Michigan State Football: Report card from first month of 2021 season

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Michigan State’s Jacub Panasiuk celebrates his tackle against Nebraska during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.210925 Msu Nebraska 077a /

Defensive Line: B

Michigan State’s defensive line has been banged up this season, but we’ve gotten to witness the depth up front. All things considered, these guys have been pretty good.

Jacub Panasiuk and Drew Beesley are the leaders of the group and the former just had one of the best games of his career against Nebraska. On the year, he has 12 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Beesley has 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks with a forced fumble, but he could be out for a while with an injury.

Simeon Barrow has been one of the biggest surprises through the first month as the defensive tackle has racked up 16 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Jeff Pietrowski has also been a breakout performer, recording 13 tackles, four tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks along with a forced fumble.

I’d like to see more out of Drew Jordan, Tank Brown, Michael Fletcher, Dashaun Mallory, and Jalen Hunt, but this group has been pretty good.

There’s still room for growth because there are instances when opposing quarterbacks have had all day to throw. Opposing run games, however, haven’t found a ton of lanes.

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