Michigan State football: Playing time odds for 2022 class defensive signees

Michigan State's head coach Mel Turner gives encouragement to players during football camp on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, on the MSU campus in East Lansing.210817 Msu Football Camp 121a
Michigan State's head coach Mel Turner gives encouragement to players during football camp on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, on the MSU campus in East Lansing.210817 Msu Football Camp 121a /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 12
Next

Alex VanSumeren, DL

DL room:

Losing: Drew Jordan, Jacub Panasiuk, Drew Beesley, Jack Camper, Zach Slade, Kyle King, Tyson Watson
Returning: Jacob Slade, Simeon Barrow, Dashaun Mallory, Jalen Hunt, Maverick Hansen, Derrick Harmon, Michael Fletcher
Bringing in: Zion Young

Alex VanSumeren (No. 195 nationally, No. 26 DL) is the younger brother of linebacker Ben VanSumeren, who is currently transferring from the Spartans. A one-time Wolverine commit, Mel Tucker managed to bring the talented linemen into the fold after the elder VanSumeren left the Wolverines for the Spartans.

VanSumeren is extremely talented and already has a great playing size (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) for him to be an immediate contributor.

Additionally, he is an early enrollee coming in when the Spartans are losing a solid chunk of their pass rush. Jordan, Beesley, and Panasiuk each primarily played defensive end, but also took a fair amount of snaps in the interior while edge rushers like Jeff Pietrowksi, “Tank” Brown, and Brandon Wright lined up outside. VanSumeren is highly rated and will see the field this year, but expect to see much more of him next year, with Jacob Slade being a senior this season.

Prediction

Rotational defensive tackle. The Spartans have tended to have two defensive tackle units and consistently rotate them to keep them fresh, and I expect to see VanSumeren make a push to be part of the second unit.

Barrow and Slade have each secured playing time as the top unit, but no spots are secured for the second. Mallory, Hunt, Hansen, and Harmon have all rotated into these roles throughout the previous two years, but I cannot make a surefire argument for any of them securing a spot.

VanSumeren is also much too talented to keep off the field and, pending injury, there is no reason to see him redshirt. He will be a player to watch in the spring game this year. I expect him to make a lot of noise and hype headed into this year. Against Western Michigan and Akron, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him take a majority of the snaps.

With a dedicated pass-rush specialist with the caliber of Brandon Jordan, VanSumeren will be more than a run-stuffing defensive lineman. It will be interesting to see how the Spartans maintain the defensive tackle unit and rotation, as longtime positional coach Ron Burton left this offseason.