Michigan State's Dominique Long enters portal; Chris Kapilovic now assistant head coach

Michigan State is losing a special teams standout and veteran in the secondary.

Senior Dominique Long, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a nominee for the 2020 William Campbell Trophy, entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday.

Long, who began his career as a safety but later transitioned to cornerback, will be a graduate transfer.

In four seasons, Long recorded 51 tackles with most of his production coming on special teams. In 2019, Long led Michigan State with 12 special teams tackles, the same season he had a career-high 16 stops. As a senior in 2020, Long played in all seven games, drawing his only start against Indiana when he had a career-high six tackles and a pass breakup.

Long is the 16th Michigan State player to enter the portal since mid-November and the fourth cornerback to leave the team.

Kapilovic elevates to assistant HC

Michigan State offensive line coach and running game coordinator Chris Kapilovic has added the title of assistant head coach. 

“I’m excited to announce the promotion of offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic to assistant head coach,” Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said in a statement. “I believe Kap is among the best offensive line coaches in the country, college or pro. 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.”

Kapilovic was the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator at Colorado in 2019 before joining Tucker at Michigan State in 2020. Before that, he spent seven seasons at North Carolina with four as run-game coordinator and three as offensive coordinator. He’s also had coaching stops at Southern Mississippi, Missouri State and Alabama State.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau