Michigan State Football: New-look secondary could be problem for Big Ten

Xavier Henderson, Michigan State football safety

Out of all of the players on this list, we’ve seen the most of Xavier Henderson by far. His potential is obvious and he’s been seeing plenty of playing time since he was a freshman. But the question that remains is this: is he ready to be a leader on this defense?

After a relatively quiet freshman season, Henderson had two picks last year along with 83 total tackles, putting him near the top of the team in that category. There’s no reason that these numbers won’t improve exponentially in his last two seasons in the green and white, especially with other key parts of the secondary gone in Josiah Scott and David Dowell gone.

If this former four-star safety can get comfortable in a leadership role, he’ll be the key piece of this underrated Michigan State defense.