Michigan State football: 3 breakout candidates on defense for 2023

We are officially under two months away from Michigan State football and that means we have to adjust our expectations accordingly.

Will the Spartans exceed expectations and win 8-9 games or will they fall short and win 5-6? That’s the question on everyone’s minds heading into the year, but it’s fair to be cautiously optimistic because this team has too much talent to miss a bowl for two straight years.

Some of that talent is going to shine through for the first time in 2023.

In fact, here are my top three defensive breakout candidates for the Spartans.

Jaden Mangham had a solid freshman season with the Spartans, recording 20 total tackles and showing flashes of what he could do at the safety spot.

However, he suffered a scary injury against Ohio State and was never really the same after that. He played in eight games at safety but he still needed time to recover from that injury.

With a whole offseason to get healthy and get his confidence back, I think we’re going to see the former four-star take off as the starting free safety. It just feels like he’s about to break out because of his raw talent and athleticism as well as the fact that he’s been in the system for over a year now and is ready to flourish.

Mangham will be the starter as a true sophomore and he’ll be able to pick up where Xavier Henderson left off in the back-end of the defense.

I could see him putting up big numbers and recording a few timely interceptions.