Michigan State Football: Report card for season-opening win over WMU

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Michigan State safety Angelo Grose (15) defends a pass intended for Western Michigan wide receiver Jehlani Galloway (0) during the first half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. /

Secondary: B-

The position group that everyone was worried about heading into the season opener had to have been the secondary. Last year, Michigan State was dead-last in college football in passing yards allowed per game; Mel Tucker took it upon himself to make sure that didn’t continue, taking over the cornerbacks in the offseason.

Although there were some holes in the secondary again, this unit played pretty well for being without its best player (Xavier Henderson) for the entire second half.

Michigan State held Jack Salopek to 193 passing yards and zero touchdowns on 36 attempts. He was slinging the ball around quite a bit and he still only averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and didn’t have many chunk plays. The secondary definitely showed some improvement.

Ameer Speed was a sight for sore eyes, Chester Kimbrough looked like he improved quite a bit, Kendell Brooks was a nice surprise, Angelo Grose made some plays and led the team in tackles, and Charles Brantley shook off that rust after missing the last month of 2021.

The secondary will hopefully build on this.

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