James Adams must lead Michigan State football's safeties to another level in 2025

Fall camp is underway, and the Michigan State football team is eager to get after it.

When you look at the roster, you see plenty of new faces, but the safety room has been pretty steady over the past few years with not much turnover. Malik Spencer has played for three straight seasons in East Lansing, a rare thing in the NIL era of college athletics. Nikai Martinez transferred in last year from UCF and played all 12 games for Michigan State. Armorion Smith, Khalil Majeed, Aveion Grose, and Justin Denson are all familiar faces in the depth chart, too.

With the departure of cornerbacks coach Demterice Martin, safeties coach Blue Adams moved over to "secondary coach" and Michigan State brought in James Adams. Now leading the safeties unit after leaving his alma mater, Wake Forest, Adams brings some energy in the recruiting aspect of the job while also having plenty of knowledge about the safety position. His experience as a coach should bode well for the safeties as he's had six all-conference selections under his lead.

Adams also has extraordinary leadership qualities, as he's been an assistant head coach at multiple stops in his career.

In the spring, Blue Adams gave James plenty of praise, bragging about his knowledge of the game and ability to teach, which is no surprise.

The safeties room is probably the most experienced position group on the team this fall. The room is led by Spencer, a senior, who has played 26 games in his first three years at Michigan State. Alongside him is Martinez, who is also a senior, with 39 career games under his belt.

With Adams now leading the charge, his main goal should be to bring two veteran players in Spencer and Martinez, to the next level. Both players have had solid careers, but with a lot of new faces in the cornerback room, the backend needs to be on its game. Adams, who has been known for developing talent during his career, now inherits one of the deepest and most seasoned position groups on the roster. Both safeties have seen it all, with almost 70 combined games between them.

If Adams can get Spencer and Martinez into reliable playmakers instead of just solid players, Michigan State's defense could be a plus unit.

The defensive line also has seen plenty of new faces this offseason, so the pass rush may still have its flaws. As the last line of protection for the defense, it just makes even more sense that the safety unit's development is extremely important.

There’s no question that Michigan State needs its veterans to be leaders on defense. With the offense seemingly being much more improved, the defense needs to carry its weight if Michigan State wants to be more than just a bowl contender and that starts with the safeties. James Adams seems like the right coach to bring out the best in the two veteran starters.

The Spartans ranked middle of the pack in college football last season in pass defense. If the safety unit can take another leap forward this fall, it could pay massive dividends. Adams has plenty of tools to work with and has the capability to make the backend a well-oiled machine. I'm excited to see how the room shakes out this fall.