Michigan State's 'pretty nasty' O-line finally intact

EAST LANSING – Based on Connor Cook's account, the new-look/old-look Michigan State offensive line that will take the field Saturday at Nebraska is looking to punish people.

"They kicked the scout team's butt," Cook said after Tuesday's practice, the first involving all five offensive line starters in nearly two months. "They freaking ... they were pancaking guys. When they were on the ground, they were bouncing on them again, kicking their faces, stomping on them. It was a pretty nasty O-line, I'll tell you that."

Presumably, Cook was joking about some of that. There's no footage available to confirm or refute the scene he described. There's also very little footage from this season to answer this question as No. 6 MSU (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) embarks on the final leg of a championship chase: How much better can the Spartans be with that full offensive line intact?

This offensive line was supposed to be the best of coach Mark Dantonio's nine seasons and one of the best in MSU history. It has played fewer than 80 snaps with all five starters together. It could approach that in a potentially dangerous game against the hard-luck Cornhuskers (3-6, 1-4) in always-rocking Memorial Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN).

"I think (offensive line) coach Mark Staten made the statement that it was Play 7 of the Oregon game that those five were (last) in together," quarterbacks coach Brad Salem said Wednesday of shuffling that started when right tackle Kodi Kieler went down with a knee injury in that Sept. 12 game. "And there's obviously a comfort level when guys play next to each other. And they are guys that have played a lot of football, so we're excited to get those guys back."

Fifth-year senior center and All-America Jack Allen is the last piece to return, as he said he'll do Tuesday after practicing for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in an Oct. 10 win at Rutgers. Star left tackle Jack Conklin (knee) has been back for the past two games after missing 21/ 2 .

Kieler has been back for the past three games after missing four. Conklin's primary backup, Dennis Finley, showed promise but now has a long road back after suffering a fractured fibula and tibia in an Oct. 3 win over Purdue.

Meanwhile, Allen played some left tackle, left guard Brian Allen played some center, right guard Donavon Clark played some right tackle, and reserves Benny McGowan, David Beedle, Brandon Clemons and Miguel Machado all contributed to varying degrees.

So MSU's depth has been forced to improve. The bigger question is whether the main five can spark a sagging rushing attack and give Cook the protection he needs to continue his torrid pace.

"We've got to get the run game going again," Jack Allen said of a rush attack that ranks 11th in the Big Ten at 155 yards per game and 13th with 3.9 yards per carry. "It's been kind of here or there the last couple of weeks, and we just need to come on as strong as we did in the fourth quarter against Indiana for the whole game.

"(It's) just trying to find those extra yards. Turning 1- or 2-yard runs into 4- or 5-yard runs. Just pushing that little extra amount and staying on your guy a little bit longer so he doesn't get off (the block), and the rest will take care of itself."

Jack Allen's presnap recognition alone should help the Spartans handle blitzes better than they did at times in the U-M and Indiana games without him. Brian Allen played center at U-M and McGowan got most of the work there against Indiana.

"We've been settling at that position with a short, fat kid the past couple weeks," Brian Allen joked. "Having Jack back there, he brings everyone together. Now everyone's back in their normal positions — not to make excuses for the last couple weeks, but it takes time to start playing different positions."

No scout-team members were reported hurt in Tuesday's reunion, but Jack Allen did say everyone was "flying around."

"It's gonna be a good couple of weeks," he said.

And Cook said, in all seriousness, of a new look that's quite familiar, "To see Jack Allen out there, my fellow roommate, to see Kodi Kieler back out there and Jack Conklin, all those other guys out there having fun again, it just feels like the old days."

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.

Up next for MSU

Matchup: No. 6 Michigan State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) at Nebraska (3-6, 1-4).

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.

TV: ESPN.