{"id":48117,"date":"2024-04-18T05:12:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T10:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=48117"},"modified":"2024-04-18T05:12:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T10:12:54","slug":"ashton-lepo-emerging-as-candidate-for-michigan-states-starting-right-tackle-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/ashton-lepo-emerging-as-candidate-for-michigan-states-starting-right-tackle-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashton Lepo emerging as candidate for Michigan State\u2019s starting right tackle job"},"content":{"rendered":"

East Lansing, Mich. <\/em>\u2013 For Michigan State<\/a><\/strong> redshirt sophomore Ashton Lepo<\/a><\/strong>, this season isn\u2019t necessarily about a fresh start for him, rather continuing where he left off last year. Lepo appeared in all 12 of the Spartans games last season, and gradually earned more playing time the last four games of the season last year.<\/p>\n

Now, Lepo is squarely in the mix to be the starting right tackle this fall. Lepo has been repping with the ones for most of the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going good right now, I\u2019m repping with the ones, just have to keep working,\u201d Lepo said after Tuesday\u2019s practice. \u201cYou want competitiveness through everyone, I want the younger guys to start beating me out. It\u2019s just how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lepo (6-7, 300, R-Soph., Grand Haven, Mich.) logged 96 snaps at left tackle last season, including 73 in the final four games of the season for the Spartans. Lepo\u2019s most extensive playing time came in the Spartans\u2019 two Big Ten wins over Indiana and Nebraska with 22 in snaps in each game. <\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I was more left (tackle), but this year I\u2019ve been more right but I can do either,\u201d Lepo said.<\/p>\n

Michigan State <\/a><\/strong>lost three starting offensive linemen from last season. J.D. Duplain and Nick Samac both used all of their eligibility while Spencer Brown transferred to Oklahoma for his final season of college football. <\/p>\n

Lepo, Brandon Baldwin<\/a><\/strong>, Ethan Boyd<\/a><\/strong>, Stanton Ramil<\/a><\/strong> and walk-ons Andy Hartman<\/a><\/strong> and Jacob Merritt <\/a><\/strong>are the Spartans\u2019 offensive tackles listed on the official roster at the moment. Michigan State seems to be in the market to add an offensive tackle during the spring portal period. Michigan State also has Holy Cross left tackle transfer Josh Newman<\/a><\/strong> slated to enroll this summer. <\/p>\n

Lepo began the spring competing with presumptive first-stringer Boyd at right tackle. But Boyd, who played 313 snaps last year and started three games, has missed practice time this spring. <\/p>\n

When asked about Boyd\u2019s availability two weeks ago, Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik said, \u201cHe\u2019s doing fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd is not expected to be available for Saturday\u2019s Spring Showcase scrimmage. <\/p>\n

Offensive line has not been an area of strength for Michigan State in recent years. Michigan State has been repping with Baldwin at left tackle, Lepo at right tackle, Oregon State transfer Tanner Miller<\/a><\/strong> at center, Geno VanDeMark<\/a><\/strong> at right guard and Gavin Broscious<\/a><\/strong> getting a look at left guard. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting there,\u201d Smith said after practice on Tuesday, when asked how the offensive line is coming along. \u201cWe have some health there. We have some position battles going. It\u2019s so early to say right now how many guys will play but I feel confident we\u2019ll get a good five guys out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lepo\u2019s weight has fluctuated from 255 when he arrived in East Lansing, to 320 as a redshirt-freshman in 2022. He played at 310 last season, and is now down to 300, which he says feels like a good weight for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel quick,\u201d Lepo said. \u201cComing out of high school, I had a lot to learn. But over time with Coach Kap (Kapilovic) and Coach M (Michalczik), it\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Lepo transitions from the old staff to the new Jonathan Smith regime, he is hopeful that he will make the most of his opportunity as he enters his third season in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a business, things change. I just had to be prepared for that,\u201d Lepo said. \u201cI decided to stay here and I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Smith brought his offensive line coach, Michalczik, from Oregon State. The change has given Lepo a new perspective on the offensive line.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great guy,\u201d Lepo said. \u201cI\u2019m able to go up there and talk to him like any other guy and I really like that about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lepo is trying to build upon the level of play he began to establish toward the end of the 2023 season. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the experience was really good,\u201d Lepo said. \u201cI definitely was put in some hard spots but that was great for me so I can use that and build on what I need to for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the main reasons Michigan State<\/a><\/strong> won\u2019t have a traditional spring game is because of shortage of able bodies and depth on the offensive line. Smith said the Spartans will scrimmage for four 10-minute quarters of running time. The defensive will be spotted a lead on the scoreboard, and the scrimmaging will begin from there.<\/p>\n

Lepo is hoping to do enough in Saturday\u2019s scrimmage to put a positive cap on the spring and demonstrate that his slope of improvement is headed in a positive direction, possibly toward the starting lineup next fall. <\/p>\n

The post Ashton Lepo emerging as candidate for Michigan State\u2019s starting right tackle job<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

East Lansing, Mich. \u2013 For Michigan State redshirt sophomore Ashton Lepo, this season isn\u2019t necessarily…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48129,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48117\/revisions\/48129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}