Michigan State football promotes Chris Kapilovic, still has one open assistant position
Michigan State football made a personnel move Wednesday, just not the one fans are waiting on.
Mel Tucker announced he promoted Chris Kapilovic to assistant head coach. That title will go on top of his duties as the Spartans’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
“I believe Kap is among the best offensive line coaches in the country, college or pro,” Tucker said in a statement. “He not only puts a premium on technique and fundamentals, but also is an excellent motivator who is extremely passionate about the game of football. He understands the culture and goals of this program and is determined to get the best out of each and every player, every single day. He is a relentless and effective recruiter, and I feel very fortunate to have him as a true leader on our staff.”
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The 52-year-old Kapilovic joined Tucker’s first-year staff last February before their 2-5 shortened 2020 season. The Spartans this fall scored a Big Ten-low two rushing touchdowns – none by a running back – and ranked 13th in the conference and 122nd out of 127 Football Bowl Subdivision teams nationally at 91.4 rushing yards per game. MSU also gave up 16 sacks to tie for ninth in the league, with its 2.29 allowed per game ranked tied for 69th nationally.
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Tucker still has one assistant coaching vacancy to fill after saying safeties coach Mike Tressel, a longtime Mark Dantonio assistant and one of two holdovers, will be named defensive coordinator at Cincinnati. Tressel’s hiring by the Bearcats has not been made official more than a week after the move was first reported.
It is unclear how Tucker plans to fill that opening. Harlon Barnett coaches MSU’s cornerbacks and could handle the entire secondary, which could allow the Spartans to use Tressel’s vacancy to address another area. Tucker said last Thursday he planned to have the opening filled by the weekend but has not made public any staff moves other than Kapilovic’s promotion.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football promotes Chris Kapilovic, still has open spot
