With spring practice beginning this week for the Michigan State football team, msuspartans.com takes a look at the position breakdown on defense and special teams for the Spartans.
^ Enrolled in January 2023 | * at Texas A&M in 2022 | & at Liberty in 2022 | # at Florida State in 2022
Outlook: Michigan State returns plenty of depth and experience along the defensive line this spring, in addition to welcoming in three highly touted transfers (Tunmise Adeleye from Texas A&M, Dre Butler from Liberty and Jarrett Jackson from Florida State) and two top-150 recruits (Andrew Depaepe and Bai Jobe).
Diron Reynolds, who was named the program's defensive line coach in January, will get his first on-field look at the position group during spring practice. Reynolds has more than 25 years of coaching experience both at the NFL and Power 5 levels and previously spent the past seven seasons (2016-22) as the defensive line coach at Stanford. He has coached on multiple championship teams, including winning a Super Bowl ring with the Colts, and has worked with numerous All-Americans, NFL Draft picks and All-Pro players.
Along the interior, three Spartans return with starting experience, led by redshirt junior Simeon Barrow. Barrow started 10 games at defensive tackle last season and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades while recording career highs in tackles (40), tackles for loss (9.0 for 28 yards) and sacks (4.0 for 21 years). He also led the defense with 28 total quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking fourth most in the Big Ten. Barrow has started 21 games for the Spartans over the past two seasons.
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Simeon Barrow Jr. recorded career highs in tackles (40), TFLs (9) and sacks (4) in 2022 for the Spartan defense.
Redshirt senior Maverick Hansen collected a career-high 41 tackles in 12 games last season, including two starting assignments, and has played in 31 career games. Redshirt sophomore Derrick Harmon started five games in 2022 and registered 30 stops, including three TFLs and two sacks. Four-star recruit Alex Van Sumeren, who redshirted in 2022 by appearing in just four games, will also compete for reps during spring practice.
Incoming graduate transfers Dre Butler (Liberty) and Jarrett Jackson (Florida State), who both enrolled in January, will bolster the Spartan interior with more than 50 combined games at the FBS level. Butler, who originally enrolled at Independence Community College out of high school, played two seasons at Auburn (2020-21) and one at Liberty (2022) before graduating and attending MSU. Jackson is also a graduate transfer and played one season at Louisville (2018) and three at Florida State (2020-22).
Due to a rash of injuries, the Spartans started nine different players at defensive end last season. Four of those players – Khris Bogle (R-Sr.), Avery Dunn (R-Jr.), Brandon Wright (R-Sr.) and Zion Young (So.) – are back this spring. Bogle, a Florida transfer and former top-100 recruit, only played in the first four games last season after suffering a season-ending injury vs. Minnesota in Week 4. Dunn saw his playing time increase toward the end of last season with starts against Rutgers and Indiana, and he recorded career highs in tackles (28), tackles for loss (5.5) and sacks (3.0) to earn his first letter. In his second full season at defensive end after spending time as a running back his first two years in East Lansing, Wright played in eight games with two starts, including a career-high 14 tackles. Young appeared in eight games as a true freshman, including two starts, and posted 21 stops with two tackles for loss.
Tunmise Adeleye, a top-40 recruit in the Class of 2021 out of Tompkins High School in Katy, Texas, enrolled in January after spending two seasons at Texas A&M and will look to make an immediate impact on the Spartan pass rush. Adeleye was named the No. 17 player in the transfer portal by The Athletic heading into the 2023 season.
The Spartans also signed three highly ranked players at defensive end as part of their 2023 recruiting class. Bai Jobe, the No. 1 player in the state of Oklahoma, played in the All-American Bowl and was ranked the No. 54 overall player in the nation according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Andrew Depaepe, a consensus top-150 recruit from Bettendorf, Iowa, also enrolled in January for the Spartans. Jalen Thompson, a four-star prospect from Detroit Cass Tech and the consensus No. 1 defensive end in the state of Michigan, will join the Spartans over the summer.
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Linebacker Jacoby Windmon, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week three times last season, is returning to the Spartans for his fifth season of eligibility in 2023.
â–ºLINEBACKERS CAPSULE
Players returning (7):
• #7 Aaron Brule (1L, Gr.-6, 6-2, 242, New Orleans, La./Mississippi State)
(12 games/2 starts, 30 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FR)
• #11 Quavian Carter (R-Fr., 6-3, 190, Camilla, Ga./Lee County)
Outlook: The linebackers, coached by fourth-year Secchia Family Defensive Coordinator Scottie Hazelton, are loaded with experience as Aaron Brule and Jacoby Windmon both elected to come back to Michigan State in 2023 to use their extra year of eligibility.
Windmon, who transferred to MSU from UNLV in 2022, burst onto the scene with four sacks in his Spartan debut against Western Michigan to earn Big Ten and National Defensive Player of the Week honors. He became the first Spartan and just the sixth Big Ten player to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades three times in one season (vs. Western Michigan, Akron and Wisconsin), and he was also named the National Defensive Player of the Week in his first start at linebacker vs. Wisconsin in Week 7 after starting the first six games at defensive end. Windmon is back at his natural position of linebacker this spring.
Brule, a graduate transfer from Mississippi State who also arrived on campus last year with Windmon, saw his playing time increase as the season progressed and he ended up ranking second on the team in sacks (4.0 for 32 yards) and third in tackles for loss (6.5 for 41 yards). He registered 30 tackles while playing all 12 games, including two starting assignments.
Redshirt junior Darius Snow, who started last season at linebacker after playing in the secondary his first two seasons, unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 vs. Western Michigan. He will look to bounce back this season after a promising sophomore year in 2021 in which he ranked third on the team and 18th in the Big Ten with 87 tackles.
The Spartans also return letterwinners Ma'a Gaoteote (Jr.) and Sam Edwards (R-Jr.) to the rotation.
Incoming four-star freshman Jordan Hall, the only three-time captain in IMG Academy history, enrolled in January and will look to make an early impact this spring for the Spartans.
MSU also brought in one transfer at linebacker, Aaron Alexander, who redshirted at UMass in 2022.
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Charles Brantley, who led the team with six pass break-ups in 2022, started 11 games at cornerback last season for the Spartans.
â–ºSECONDARY CAPSULE
Players returning (16):
• #0 Charles Brantley (2L, Jr., 6-0, 170, Sarasota, Fla./Venice)
(11 games/11 starts, 48 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 INT, 6 PBUs)
Incoming freshmen for fall 2023 (4):
• Sean Brown (Fr., 6-3, 190, Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley)
• Philipp Davis (Fr., 6-1, 175, Lake Wales, Fla./Lake Wales)
• Eddie Pleasant III (Fr., 5-11, 175, Tampa, Fla./Carrollwood Day)
• #25 Chance Rucker (Fr., 6-1, 180, Denton, Texas/Ryan) ^
* At Wisconsin in 2022 | ^ Enrolled in January 2023
Outlook: Former Spartan All-American and NFL veteran Harlon Barnett is in 15th year overall on the defensive coaching staff at Michigan State, his fourth under head coach Mel Tucker, and will coach the secondary for MSU.
The Spartans feature a number of promising players in the secondary and also return starters with multiple years of experience.
At cornerback, Charles Brantley (Jr.) took over a full-time starting role during his second season in East Lansing and led the team with six pass break-ups to go along with 48 tackles, 2 TFLs and one interception in 11 starts.
Senior Angelo Grose has started games at both safety and nickelback the past three seasons and has played in 28 games overall since his arrival on campus in 2020, including 25 starts. The three-year letterwinner has 159 tackles with five tackles for loss, 13 pass break-ups and one interception during his collegiate career.
Sophomores Dillon Tatum (12 games), Jaden Mangham (8 games), Ade Willie (6 games) and Malik Spencer (5 games) all gained valuable experience during their true freshmen season in 2022 and will look to have an even greater impact in the secondary in 2023. In addition, Caleb Coley and Malcolm Jones each played in three games as true freshman but were still able to preserve their redshirt season. Redshirt sophomores A.J. Kirk and Khalil Majeed add depth for the Spartans in the back end of the secondary.
Redshirt seniors Chester Kimbrough and Justin White each started games at nickelback for the Spartans last year and are back to compete for a starting role this spring. Marqui Lowery (R-Jr.) also has starting experience at cornerback.
Fifth-year senior Harold Joiner, a converted running back, practiced at safety toward the end of last season and will open the spring at his new position.
MSU is also bringing in transfer cornerback Semar Melvin from Wisconsin, who played in 23 games for the Badgers from 2019-22.
The Spartans signed four defensive backs to National Letters of Intent for the Class of 2023: Sean Brown, Philipp Davis, Eddie Pleasant III and Chance Rucker. Rucker enrolled in January and will compete in spring practice.
â–ºSPECIAL TEAMS
Players returning (3):
• #31 LS Hank Pepper (2L, Jr., 6-2, 210, Chandler, Ariz./Chandler, 5 games)
• #96 P Ryan Eckley (R-Fr., 6-2, 195, Lithia, Fla./Newsome, 1 game, 1 punt for 41 yards)
• #98 K Stephen Rusnak (R-So., 6-1, 170, Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston, 2 games, 1-for-1 PATs)
Incoming transfers (2):
• #92 LS Mason Arnold (R-So., 6-0, 230, Tampa, Fla./Ohio State, 7 games) ^
• Jonathan Kim (Gr.-5, 6-0, 210, Fredericksburg, Va./North Carolina, 4 games, 62.4-yard kickoff avg.) *
Letterwinners lost (4):
• P Bryce Baringer (4L, 49.0-yard punting avg., 4 touchbacks, 12 FC, 22 inside 20, 24 of 50-plus yards)
• LS Michael Donovan (1L, 7 games)
• K Ben Patton (1L, 4-of-8 FGs, 15-of-16 PATs)
• K Jack Stone (1L, 2-of-4 FGs, 15-of-16 PATs)
^ Enrolled in January 2023 | * at North Carolina in 2022
Outlook: Michigan State will have a new look in the specialists room as the team will have a new starting kicker and punter for the 2023 season.
First-team All-American Bryce Baringer, who set a school record with his 49.0-yard average, is gone for the Spartans at punter. Redshirt freshman Ryan Eckley will begin the process to replace Baringer this spring.
The Spartans, who used multiple placekickers in 2022, will welcome graduate transfer Jonathan Kim from North Carolina in the fall. Redshirt sophomore Stephen Rusnak will also compete for the position and is set to kick for the Spartans this spring. Rusnak earned a letter as a freshman in 2021 while converting 4-of-5 PATs and averaging 54.3 yards on kickoffs.
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