Michigan State Football: Positional report card from Iowa victory

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EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 30: Wide receiver Brandon Smith #12 of the Iowa Hawkeyes fumbles the ball when hit by cornerback Josiah Scott #22 of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at Spartan Stadium on September 30, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State defeated Iowa 17-7. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

DEFENSIVE BACKS. B. . DB. Michigan State

Why am I giving the defensive backfield a B after it held Nathan Stanley to just 192 yards on 16-of-32 completions? Because there’s still plenty of work to do. There was some impressive coverage all night long as Stanley struggled to get vertical with the passing game, but some of the defensive backs were burned deep, but the receivers were overthrown.

Getting bailed out by overthrown balls won’t happen against good quarterbacks like Trace McSorley, Richard Lagow, Clayton Thorson or even John O’Korn. I would say J.T. Barrett but he’s been relatively inaccurate with his long ball this year.

Still, the unit didn’t let any big plays take place. There were two receptions over 30 yards on the day, but everything else was intermediate. The 30-yard passes were covered well, but the ball was placed perfectly to the back-shoulder for big completions.

Josiah Scott played well but gave up a big pass play of 30-plus. His coverage was still solid and he finished with four tackles. Justin Layne, Tre Person and David Dowell each added two tackles and Khari Willis had six with a sack and a pass deflection. Blitzing from the safety position has become quite effective.

The defensive backfield is getting better, but it’s not quite “there” yet.

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