Can D'Quan Douse Revive the Spartans' Defense?
Last season, the Michigan State Spartans finished the year 4-8. There are a variety of different reasons why certain games finished the way they did, but as we reflect, it’s easy to see room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball.
Throughout the nine games of Big Ten play, the Spartans finished in the back half of a majority of defensive statistics. Eighth in sacks (19) and ninth in Tackles for loss (42) are large areas for improvement for this upcoming season.
To improve in those categories, you need a guy who can fill the gaps and make plays. That guy just happened to be in the transfer portal. Looking for a place to use his final year of eligibility, D’Quan Douse found his way to East Lansing.
Douse is 6-2, 301-pound defensive tackle who will make his Spartans debut Friday night when the team takes on Florida Atlantic. The Savannah, Georgia native stayed in his home state and played five seasons for Georgia Tech, finishing his career there earning four letters, participating in 44 games while starting in 24 of them.
Douse has totaled 69 Tackles, 5.5 Sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and, most importantly, 1,169 snaps in his career so far.
Experience is vital not only on the field for the Spartans but also on the practice field and in the film room. Bringing someone like Douse in is like having another coach out there. With all his experience he can lead vocally and physically for the younger guys on the defensive line and impact that group for years to come.
During camp, they even Mic’d Up Douse for Spartan Nation to get as in-depth of a perspective of the type of guy he is when he is padded up representing the Green and White.
“Let’s stay hungry, Let’s stay humble,” were words of encouragement Douse was preaching to his teammates during drills.
Staying hungry and being humble are words that Douse believes but also knows are crucial for doing their job and maintaining assignments. On the defensive line, sometimes their jobs do not get much recognition. Clogging up the gaps and taking on lead blockers for teammates to make tackles are a few things that Douse knows will help the team.
That’s exactly the type of player the Spartans need this year to improve -- getting guys on the field who do the dirty work and set up their teammates for success.
Given Douse's experience, it looks like the Spartans have a match and can use him to steer the ship this season for the defensive line unit.
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JACK BEULKE