Michigan State football stock watch following Western Michigan win

Stock down: Michigan State’s pass defense

After an offseason where the Spartans revamped their entire defense, bringing in transfers and freshmen from every spot on the line, confidence was relatively high heading into game week. Then, Hamp Fay, and Davion Primm each moved into secondary positions, causing some concern.

On Friday night, those concerns were validated, with freshman quarterback Jack Salopek completing 21 of his 36 pass attempts for 193 yards. He was held out of the end zone, but this Spartan defense looked nearly identical to last year’s “please fly zone.” Salopek was held to under a completion percentage under 60, but he also tacked on a 61-yard rush on a quarterback draw to make up for it.

The Spartan pass defense, frankly, did not look good. Without Brandon Jordan’s revamped pass rush, Salopek’s receivers were wide open a lot.

My other issue with the pass defense was the timing of the big passes. Under 200 yards and no touchdowns is a vast improvement for the Spartan defense, but Salopek converted three second-and-long situations in the first half alone, as well as his 61-yard scramble coming on third down. Situations like giving up 17 yards on second-and-16 are not good signs for a defense that is supposed to play Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State in the next three months.

Chester Kimbrough looked improved in the slot role, and Ameer Speed and Charles Brantley did a good job on the outside, but they did not amaze or shut down. Ronald Williams wasn’t a contributor because of an apparent injury in preseason camp. The losses of Xavier Henderson and Darius Snow will hurt this team, even more, making me very concerned for Washington in a few weeks.

Yes, this is a tune-up, and I hope I am overreacting, but can you blame me?

Stock analysis

It is not time to panic, but I am very concerned for the future. If Washington lights the Spartans up in two weeks, feel free to press that panic button with me.