EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – When it comes to experience on Michigan State’s football team, no one has more than offensive lineman J. D. Duplain.
He made his 40th career start on Saturday against Iowa. It was also his 35th consecutive start, which oddly enough, began in 2020 at Iowa.
Duplain was recruited by former MSU football coach Mark Dantonio and originally thought he’d be playing on the defensive side of the ball.
“I came here, weirdly enough, as a D-tackle,” Duplain said. “When I early enrolled and then into fall camp my first year here, I played a little D-tackle here actually, and then O-line after.”
And when asked what he prefers more, Duplain was quick to answer.
“O-line. Definitely O-line.” Duplain said.
Duplain grew up in Ohio and followed in his footsteps of playing Division 1 football. His dad played at Kent State and had J.D. playing football at a young age.
“I was playing flag football, and that wasn’t for me. I didn’t know how the flag football thing worked,” Duplain said with a laugh. “I asked my dad and I’m like, ‘What do I do?’ and his advice was ‘Just tackle the guy and then pull his flag out after.’ So, I did that a couple of times and got kicked out.”
From there, Duplain focused on tackle football and turned himself into a division 1 athlete.
“I always liked Michigan State for some odd reason. I don’t know why, being from Ohio. I was never an Ohio State fan,” Duplain said. “When I visited here, I fell in love with the place and, you know, I kind of always knew I was going to end up here.”
