We’ve covered the big boys on the defensive line, but now it’s time for the big boys on offense.
If there’s a position group that has struggled the most the past few seasons, it’s the offensive line. It feels like we spent the last two years watching Aidan Chiles scramble behind the line of scrimmage with multiple opposing defensive linemen chasing him. Michigan State allowed 37 sacks across 12 games last season, including 4+ sacks allowed in seven of those games. With only 22 sacks recorded on defense
last year, MSU’s sack differential was -15.
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It wasn’t much better in terms of running the ball, either. Out of the 18 B1G teams, Michigan State finished 15th with 122.8 rushing yards per game, 15th with 3.8 yards per attempt, and 12th with 16 rushing touchdowns.
This room needed an overhaul and Coach Fitzgerald knew it. Out of the 16 players in the 2025 offensive linemen room, only seven of them are returning. With four transfers and five incoming freshmen, this group is going to look a lot different than last year. Nick Tabacca joins Fitzgerald’s staff with 20 years of offensive line coaching experience, including his last 10 years at Wake Forest.
Departed Players
- Gavin Broscious (12 games, 4 starts at LG)
- Cooper Terpstra (11 games, 1 start at C)
- Kristian Phillips (6 games, 4 starts at LG)
- Stanton Ramil (5 games, 5 starts at LT)
- Mercer Luniewski (6 games)
- Ashton Lepo
- Caleb Carter
- Charlton Luniewski
- Cole Dellinger
- Hayden Lorius
- Justin Bell
- Matt Gulbin
- Payton Stewart
- Rashawn Rogers
Terpstra transferred to UCF, Broscious to Iowa State, Phillips to Boston College, Ramil to Auburn, and the Luniewski twins to San Diego State.
Returning Players
Seven players are returning to the offensive line room from last season:
- #58 Conner Moore, OT (R-Sr; 6’6”, 311#) – 12 games, nine starts at RT, three starts at LT
- #73 Rustin Young, OT (R-So, 6’4”, 308#) – 12 games, four starts at LT, one start at RT
- #55 Rakeem Johnson, IOL (R-So; 6’4”, 296#) – 12 games, four starts at RG
- #70 Luka Vincic, IOL (R-Sr, 6’5”, 306#) – two games, 1 start at RG, injured
- #77 Andrew Dennis, IOL (R-So, 6’4”, 302#) – 2024 4-star from Mt. Pleasant, MI
- #54 Antonio Johnson, IOL (R-Fr; 6’5”, 287#) – 2025 3-star from Detroit, MI
- #76 Drew Nichols, OT (R-Fr, 6’4”, 298#) – 2025 3-star from Temecula, CA
Michigan State had a revolving door at multiple positions on the offensive line, but they return three guys that played in all twelve games and recorded multiple starts.
New Players
Coach Fitz added four transfers and five freshmen to the offensive line group for 2026:
- #63 Trent Fraley, IOL (R-Sr, 6’1”, 306#) – 13 games, 13 starts at C – North Dakota State
- #75 Ben Murawski, OT (R-Sr, 6’7, 340#) – 12 games, 12 starts at LT – UConn
- #71 Robert Wright Jr, OT (R-Jr, 6’5”, 294#) – 12 games, 11 starts at RT – Georgia Southern
- #52 Nick Sharpe, IOL (Gr; 6’2”, 351#) – 8 games, 5 starts at LG – South Carolina
- #61 Collin Campbell, OT (Fr, 6’6”, 295#) – 2026 4-star from Gilbert, AZ
- #56 Jack Ziarko, IOL (Fr; 6’2”, 286#) – 2026 3-star from Canton, OH
- #68 Eli Bickel, OT (Fr, 6’6”, 312#) – 2026 3-star from North Branch, MI
- #79 Tristan Comer, OT (Fr, 6’5”, 305#) – 2026 3-star from Freeland, MI
- #65 Cole Bertke, OT (Fr, 6’5”, 285#) – 2026 preferred walk-on
If there’s one thing these newcomers have, it’s size. All four transfers bring plenty of game experience with them, too.
2026 Projection
Ben Murawski, the 6’7”, 340-pound behemoth, should start at LT after starting all 12 games last season for UConn and playing in 30 total games the past three seasons. Murawski is on the Outland Trophy Watch List for this year.
The graduate transfer Nick Sharpe should start at LG. He made five starts in the SEC last season for South Carolina. Two of Michigan State’s departing players started eight combined games at LG, so there’s an opportunity here for interior offensive linemen, and one where Andrew Dennis could also help.
Trent Fraley, the son of Detroit Lions offensive line coach and run game coordinator Hank Fraley, will hold down the C position. He won the Rimington Award last season as the nation’s best center in the FCS at North Dakota State. Fraley has started in all 29 games the past two seasons, including 16 games in 2024 when NDSU won the FCS National Championship. He has already been named to preseason All-Big Ten teams.
Luka Vincic is an IOL brought over from Oregon State with Jonathan Smith. He made his MSU debut against Boston College and started at RG against Youngstown State before he suffered his season-ending injury. Vincic should have the first shot at starting, but Rakeem Johnson, who played in all 12 games and started at RG in four of them, should be in the mix as well.
Conner Moore should round out the starting five at RT. He bounced between both tackle positions last season and played a team-high 765 snaps on offense. Despite starting at LT in 25 games for Montana State, Moore should focus on the right side as Murawski focuses on the left. I sure hope Alessio Milivojevic will be able to see over his monster-sized tackles.
They should have some quality pieces in the offensive line room for the first time in a few years, and the depth looks good, too. Coach Fitz brought in five total freshmen into the group, highlighted by Collin Campbell, who was the top-ranked player in Arizona this year.
Expected Starters: Ben Murawski (LT), Nick Sharpe (LG), Trent Fraley (C), Luka Vincic (RG), Conner Moore (RT)
Likely Contributors: Robert Wright Jr (OT), Rustin Young (OT), Andrew Dennis (IOL), Rakeem Johnson (IOL)
Go Green!
