Michigan State's Matt Allen early favorite to start at center

EAST LANSING — Mark Dantonio came away from Michigan State’s spring game believing Matt Allen will be his starting center.

With a caveat. The competition for the job will continue into preseason camp.

"We’ve got quite a few guys in there that are competing for that position,” Dantonio said Wednesday on the Big Ten spring football teleconference. “The ultimate thing is we will play the best five guys (on the offensive line).”

Tuesday was MSU’s final of 15 spring practices, and the team held a “great” 2 1/2-hour workout according to Dantonio. They went to Spartan Stadium for the late portion of it, and the 12th-year coach saw plenty he liked heading into the summer break.

“I thought the message and the focus was to complete our circle in that capacity. In other words, finish. And I thought our players did that,” Dantonio said. “We had a lot of enthusiasm. … It was upbeat. A lot of people were flying around and did a lot of things. It was a two-hour-plus practice, so we got a lot done.”

Michigan State is coming off a bounce-back 10-3 finish, and it enters this season needing to replace only one starter on offense in Brian Allen, the four-year letterman who started every game last season at center.

Only three players handled center during the offense’s 32-30 win in Saturday’s Green and White game. Matt Allen, a third-year sophomore who is Brian Allen's brother, was the only other center to play last season. During the spring game, he took the bulk of the reps with the first team offense and showed a comfort level with starting quarterback Brian Lewerke.

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“Matt did a great job at center,” Lewerke said Saturday after his four series of work with Allen. “That's still a guy that I'm still learning how he works and how he operates, but I think that he did a great job personally.”

Redshirt freshman walk-on Blake Bueter handled second-team snaps, and junior Tyler Higby — the starting left guard Saturday — got a few reps at center and had a fumbled exchange with backup QB Rocky Lombardi in the third quarter.

MSU played its spring game without starting left tackle Cole Chewins and starting left guard David Beedle. Dantonio said their return this fall could change things at center.

“We’ll move people around in there and roll people around,” Dantonio said. “And at the end of the day, we’ve gotta get the job done. But I thought (Matt Allen) played well in the game. I don’t think he had any bad snaps. And also, I thought he was pretty firm.”

Along with Allen and Higby, Luke Campbell slid into Chewins' left tackle spot and Kevin Jarvis started at right guard. Jordan Reid got the nod at right tackle.

Dantonio said he and his staff thought Jarvis played “extremely well” Saturday and added they have “messed around with” Reid playing some center this spring. That would give MSU seven interchangeable linemen, as Allen also got some exploratory reps at guard.

MSU’s position battles now go on hiatus until fall camp begins in late July. The Spartans host Utah State on Aug. 31, and they hope to carry over the spring work and chemistry Dantonio saw the past two months.

“I thought we finished strong, and that’s what I always want to try and do. You always want to try and finish going forward and moving up the ladder,” he said. “And I think we did that.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.