ANALYSIS: Terry Roberts is a constructive addition to an increasingly competitive Michigan State secondary
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s newest addition to the roster, cornerback Terry Roberts, will provide experience and a measure of depth to a defensive backfield in transition.
Roberts spent five years at Iowa before entering the portal and enrolling at Miami in January. He re-entered the portal in late May, and came to East Lansing late last week. News of his arrival broke on Thursday.
Injuries caused his 2021 and 2022 seasons to come to an end prematurely. He started one game in 2021 before being lost to injury, and started three last year before becoming sidelined. But he will immediately rank No. 2 on the Spartan roster in career Big Ten starts with four, trailing only Charles Brantley.
“I’ve been here for a few days,” Roberts said on Thursday night. “Really, (I see) just an opportunity to be a spark to the program, trying to be a play-maker and help the team win and just help bring this team back to a winning season.”
Roberts won Iowa’s Team Hustle Award as a special teams demon in 2021. He plans to bring team-oriented energy to the Spartans.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
Roberts has joined summer workouts with the team. He participated in his second workout as a Spartan on Thursday.
He said safeties coach Harlon Barnett and head coach Mel Tucker were the primary contacts in bringing him to Michigan State.
“We were connected back in December when I first hit the portal and it was all love from there,” Roberts said. “They showed a lot of interest in me at that time and recently with the same energy and good vibes. So I like that about them.”
THE CORNERBACKS PICTURE
Michigan State junior Charles Brantley (6-0, 170, Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) started 11 games for the Spartans last year and is projected to be a starter in 2023.
Marqui Lowery (6-0, 180, R-Jr., Charlotte, N.C.) started against Ohio State and Pitt in 2021, but played only five games last year due to injuries.
Lowery had a good, bounce-back spring and earned compliments from new cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado.
Dillon Tatum (5-11, 200, Soph., West Bloomfield) moved from safety to cornerback midway through last year due to team injuries. He was pressed into starting duty for the regular season finale at Penn State, and performed well.
Caleb Coley (6-0, 180, R-Fr., Warner Robins, Ga.) is regarded as a rising star at the cornerback position. He saw action on special teams against Akron, Washington and Minnesota last year and was in position to break into the playing group, but an injury stalled his progress and his redshirt year was preserved.
SpartanMag projects Brantley, Lowery and Tatum as the leading candidates to become the two starters at cornerback for the opener against Central Michigan on Sept. 1, with Coley lurking. The addition of Roberts will add competition and depth to the situation. Roberts has extensive experience, but sources tell SpartanMag that his performance at Miami was unspectacular. Michigan State isn’t relying on him to become an ace contributor, but if he’s able to rally this summer, he could help.
Transfer Semar Melvin (6-0, 170, R-Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) enrolled in January after transferring from Wisconsin. He had three pass break-ups and 16 tackles in four seasons as a reserve with the Badgers.
Incoming freshmen Philipp Davis (6-1, 175, Lake Wales, Fla.) and Chance Rucker (6-1, 180, Denton, Texas) will vie for a role. Rucker enrolled in January and participated in spring practice.
“We are going to be young at that position but very talented,” Tucker said of the cornerbacks. “We do have some guys that have transferred in that are going to help us. That is a position where I feel like we will have more depth.”
Brantley entered the transfer portal after spring practice, but soon elected to return to Michigan State.
“I like Chuck,” Tucker said. “I think he made a really good decision to take his name out and come back. Obviously he is still developing as a player. We really like him as a young man. We have put a lot of work into him. We have invested a lot of time in him and he is progressing on and off the field. I’m really happy about the decision he made. I think it was a mature decision and a good choice.”
COMP’S TAKE: There are some things to feel good about at cornerback for Michigan State. Brantley is a good one, and if he is able to add some mass, he could be very good in the second half of his career.
Tatum came to Michigan State as a four-star recruit, but I thought it would take longer for him to develop the physicality and instincts needed in the defensive backfield. He was a terrific offensive player in high school who morphed to the defensive backfield as a high school senior. I like him as a kid and an athlete, but his high school film at safety was not up to a four-star standard, to be diplomatic.
However, he surprised me by looking functional as safety in mop-up time early in the 2022 season. And then when he had to start at cornerback against Penn State in November, he was better than functional. Coaches did a good job developing him in year one, and he has a bright mindset and willingness to learn. His slope of improvement could be steep and positive in 2023.
With Roberts joining the team, and Lowery having enjoyed a good spring, and Coley coming along as a redshirt-freshman, this might give Michigan State the flexibility of moving Tatum back to safety, or cross-training him at both positions. Tatum has a thick, physical build that might be better for the safety position, or even nickel back, as he continues to mature. The Spartans needed his quick feet at cornerback as an emergency last season. Tatum continued to work on his craft at cornerback during the spring, but a continued influx of talent at corner could give Tatum and Michigan State the luxury of maximizing his talents elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I’m hearing good things about Salgado and the impact he is having at the coaching level. Last year, Tucker served double-duty as head coach and cornerbacks coach. Tucker may have recognized that he needed to relinquish positional coaching in order to fully navigate the head coaching wheel.
With Ameer Speed and Ronald Williams having moved on, without establishing consistency after transferring in from Georgia and Alabama, and Salgado moving in as the new cornerbacks coach, there is an opportunity – with Brantley, Lowery, Tatum and maybe Roberts leading the way – for Michigan State to enjoy a constructive reset at the cornerback position in 2023.
RAMIFICATIONS AT SAFETY
At safety, true sophomores Malik Spencer and Jaden Mangham are the present and future of the position for the Spartans. However, Michigan State has major question marks, and opportunity, at second-string safety.
The Spartans went into the portal and nabbed Armorion Smith from Cincinnati. Smith had 20 tackles last year as a second-string redshirt-freshman with the Bearcats. He was a rotational member of the playing group.
Spencer, Mangham and Smith give the Spartans an intriguing trio at safety for the next three seasons, with Tatum in the picture if needed.
Sixth-year senior Harold Joiner (6-4, 220, Birmingham, Ala.), a transfer from Auburn and a former running back, moved to safety last fall and is working to get on the field somehow. Don’t write him off as a possible contributor at safety, although his primary role might be on special teams – and he’s a horse of an athlete who could help in that area. He’s waited a long time to make a consistent contribution, and 2023 could be the year.
Don’t sleep on Malcom Jones (6-1, 200, R-Fr., Leesburg, Ga.). He played three games on special teams last year, and preserved redshirt status and had some noisy moments in the spring scrimmage. He’s part of a talented group of young defensive backs at Michigan State.
The Spartans have some good legs and limbs at safety, with Mangham and Spencer showing the beginnings of fine leadership skills. The question is whether defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and the defensive backs coach get them on the same page to play efficient, winning football.
“We have dipped into the portal (at safety) as well so we are going to be very competitive there,” Tucker said. “We want to make sure we are competitive at each position, offense and defense. Not just depth in bodies but guys that can go into games and play winning football for us. Some of the players in those positions, our fans don’t know about yet but I think throughout camp and as the season starts I think you’ll start to recognize that we have more players than maybe what people think we have.”
Terry Roberts, shown here during a scrimmage as a Miami Hurricane during the spring, had four career starts at Iowa. He’s hoping to provide a spark at Michigan State in his final year of eligibility. (Photo by Neil Gershman)
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