Michigan State’s Cal Haladay: ‘I was heavy last year’; expecting improvement
EAST LANSING – It may be a little too soon to refer to Michigan State’s Cal Haladay as a lean, mean tackling machine but if the 5th-year senior linebacker has his way in terms of weight loss and playing faster, the Spartans could benefit from increased production from him and the defense in 2024.
And for a defense that surrendered an average of nearly 30 points and almost 390 yards a game, if a slimmer Haladay can make a difference, then that can only benefit the Spartans’ chances of getting back into bowl contention during the first season of the Jonathan Smith era.
“I was heavy last year,” Haladay said after practice last week. “I was probably 240 (pounds). Before that I was trying to get bigger and I got a little too big. I kind of took getting bigger to an extreme. You’re trying to be durable and I was wanting to be a little bit bigger and it kind of slowed me down a little bit. So being down to 230 to 235, in that range, is a good weight for me. I’m definitely faster now.’’
While it may sound strange to hear Haladay – who led Michigan State in tackles for the third straight season in 2023 with 91 stops, including 5.5 for loss, with one interception and two fumble recoveries – talk about trimming his weight for his final campaign in a Spartan uniform, the Pennsylvania native, who played at 210 as a freshman in 2020, wants to do everything necessary to increase his production in 2024.
Which means Haladay wants to do everything possible to erase the demons of last season’s 4-8 finish.
“I feel pretty normal, pretty fast,” he said. “I’d say probably a little bit faster than last year. Just lighter so I can move a little bit better.’’
Combine that with Michigan State’s new defensive system under first-year coordinator Joe Rossi, and we should see Haladay making quicker reads. Combine his increased speed with a quick-reading, one-gap defensive system, and the 2024 version of No. 27 could be strikingly different.
“We’re a lot a lot more downhill, more aggressive outside and I feel I feel pretty good right now.’’
Haladay is competing with sophomore Jordan Hall, physical Wisconsin transfer Jordan Turner, and versatile Old Dominion transfer Wayne Matthews for two starting jobs at inside linebacker. Haladay might be improved over the past two seasons, but his streak of starts could be snapped due to tight competition. But Haladay is carrying a team mindset in hopes of helping Michigan State get its program turned around, beginning this year.
“Coach Rossi is really big on (being) detail oriented. He talks about how if you play a detailed (game) you can make a lot of plays and I think that’s that’s very true,’’ said Haladay, who had three games with double-digit tackles last season “He showed some film when we were going over defensive schemes and the stuff he showed was guys playing very detailed. It comes up and you can see all over the film.’’
Now, it will be up to Haladay and the rest of Michigan State’s linebackers to put the film study and execution into motion on the field, beginning with the season opener against Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30 at Spartan Stadium (BTN). In the meantime, Haladay brings more on-field experience than any defensive player on the roster. But they’re all new to the Rossi system.
“(It’s) just (about) taking really good notes in the meetings and making sure you take everything he says and just try to soak everything up and just try to be a sponge,” Haladay said. “We’re all learning but (it’s about) trying to pick up on something new every time we go over it.
“(Rossi) coaches us how he wants us to do things, very specifically, so that we can be productive and make plays.’’
Cal Haladay (27) and Wayne Matthews (10) photo by Nick King | USA Today Network.
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