Michigan State Spring Scrimmage Viewing Guide & Depth Chart Projections: Defense

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s defense has been somewhat of a laughing stock for the past two seasons, statistically, but the Spartans believe they are poised for a bounce back on that side of the ball in 2024.

“We had talent in here before,” said rising sophomore linebacker and blossoming leader Jordan Hall. “So don’t get it confused. We were just in a bad situation last year. But we had talent last year, and the people who stayed are going to be great contributors. We brought in new pieces as well with freshmen and transfers. So we feel we have a really good team coming up this year.”

Coaches have been pleasantly surprised with the talent and ability in the front seven this spring, although some of that optimism might be curtailed a bit with two-time honorable mention All-Big Ten defensive tackle Simeon Barrow entering the transfer portal earlier this week.

The coaches had been impressed by Barrow’s leadership through the winter, but he opted to hit the portal for a third time in the past 12 months, this time apparently for good.

Barrow hadn’t been in pads all spring. He participated in pre-practice warm-ups and stretching, but sat out all contact drills presumably for health-related reasons. So the favorable impressions that the defense has made in the front seven this spring were done without Barrow. Still, the Spartans would have preferred to keep him. Instead, Michigan State has been busy scouting and offering defensive tackles in the transfer portal since Barrow’s departure.

Below is SpartanMag’s projected depth chart on defense, and things to look for at each position (the following is not an official depth chart):

RUSH DE

9 Jalen Thompson (6-3, 260, Soph., Detroit)

2 Khris Bogle (6-4, 244, 6-Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

22 Bai Jobe (6-4, 252, Soph., Norman, Okla.)

32 James Schott (6-4, 228, R-Soph., Greenwood, Ind.)

11 Ken Talley (6-3, 254, R-Soph., Philadelphia)

99 Quindarius Dunnigan (6-4, 272, 6-Sr., Chattanooga, Tenn.)

98 Avery Dunn (6-4, 255, R-Sr., Shaker Heights, Ohio)

50 Andrew DePaepe (6-5, 254, R-Fr., Bettendorf, Iowa)

97 Maverick Hansen (6-4, 315, 6-Sr., Farmington Hills, Mich.)

75 Ben Nelson (6-7, 307, R-Soph., Holland, Mich.)

4 Derrick Harmon (6-5, 320, R-Jr., Detroit)

94 D’Quan Douse (6-2, 284, 6-Sr., Savannah, Ga.)

(NA: Alex VanSumeren 6-3, 292, Bay City, Mich.)

WILL LB

5 Jordan Hall (6-3, 235, Soph., Fredericksburg, Va.)

26 Wayne Matthews (6-2, 227, Jr., Largo, Md.)

23 Darius Snow (6-1, 239, R-Jr., Frisco, Texas)

33 Aaron Alexander (6-1, 231, R-Soph., Belleville, Mich.)

SAM LB

27 Cal Haladay (6-1, 235, R-Sr., Elysburg, Pa.)

7 Jordan Turner (6-1, 235, R-Sr., Farmington, Mich.)

45 Brady Pretzlaf (6-3, 227, Gaylord, Mich.)

15 Angelo Grose (5-10, 189, R-Sr., Mansfield, Ohio)

34 Khalil Majeed (5-11, 203, R-Jr., Moorestown, NJ)

25 Chance Rucker (6-1, 185, Soph., Houston)

12 Justin Denson (6-2, 196, Fr., Providence, R.I.)

37 Khary Crump (6-0, 173, R-Sr., Los Angeles)

28 Philipp Davis (6-1, 190, Lake Wales, Fla.)

0 Charles Brantley (6-0, 170, R-Jr., Sarasota, Fla.)

6 Ade Willie (6-1, 190, Jr., Baltimore, Md.)

1 Jaden Mangham (6-2, 191, Jr., Beverly Hills, Mich.)

39 Caleb Gash (6-0, 188, R-Fr., South Lyon, Mich.)

14 Sean Brown (6-3, 196, Los Angeles)

(NA: Armorion Smith 6-1, 212, R-Jr., Detroit)

43 Malik Spencer (6-1, 206, Jr., Buford, Ga.)

21 Dillon Tatum (5-11, 201, Jr., Farmington Hills, Mich.)

18 Malcolm Jones (6-1, 204, R-Soph., Leesburg, Ga.)

16 Jaylen Thompson (6-1, 187, Fr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

W2W4 DEFENSIVE LINE

Defensive linemen Quindarius Dunnigan (99) and Maverick Hansen (97) (Photo by Dane Robison for SpartanMag.com).

First of all, Jalen Thompson and Khris Bogle might be Michigan State’s best defensive ends right now. They are both repping primarily at the rush (stand-up) defensive end position, but it wouldn’t be a shock if they were both on the field with the first-string on Saturday, with one of them down in a three-point stance.

Thompson was a pleasant surprise last year, emerging as an emergency starter for the final four games of the season, and doing quite well for a true freshman. He has strengthened his frame and continued to progress this spring. He has star quality.

Bogle is entering his third year in the program after transferring as a pass rush hopeful in 2022. He has yet to make the impact that he and others expected, but he has one more year to make something happen, and it could come about as a rush end in the new Joe Rossi system. He has had a productive spring and is an interesting x-factor for the season.

Quindarius Dunnigan was second-team All-Conference USA at Middle Tennessee State last year. Michigan State needs a strong year out of him. We haven’t heard much about Dunnigan this spring. A loud Spring Showcase scrimmage would be welcomed. He’s an important one to keep an eye on, Saturday.

Bai Jobe has better burst than any defensive lineman in the program, but he’s still trying to tailor that into tangible playmaking ability. He worked hard to add good weight over the winter. He could use a strong scrimmage on Saturday.

Ken Talley is one of the most improved players on defense, according to teammates. He made loud plays in the first scrimmage, including a hard tackle which produced a fumble. He saw action in an emergency role as a defensive tackle last year, but is back at his natural d-end position this spring. The former four-star recruit and Penn State transfer began last year as a third-stringer but is starting to gain some serious traction.

With Barrow gone, Michigan State is back to severe depth problems at defensive tackle. Aside from QB Aidan Chiles, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon might be the most valuable player on the roster. With SEC schools coming after Big Ten defensive tackles this spring whether they are in the portal or not, Michigan State is going to need to continue to play portal defense in regard to Harmon.

Georgia Tech transfer D’Quan Douse is a solid, able-bodied addition, but we’re still gauging what kind of contributor he is going to be. Michigan State is in the portal looking for two more like him.

Walk-on Jaxson Wilson (6-5, 257, R-Fr., Hartland, Mich.) is showing some promise but is a few dozen pounds away from becoming table-ready at DT in the Big Ten.

Alex VanSumeren missed 2023 after sustaining a lower body injury in August camp. He played four games as a true freshman in 2022 before redshirting. He’s the lone defensive tackle recruit over Tucker’s final two recruiting classes. Tucker signed only two high school defensive tackles in three recruiting classes – VanSumeren and Harmon. That’s a big reason for the defensive tackle shortage. Barrow and Maverick Hansen were signed by Mark Dantonio.

Michigan State knows what Hansen can do. The Spartans would probably be wise to limit his reps in Saturday’s scrimmage. The shortage of defensive tackles is a primary reason why Michigan State doesn’t have the depth to field two teams for a real spring game.

W2W4 LINEBACKERS

The two linebacker positions – Sam and Will – are somewhat interchangeable. It’s SpartanMag’s understanding that all of the inside ‘backers are learning both positions. It’s unclear who is going to handling most of the communication from the inside linebacker position; Cal Haladay and Jordan Hall are capable of doing it.

Haladay has shed some weight and is a bit quicker than last year. He’s eager to play downhill in the new one-gapping sytem. He could look a bit different to Spartan fans in 2024.

Darius Snow says he is back to 90 percent of what he was prior to a catastrophic lower body injury which took place on opening night in 2022. Snow returned to the field last year, but was noticeably slower. He’s eager to continue regaining his speed and horsepower for the fall of 2024 but isn’t likely to be a starter.

Snow says he’s excited about the depth and capabilities of the Michigan State linebackers. There is an expectation that Michigan State will roll two or more players at all of the linebacker positions. Hall, Snow, Haladay, Wisconsin transfer Jordan Turner and Old Dominion transfer Wayne Matthews are expected to be regulars in the playing group. They’re all capable.

Matthews put up big numbers at Old Dominion last year. Insiders say he has made an impact this spring, as has Turner, a stocky thumper.

Mid-year freshman enrollee Brady Pretzlaf, of Gaylord, Mich., is just getting started.

W2W4 DEFENSIVE BACKS

In moving Dillon Tatum from cornerback to safety, Michigan State now has three quality, capable safeties in Tatum, Malik Spencer and Jaden Mangham. Is it possible that one of them will come off the bench in the fall? Maybe not. The defensive backfield is designed for all three players to be proficient at the two safety positions plus the nickel back position.

Although Angelo Grose has been repping as the first-string nickel back, it’s possible that Tatum could swing down to that position as a starter.

But there is strong competition at those positions while the coaches continue to take inventory on what they have in the defensive backfield. Defensive backs coach Blue Adams described all three safety candidates – Mangham, Spencer and Tatum – as “big-time players.”

Armorion Smith showed some promise as a transfer from Cincinnati early last season, but was soon lost for the year to an injury. SpartanMag hasn’t seen him on the field this spring. He’s an intriguing x-factor in a suddenly-crowded safety picture.

Elsewhere at safety, don’t be surprised if walk-on Caleb Gash (6-0, 188, R-Fr., South Lyon, Mich.) makes some noise in a spring game environment. SpartanMag has noticed him repping with the twos a bit this spring.

At cornerback, Chance Rucker and Charles Brantley have been getting most of the first-string reps. Cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin likes Rucker’s speed and football IQ. He likes Brantley’s confidence, but needs the redshirt-junior to stay healthy for a change.

Ade Willie has been an interesting riser this spring, at cornerback. He is not out of the picture as a potential starter. True freshman Justin Denson has been getting a look, sometimes with the twos. Meanwhile, Eddie Pleasant and Marqui Lowery hit the portal this week. It’s possible another DB or two could follow.

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