With preseason practice starting on July 30 for the Michigan State football team, msuspartans.com takes a look at the position breakdown on defense and special teams for the Spartans.
►Letterwinners lost (6):
• Simeon Barrow Jr. (3L, 12 games/10 starts at DT, 36 tackles, 5.5 TFLs for 40 yards, 3.5 sacks for 38 yards, 1 FF, 2 blocks)
• Dre Butler (1L, 3 games, 9 tackles, 1.0 TFL for 1 yard)
• Derrick Harmon (2L, 12 games/10 starts at DT, 40 tackles, 3.5 TFLs for 10 yards, 1.5 sack for 8 yards, 1 FF, 1 PBU)
• Jalen Sami (1L, 10 games, 15 tackles, 0.5 TFL for 4 yards)
• Brandon Wright (5L, 11 games/4 starts at DE, 19 tackles, 2.0 TFLs for 13 yards, 2 sacks for 13 yards)
• Zion Young (2L, 12 games/9 starts at DE, 26 tackles, 4.5 TFLs for 20 yards, 1.5 sacks for 5 yards)
Michigan State has nine players returning along the defensive line in addition to seven incoming transfers and five freshmen under first-year assistant coaches Legi Suiaunoa (defensive line) and Chad Wilt (co-special teams coordinator/rush ends).
Along the interior, graduate senior Maverick Hansen, who started four games last season and has eight career starts, is using his sixth year of eligibility in 2024 and will bolster the defensive front for MSU. The four-year letterwinner and four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection has 90 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and five sacks in 41 career games.
Khris Bogle also returns for his sixth collegiate season and his third as a Spartan after transferring from Florida in 2022. Bogle has started nine games at defensive end during his time in East Lansing; he had 14 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks in 10 games last fall. Sixth-year senior defensive end Khris Bogle returns for his third season in East Lansing in 2024.
Promising sophomore Jalen Thompson started the final four games of the season at defensive end as a true freshman in 2023 and played in a total of eight contests. The Detroit native had 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a part of 19 stops overall; in his first career start against Nebraska on Nov. 4, he had a season-best five tackles and two sacks along with a forced fumble in the win over the Huskers.
MSU also returns letterwinners Avery Dunn (R-Sr.), Ben Nelson (R-So.), James Schott (R-So.) and Ken Talley (R-So.). Redshirt sophomore Alex VanSumeren continues to recover from an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2023 season, while Jaxon Wilson (R-Fr.) adds depth to the position.
The Spartans are also welcoming seven experienced transfers who are all upperclassmen. Two of those transers, D'Quan Douse and Quindarius Dunnigan, joined the team in January and competed in spring practice. Douse, a sixth-year graduate senior, played in 44 games the last four seasons at Georgia Tech (2020-23), including 24 starts at defensive tackle. He has 69 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks in his collegiate career.
Dunnigan earned second-team All-Conference USA honors last season at Middle Tennessee State after recording career highs in tackles (35), tackles for loss (10 for 27 yards), sacks (3 for 13 yards) and pass break-ups (8) for the Blue Raiders. In four seasons at MTSU (2019-20; 2022-23), he collected 68 tackles, 17 TFLs and 5.5 sacks in 33 games with 13 starts at defensive end.
Five more transfers arrived during the summer, including three players who will look to make an impact in the interior: redshirt junior Ru'Quan Buckley (Nebraska), redshirt sophomore Ben Roberts (Oregon) and redshirt junior Jalen Satchell (Old Dominion). Redshirt sophomore Anthony Jones, who played in all 12 games with four starts at Indiana last season, brings an experienced presence to the new rush end position under Coach Wilt, who served as the defensive coordinator at IU the past two seasons. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Gillison played 10 games last season at Cincinnati.
Michigan State signed two defensive linemen to National Letters of Intent – Mikeshun Beeler (Chicago) and Kekai Burnett (Honolulu) – and two additional freshmen joined the team during the summer: Stone Chaney (Novi, Mich.) and Mason Nickel (Midland, Mich.).
Cal Haladay has led the team in tackles for the past three seasons and ranks 18th in MSU history with 307 career tackles.
• #7 Jordan Turner (R-Sr., 6-1, 231, Farmington Hills, Mich./Wisconsin)
11 games/7 starts, 61 tackles, 6.5 TFLs for 35 yards, 3.0 sacks for 21 yards, 2 PBUs, 1 FF
►Incoming freshmen (3):
• #49 Carter Enyard (6-1, 216, St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day)
• #56 Chris Piwowarczyk (6-0, 228, Fenton, Mich./Fenton)
• #45 Brady Pretzlaff (6-3, 228, Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord) * early enrollee
►Letterwinners lost (1):
• Aaron Brule (2L, 12 games/9 starts, 64 tackles, 8.5 TFLs for 35 yards, 5.0 sacks for 25 yards, 2 PBUs)
First-year defensive coordinator Joe Rossi will also coach the linebackers for the Spartans. He inherits a position room that features six returning letterwinners and also welcomes five transfers, including two with starting experience.
Redshirt senior Cal Haladay led the team in tackles for the third year in a row in 2023 with 91, tied for seventh most in the Big Ten during the regular season, while starting all 12 games. Haladay ranks 18th in MSU history with 307 career tackles and also has 21.5 TFLs, three sacks and three interceptions in 41 career games with 35 starts. He tied a school record with his third career defensive touchdown on a 42-yard scoop-and-score at Iowa on Sept. 30; he had two interception returns for touchdowns in 2021 (30 yards vs. Indiana and 78 yards vs. Pitt in Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl).
Talented sophomore Jordan Hall started six games as a true freshman last season and ranked fourth on the team with 67 tackles; he also recorded 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in playing every game for the Spartans. His 67 stops were the second most by a true freshman in the Big Ten last season.
Darius Snow, who is preparing for his fifth season in East Lansing, has battled injuries the past two years but competed in spring practice. After playing in six games as a true freshman on special teams during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Snow started nine games as a defensive back in 2021 as a sophomore and ranked third on the team with 87 tackles. He made the switch to linebacker in 2022 but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 against Western Michigan. After rehabbing for an entire year, Snow returned to the field in Week 3 of last season and played in four games before missing the final six games.
Experienced transfers Wayne Matthews III (R-Jr.) and Jordan Turner (R-Sr.) joined the team in January and learned the new defense under Rossi's direction in spring practice.
Matthews has two seasons of eligibility remaining after spending the past three years at Old Dominion (2021-23). He ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference and 11th in the FBS last season with 135 tackles (10.4 avg.), in addition to 9.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks, to earn third-team All-SBC honors. Matthews started all 13 games for the Monarchs and played a total of 936 snaps, tied for fourth most among FBS linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus. He also graded out at 82.9 by PFF, tied for 21st in the nation for FBS linebackers with more than 250 snaps.
A four-year letterwinner at Wisconsin, Turner played in 30 career games with the Badgers, including 18 starts at inside linebacker. He ranked third on the team in tackles (61) and TFLs (6.5) and started seven games last season. For his career, the Farmington, Michigan, native has been very productive with 135 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, three interceptions, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.
Two additional transfers joined the program during the summer: Semaj Bridgeman (R-Fr., Michigan) and Marcellius Pulliam (So., Miami).
Brady Pretzlaff (Gaylord, Mich.), the lone linebacker signed in the 2024 recruiting class, enrolled early and practiced in the spring, while Carter Enyard (St. Louis, Mo.) and Chris Piwowarczyk (Fenton, Mich.) arrived in East Lansing in the summer. Two-year letterwinner Malik Spencer is back for the Spartans in 2024.
SECONDARY
►Position Coaches: Blue Adams (first season, secondary), Demetrice Martin (first season, cornerbacks)
►Players returning (14):
• #0 Charles Brantley (2L, R-Jr., 6-0, 170, Sarasota, Fla./Venice)
3 games/3 starts at CB, 10 tackles, 1 TFL for 3 yards, 1 PBU) *missed last nine games due to injury
• #13 Caleb Coley (1L, R-So., 6-0, 184, Warner Robins, Ga./Houston County)
6 games/1 start at CB, 4 tackles, 1 TFL for 3 yards
• #38 Dorian Davis (R-So., 6-0, 192, Detroit, Mich./Woodhaven)
• #28 Philipp Davis (R-Fr., 6-1, 197, Lake Wales, Fla./Lake Wales)
►Letterwinners lost (1):
• Chester Kimbrough (3L, 12 games/3 starts at CB, 25 tackles, 1.5 TFLs for 10 yards, 1 sack for 9 yards, 3 PBUs)
Michigan State returns 14 players in the secondary from last season's team, including five players with multiple games of starting experience. The Spartans also added five transfers and signed four players to National Letters of Intent. The group will led by first-year assistant coaches Blue Adams (secondary) and former Spartan Demetrice Martin (cornerbacks).
Four-year letterwinner Angelo Grose, who has played in 40 games throughout his Spartan career including 35 starts, returns for a fifth season. Grose has started at both nickelback and safety while wearing the Green and White, and enters his final season of eligiblity with 231 career tackles and three interceptions.
Junior Malik Spencer started seven times as a safety last year and ranked second on the team in pass break-ups (6) and third in tackles (72). Dillon Tatum (Jr.) started eight of the first nine games last season at cornerback before missing the final three contests with an injury. Tatum still led the team with seven pass break-ups and collected 45 tackles. A versatile player, Tatum practiced at safety in the spring.
As a true freshman, Chance Rucker started eight of the last nine games at cornerback and gained valuable experience in his first season as a Spartan. Rucker recorded his first career interception at Rutgers and had three PBUs with 23 tackles on the year. Junior Charles Brantley has started in 15 games at cornerback over the past three seasons, but missed the last nine games of the 2023 campaign after suffering an injury in Week 3 against Washington.
Michigan State brought in four transfers during the summer, including three with starting experience. Junior Nikai Martinez started in all 13 games as a safety last season at UCF and had 54 tackles to go along with three interceptions for 94 return yards. Cornerback Ed Woods started 12 times at cornerback over the past two seasons (2022-23) at Arizona State and played in 33 games overall during his four years with the Sun Devils. Redshirt junior Lejond Cavazos was limited to one game at North Carolina in 2023, but played in 11 games with three starting assignments for the Tar Heels in 2022. He played his first two seasons (2020-21) at Ohio State. Sophomore Jeremiah Hughes played in all 13 games at LSU during his true freshman season and arrives in East Lansing with three years of eligibility remaining.
Redshirt sophomore Aveon Grose, younger brother of Angelo Grose, transferred to MSU in January 2024 after playing in six games for Charlotte as a freshman in 2022 and four games at Southern Illinois last season.
Two of MSU's four signees in the secondary – Justin Denson Jr. and Jaylen Thompson – enrolled in January and competed in spring practice, while Andrew Brinson IV and Keshawn Williams joined the team in the summer. Freshman DJ Kennard was also a midyear enrollee and practiced in the spring. Ryan Eckley was a second-team All-Big Ten selection and Freshman All-American in 2023 with his 46.8-yard punting average, the fifth-best mark in school history.
SPECIAL TEAMS
►Co-special teams coordinators: Keith Bhonapha (first season), Chad Wilt (first season)
►Specialists returning (3):
• #96 P Ryan Eckley (1L, R-So., 6-2, 204, Lithia, Fla./Newsome)
12 games, 55 punts for 2,576 yards, 46.8 avg., 23 inside the 20, 21 fair catches, 24 50+
• #40 K Tarik Ahmetbasic (R-Fr., 6-2, 211, Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley)
• #97 K Jonathan Kim (1L, Gr.-6, 6-1, 227, Fredericksburg, Va./North Carolina)
12 games, 17-for-17 PATs, 13-for-18 FGs, 42 KOs for 2,672 yards, 63.6 avg., 28 TB
►Incoming transfers (3):
• #83 LS Jack Carson Wentz (So., 6-2, 232, Canton, Ga./West Georgia)
Michigan State returns punter Ryan Eckley (R-So.) and placekicker Jonathan Kim (Gr.-6) to form one of the best punter-kicker duos in the country.
In his first season as the starter, Eckley ranked second in the Big Ten Conference and eighth in the FBS with his 46.8-yard punting average, which was the fifth-longest average in MSU single-season history. Named to the Ray Guy Midseason Award Watch List, Eckley also ranked second in the Big Ten in 50-plus yard punts (24) and fourth in punts inside the 20 (23). In addition, he had four punts of 60-plus yards and 15 inside the 10-yard line. The native of Lithia, Florida, was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and The Athletic, and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media.
Kim has one of the strongest legs in the nation, evidenced by his four field goals made from 50-plus yards, which tied for third most in the FBS. He boomed a 58-yarder as time expired in the first half at Iowa, which set a Kinnick Stadium record and was the fourth-longest field goal in MSU history. Kim was 13-of-18 overall on field goals, with seven of those coming from at least 40 yards out; he was 6-of-6 on field goals between 30-39 yards. The graduate senior, who transferred from North Carolina in 2023, was also a perfect 17-for-17 on PATs and averaged 63.6 yards on kickoffs with 28 touchbacks (67 percent).
The Spartans also added transfer Kaden Schickel (R-Jr.) from James Madison, who started all 13 games at long snapper for the Dukes in 2023, in addition to Jack Carson Wentz (West Georgia). Punter Carson Voss transferred from Western Michigan in January and competed in spring practice.
