Replacing Jack Conklin won’t be easy.

The All-American offensive tackle was one of the key reasons that Michigan State made it to its first college football playoff in 2015. With Conklin declaring for the NFL draft early, the Spartans will have a major opening to fill up front.

Mark Dantonio knows that.

When the MSU coach was asked how he was going to replace a guy like Conklin, he didn’t respond with the cliché “next-man-up” line. Instead, Dantonio took it as a time to pitch to any veteran offensive tackles looking for a new home.

It’s crunch time for recruiting, and apparently Dantonio is still in that mindset. Michigan State does only return two offensive linemen starters and without any four or five-star incoming recruits at the position, it makes sense that Dantonio would look for a quick fix.

Conklin will become Michigan State’s first offensive lineman drafted since 2006. He’s actually projected as a mid-first round pick. Not bad for a guy that wasn’t even rated by 247sports as a recruit.

Maybe that’s Dantonio’s best pitch.