The Michigan State Spartans released a depth chart on Tuesday morning and one name was noticeably absent: Redshirt senior left tackle Cole Chewins.

Dealing with injuries since the spring game, Chewins is currently hampered by a back injury according to head coach Mark Dantonio.

“He’s struggled with his back here throughout preseason so right now he’s sort of on a day-to-day basis to see where he’s at. We do anticipate that he’ll be able to play at some point.”

The latter sentence here is of extreme important. Getting Chewins back at some point this season will be key as Michigan State looks to improve an offense that scored just 18.7 points per game in 2018, 126th in America.

With Chewins sidelined for Friday’s season-opener vs. Tulsa (3-9, 2-6 American in 2018), redshirt junior AJ Arcuri will start in his place. This will be Arcuri’s first career start.

Michigan State limped to a 7-6 (5-4 B1G) record in 2018, but returns an elite core on defense. Seniors defensive end Kenny Willekes and linebacker Joe Bachie are the leaders of a group that allowed just 17.2 points per game last year, eighth-best in the country.

The Spartans and the Golden Hurricane will get underway from Spartan Stadium at 7:00PM ET on Friday.