Michigan State Football: Top 50 players of all time

Jan 1, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Denicos Allen (28) celebrates after Michigan State Spartans beat Stanford Cardinal 24-20 at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

46. Denicos Allen

Denicos Allen was on one of the best defenses in Michigan State football history from 2010-13, along with some other players on this list. Those MSU defenses were considered the best in the Mark Dantonio era and even earned the nickname “No Fly Zone” along with having one of the top run defenses in the nation.

Heck, Denicos Allen and Max Bullough combined for one of the greatest duo of linebackers since the 1960s and the former was an absolute monster in the pass rush game. His numbers don’t exactly pop off the page at you and he hasn’t made it in the NFL quite yet — still in the CFL — but he’s still one of the most feared linebackers to play for MSU.

Allen finished his Spartan career with 278 tackles and an interception while ranking seventh all time in sacks with 19.5 and third in tackles for loss with 46. He was a master at rushing the passer and getting into the backfield. These stats all basically came from his last three years at Michigan State as he played sparingly as a freshman.

The outside linebacker was an All-Big Ten selection who was known for finding the ball carrier as well as anyone in the nation and even had one of the most memorable sacks you will ever see, soaring over Ohio State blockers for a sack back in 2011.

Next: 45. Drew Stanton