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MSU football: Analyzing the Spartans heading into the opener vs. WMU
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Freep beat writer Chris Solari break down the latest with MSU after Jonathan Smith’s Monday presser.
- Michigan State football’s linebacker corps is deeper and more connected than in previous seasons, despite losing key players.
- Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi plans to rotate linebackers frequently to maximize their diverse talents and different packages.
- Jordan Hall, a newly appointed captain, will lead the linebackers and direct calls on the field.
EAST LANSING – Jordan Hall received important on-the-job training through a freshman season in which Michigan State football’s 2023 linebacker corps got decimated by injuries and attrition.
Jonathan Smith arrived and hired Joe Rossi away from Minnesota, and the new defensive coordinator made it a priority to rebuild the Spartans from the middle in 2024. Linebackers fell under his charge, and Hall and Co. immersed themselves in Rossi’s teachings.
“I think things are a lot more detail-oriented,” Hall said Tuesday, Aug. 26. “There’s always excitement for that first game, but I have a lot of ease given this week. I feel prepared to go out there and execute.”
For Hall, MSU’s linebackers now are the deepest and most connected group the junior feels he’s been part in his three seasons. Even with the graduation departures of stalwart Cal Haladay and one-year stopgap Jordan Turner, the team’s top two tacklers last season.
Hall and Darius Snow are back. Wayne Matthews III, Semaj Bridgeman and Marcellus Pulliam return as second-year transfer additions from 2024, and transfer Aisea Moa joined them this offseason. Brady Pretzlaff is an up-and-coming in-state prospect Rossi brought in last year from Gaylord.
The depth is stronger than it has been as the Spartans head into their Friday, Aug. 29 season-opener against Western Michigan (7 p.m./FS1). It’s now Rossi’s mission to know when to mix-and-match to maximize their talents.
“We’re gonna play more guys than I’ve ever played before at linebacker,” Rossi said Tuesday. “And how do we do that? Well, there’s gonna be guys with roles and different packages and guys that have different jobs to do. So we’ll see a lot of guys in there.”
Replacing the 124 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions combined from Haladay and Turner last season is critical. Matthews returns as the linebacker leader with 33 tackles a year ago, while Snow had 29 and Hall 24. None of the three had a sack or a pick.
Getting more pressure overall has been an offseason priority, but particularly from the second level of the defense. Turner had four hurries and three sacks in 2024, while Haladay had one sack and no other hurries. Snow and Hall each had one hurry and no sacks. That was it from the linebackers, and MSU loses 15 of its 19 sacks and 22 of its 29 QB hurries from last year’s defense overall.
Rossi said continuing to do what his unit did a year ago – particularly with limiting explosive runs and passes over the top – must carry over as he and his staff made changes to “tweak some things” schematically to get to opposing quarterbacks more frequently.
“Pretty much we’re keeping the same thing going,” Matthews said early in camp. “We’re just allowing our guys to rush. That’s all.”
Hall will be the nerve center at middle linebacker and make the calls after playing 251 snaps last season. He’ll be charged with turning Rossi’s theory into production, and their relationship has grown into one of mutual appreciation.
“It takes a lot, especially with coach Rossi. He’s a character,” said Hall, who was named one of MSU’s five captains last week. “Last year, I didn’t make many jokes with him, but I try to throw some jokes in meetings here and there and try to crack his shell a little bit. But it definitely takes some time, and time and situations outside of football. More so in life, where can he trust me to go to class? And that is gonna indicate if he can trust me to set the front right on Saturday nights.”
Rossi called Hall a hard worker who is both a positive and effective communicator with his teammates, which he put in front of saying, “He’s a really good player” and the leader of his defense.
“I think he’s seen the highs and lows and responds,” Rossi said. “Some people, when they get in positions of leadership, it’s easy to lead when things are always going your way; it’s really hard to lead when things don’t go your way. And he’s a guy that I think has shown throughout his career that he does those things.”
Matthews is expected to flank Hall on the weak side, and sixth-year senior Snow is a smart, versatile veteran on the other side. But redshirt freshman Pretzlaff has impressed his teammates and coaches during camp, while both Pulliam (who began his career at Miami-Florida) and Bridgeman (who began at Michigan) provide athleticism to pursue sideline to sideline and in coverage. Moa totaled 16 tackles in 142 snaps last year for BYU.
The depth is such that Rossi wants to rotate the entire group, but he also recognizes it might require getting in a few games to better know how to situationally use them all.
“The guys who are the guys, which we’ll see on Friday, those guys are obviously the guys for a reason, and they’re gonna get the bulk of the reps,” Rossi said. “But we’re gonna play a variety of guys, and we’re gonna have different packages that feature different guys’ strengths. So I think it is a good room.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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