Michigan State Football: Report card for shutout win over Akron

3 of 7

Michigan State’s Cal Haladay returns an interception against Akron during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.220910 Msu Akron Fb 073a /

Linebackers: B+

The linebackers were fairly quiet on Saturday night and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When you’re not hearing much about the linebackers, it means they’re not making many mistakes — the same goes for the secondary.

Unlike the secondary, however, you still do want to hear these guys’ names called because that means they’re getting in on plays and making tackles when they’re supposed to plug gaps.

But since the front-six in the 4-2-5 scheme only allowed 26 rushing yards, I’m going to throw these guys a B+. The individual stats aren’t eye-popping, by any means, but allowing basically 1.0 yards per carry on 28 attempts is unheard of in college football these days. These guys read the plays to perfection after the DJ Irons injury and didn’t give up any chunks.

One guy I was keeping an eye on was Ben VanSumeren after breaking out in the opener, but he was quiet with just one tackle. He did add a QB hurry and a pass breakup, however. Cal Haladay recovered a fumble and nearly broke it for a touchdown while also picking up three tackles and a sack. Aaron Brule and Ma’a Gaoteote showed flashes and each had two tackles.

This group didn’t need to do a ton but I wish it would have contained Irons better early on.

Home/Spartans Football