Following a long bye week, Jonathan Smith returned to the Spartan Stadium Media Center on Monday to discuss Michigan State football. In their last outing, against USC, the Spartans faced adversity. By halftime of the game, MSU was down five starting defenders, alongside their first linebacker substitution.<\/p>\n
In case you missed the second half, or completely slept through it, the Spartans struggled to stop the run both with and without their starters. That said, the lack of starting linebackers allowed juniors Marcellius Pulliam and Aisea Moa to receive major reps, and both ranked among the top three in defensive grades for MSU\u2019s game against USC.<\/p>\n
Moa, in particular, was impressive, ranking highest among all defensive players with a 77.4 grade on the day. He recorded a pair of tackles and quarterback pressures in his 43 snaps.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Smith had high praise for the BYU transfer. He praised Moa\u2019s recent progression, especially in the face of losing Jordan Hall to a questionable targeting call and Wayne Matthews to injury before the USC game hit halftime. Smith went as far as to tease the linebacker getting an expanded role.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s come along well, we did ask him to work inside. He\u2019s gotten some more turns, especially the other night when Jordan (Hall) leaves in the first half, then Wayne (Matthews III) goes down,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe call on Icy (his nickname) to do some plays on third down, and I can see his role continue to expand on the inside back to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith also praised Moa\u2019s ability on special teams. Moa\u2019s 27 special teams snaps currently rank among the top five in the linebacker room for Michigan State football.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like that he\u2019s here. He\u2019s been a contributor on special teams, too,\u201d Smith pointed out. \u201cWe got him on most phases here. He\u2019s what you expect out of your linebacker crew, but he\u2019s probably one of the leader ones on the special teams\u2019 side, and there\u2019s more time at inside backer.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is not the first time the team has praised Moa, either, as Jordan Hall had high praise for his fellow junior when previewing the Boston College matchup earlier in the month.<\/p>\n