Michigan State Football: 5 under the radar players
Sep 14, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans long snapper Taybor Pepper (52) and defensive end Jamal Lyles (11) and offensive tackle Shawn Kamm (69) celebrate a win after a game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Youngstown State Penguins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Playing behind Josiah Price probably isn’t the easiest thing to do as fellow junior tight end Jamal Lyles has been fighting for targets over the past couple of years. Price, however, is considered one of the top tight ends in the Big Ten and that’s made it difficult for Cook to target Lyles more.
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However, Cook has often praised Lyles’ ability to rise up and cause havoc in the red zone as he could be more of a threat this season.
Sep 14, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive end Jamal Lyles (11) celebrates a touchdown against the Youngstown State Penguins during the second half in a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 55-17. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Through his first three seasons at Michigan State, the former four-star linebacker has caught 10 passes for 132 yards and no scores.
Jamal is yet another example of a player who was willing to switch positions in order to help the team out and those kind of selfless players are making Mark Dantonio’s job that much easier. It seems as if one of those guys pop up every year and they have made MSU what it is today.
Lyles is due for a big year as he’s caught just five passes in each of the past two years, but he’s waiting to just put it all together with a few more targets.
It’s hard to overlook a 6-foot-3, 260-pound beast of a tight end. The red zone will be Lyles’ new favorite place in 2015, write it down.