One of the biggest areas of concern for Michigan State over the last two seasons has been along the offensive line. The Spartans have struggled to block for the run game and have battled their fair share of injury issues along the front lines.

Fixing those issues up front and developing more depth will be the primary focus of new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic.

Meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Kapilovic said that his players are showing “tremendous focus” and are “hungry to learn to do things the right way,” according to Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.

Each of the last two seasons, Michigan State has ranked 13th in the B1G in rushing production, with a big reason being lackluster performance along the offensive line. In 2018, the Spartans averaged 124.9 yards per game on the ground, and last year the average was nearly the same, totaling an average of 127.1 yards per game.

Ideally, Kapilovic would love to be able to get a consistent rotation for Michigan State’s offensive line. It would help keep players fresh during games and throughout the duration of the season. The problem could be talent level past the first-string.

“In a perfect world, you’d like to play more than five,” Kapilovic said. “But is there a dropoff?”

MSU’s injury issues over the last few seasons is another reason why Kapilovic says it’s imperative to develop some depth past the starting line.

Though they’re not meeting as a team right now, Kapilovic and the Spartans are doing whatever they can to make the transition easier. He admits, however, that they’ll be behind the 8-ball when they return to East Lansing.

“We’re getting more time to spend together in a meeting setting than we probably normally would,” Kapilovic said. “But until you can do it, it never truly gets ingrained in your head.”