Michigan State is 1-0. That’s something that not every team in the state of Michigan can confidently say after playing a MAC team in Week 1, but the Spartans handled their business.
Now Michigan State gets to face another MAC opponent with former Spartan Noah Kim and Eastern Michigan coming to town on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are 1-1 after losing to San Jose State and all the good vibes built up after a season-opening win over Sacramento State is seemingly gone.
Vibes are still high for Michigan State, though.
They’d be even higher if these three guys who impressed in the opener got more run vs. EMU.
Anelu Lafaele, EDGE
Anelu Lafaele was one of the top-graded Spartans from the opener and he played just 18 snaps on defense. It makes sense because he’s a situational edge rusher, but at what point does he just get a starter’s sampling of snaps because of how effective he is?
Lafaele looked like the best player on the defensive line and yet he didn’t record any stats. He was constantly getting into the backfield and forcing rushed throws.
More of this would be lovely moving forward.
Marvis Parrish, RB
Let me preface this by saying that all the running backs looked solid in the opener despite the modest numbers. All the backs who played stepped up in pass protection and all seemed to fall forward when they were carrying the ball. Picking up an extra yard or two just by being aggressive and falling forward is a coach’s dream.
Marvis Parrish, however, didn’t get enough run.
The sophomore running back transfer from Western Kentucky was second in rushing yards (28) and yet received the third-most carries. He shouldn’t be playing behind Jaziun Patterson, but he did. He saw just 16 snaps compared to Patterson’s 25 and Cam Edwards’ 51. The latter is the clear RB1, but Parrish stood out as the RB2 and should be treated as such.
The way Parrish runs is the perfect complement to Edwards. He’s not afraid of contact and he just gets downhill.
Bryson Williams, WR
I’m going to push all the Bryson Williams propaganda until the redshirt freshman wide receiver gets the snap count that I believe he deserves. He’s one of my picks to be a breakout candidate this season and he was only targeted once or twice against Toledo.
Granted, it seems like KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, and Charles Taplin are all slotted ahead of him on the receiver pecking order, but he’s talented enough to make a move since no one stood out from that group.
Rodney Bullard Jr. and Chrishon McCray are the clear top two receivers on the team but no one stood out as the No. 3 guy, and that may have to be Williams just based solely on talent.
Honorable Mention: Carson Gulker, TE
After all the highlights we saw of Carson Gulker making plays during fall camp, all he did was play a single snap in his Michigan State debut? The coaching staff clearly saw a reason to play him just one snap, but he could be a weapon that the offense truly needs.
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