After every Michigan State football game, I like to sit down and re-watch to see if I missed anything and then hand out team grades, by position. Usually, those grades are handed out the day after the game, but since this was a holiday weekend, I got a little sidetracked.
So without further ado, and some tardiness, here are the position-by-position grades for the Spartans' 23-6 win over Western Michigan to start the season.
We'll start with the quarterbacks.
Quarterback: B-
Aidan Chiles gave himself a C+ for his performance, but I'm going with somewhere around a B- because I don't think he was bad, but he just left a lot to be desired -- and I think it was by Brian Lindgren's design. He was getting the ball out quickly, and he didn't often look downfield, but I think that's more so on play-calling than anything else. Chiles' awareness could use some work, and I'd like to see him use his legs more, but 17-for-23 for 155 yards and a touchdown isn't too shabby.
Running backs: A-
The only reason the running backs don't get an A here is that Elijah Tau-Tolliver didn't quite have a good game, and he's the third back in the room. He had just 17 yards on eight carries and didn't quite catch fire like Makhi Frazier (103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries) and Brandon Tullis (52 yards and a touchdown on seven carries). They were really good overall.
Receivers: B+
This might seem harsh because Omari Kelly was a star right away, but Nick Marsh was relatively held in check with five catches for 32 yards and a nifty touchdown catch. Kelly finished with seven catches for 75 yards. Outside of those two, however, no one really stepped up as the No. 3 guy, even though Chrishon McCray had a 28-yard reception late. Only three receivers catching passes is not ideal, even if the top two were impressive.
Tight ends: C+
I liked what I saw from Michael Masunas on Saturday, catching two passes for 22 yards, and breaking tackles to pick up extra yardage. Jack Velling was non-existent in the pass game, which was disappointing, but it felt like the tight ends did a solid job blocking, and that's all you can really ask for when they're not Chiles' favorite targets in a particular game.
Offensive line: B+
An A was almost given to the offensive line for how it played on Friday evening, but the pass protection wasn't quite up to par with Nadame Tucker essentially living in the backfield. The run blocking was fantastic when anyone not named Tau-Tolliver was in the game, but the pass protection has to get better for this unit to really take another step forward.
Defensive line: A-
The defensive line contributed two sacks to the Spartans' total of four, and really got after the ball-carrier, but it wasn't always their fault that both Western Michigan quarterbacks got the ball out quickly. Still, I would like to see a more effective pass rush, but they were fantastic against the run, allowing just 29 yards on 24 carries, and picking up four combined tackles for loss (out of 12). Shoutout to guys like Alex VanSumeren, Quindarius Dunnigan, Grady Kelly, and Jalen Thompson.
Linebackers: A
The linebackers stole the show on Friday night, and there's no doubt in my mind that these guys deserved the best grade on the team. Jordan Hall was the Spartans' best defender, totaling eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. Wayne Matthews was right behind him with six tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss, as well as the Spartans' lone interception. Darius Snow and Semaj Bridgeman were also solid, but I'd just like to see more from the latter as well as Brady Pretzlaff.
Secondary: B-
After getting lost on some deep balls a couple of times throughout the game, the secondary responded and actually stepped up when the Broncos were moving the ball. Armorion Smith and Joshua Eaton both got beat deep on long passes, but they didn't allow anything else behind them for the rest of the game. Ade Willie was a pleasant surprise and I saw solid plays from Chance Rucker and Malik Spencer. Plenty of work to do, but this group was above average, allowing just 188 passing yards and zero touchdowns on 16-of-33 completions.
Special teams: A-
The only reason special teams isn't getting an A is because the kicking game is slightly concerning with two kickers injured. Ryan Eckley had to step in and attempt the only field goal the Spartans tried on Friday, missing it pretty badly from over 40 yards out. Other than that miss, the special teams groups were elite with Eckley pinning Western Michigan deep on essentially every punt, and Caleb Gash crushing ball-carriers on kick coverage. Great outing for the special teams units that were down some key members.