The bye week is officially here, and while it's boring to have a bye this early in the season, it'll hopefully better prepare Michigan State football for what lies ahead.
The Spartans are off to a 3-1 start to the season, but the team has looked shaky at multiple positions including the secondary, the defensive line, and the offensive line. It's been a rough go for the defense as a whole, and everyone not named Jordan Hall or Alex VanSumeren have been fairly torched thus far this season.
Heck, even Nikai Martinez got beat deep on a poor read against USC, and he's supposed to be the Spartans' best defender in the defensive backfield.
So with the bye coming at the right time after a tough loss, which position groups need to be addressed with some changes?
Cornerback
I have liked what I've seen from Arizona State transfer Joshua Eaton in spurts, but he needs more consistency. Still, I like him as a starter, but I'd also like to see guys like Chance Rucker or true freshman Aydan West get more opportunities. The cornerbacks are getting torched regularly, and it feels like good things happen when the two younger guys are in the game.
Defensive line
While I like the potential of the group of starters, I think the group needs a shake-up because the pass rush has been non-existent. Ben Roberts and Alex VanSumeren are solid in the middle, and I think both should keep their jobs, but adding more Derrick Simmons, Grady Kelly, and even a young guy like Kekai Burnett would give this group a fresh look.
On the edge, I'd like to see Anelu Lafaele get a ton more run. I get that he's a third-down edge rusher, but I'd like to see what he can do out there in more of a full-time role.
Kick returner
This may seem like a lame pick, but the kick return game hasn't had a pulse since Alante Brown went down with an injury before the Youngstown State game.
Elijah Tau-Tolliver has been back returning kicks along with Chrishon McCray. I like the latter returning kicks, but Tau-Tolliver just doesn't have the juice in the return game (at least so far), with just 25 total yards on two returns. That sets up really poor field position for the Spartans, and this is something that was a strength to start the year with Brown.
The staff talked a lot about Omari Kelly and Braylon Collier in the return game in the preseason, so I wouldn't be too upset with utilizing one of those two in place of Tau-Tolliver.
Offensive line
Again, this is an area in which I like the starters, but some have been struggling lately, and Jonathan Smith might decide to address that with some changes during the bye week.
Against USC, Kristian Phillips was the lowest-graded offensive player (I still think he's good enough, he just had a bad game), Caleb Carter was right there with a low PFF grade along with Conner Moore. This group has been decent this season, but that USC game showed us a lot.
It might be time for Smith to try and give younger guys like Rustin Young more of a shot.