and have been playing-group guys or starters ever since. It’s a luxury to have them on the team as special-circumstance, fifth-year seniors. They never redshirted, and have never spent more than a week or two on the scout team. It’s extremely rare to have a player with five years of playing experience, let alone two of them, right next to one another. Michigan State needs that tag team to stay healthy and intact.

Sources indicate that Michigan State fans have little to worry about with Samac, health-wise. He’s been through camp many times. It’s also a fact that load management factors into availability decisions at some practices. It’s unclear whether load management was part of the decision to keep him out, but Samac has enough experience and has gone through enough August camps that missing the first day of non-padded practice isn’t going to cost him or Michigan State anything.

As for Fincher, this is his fourth year in the program. He has hovered around the two-deep for a couple of seasons but has yet to break through into the playing group. Kapilovic told SpartanMag during the spring that Fincher was making progress in that direction but it was still to be determined as to whether Fincher would earn enough trust to give Samac a breather during games.

Fincher’s work as a first-stringer at practice on Thursday might be a first step toward gaining that type of trust and rising as a potential reliever for Samac, the way that Samac was a reliever for Matt Allen in 2021.

As for Wigenton, he has been steadily gaining ground as a second-string guard. He backed-up VanDeMark at right guard in the spring and is likely to cross-train as a left guard, backing up Duplain, during camp. Wigenton is entering his third year in the program and is on schedule toward becoming a playing group guy soon, possibly this year.

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