Michigan State football: Ben VanSumeren got first NFL start vs. Giants

Former Michigan State football star defender Ben VanSumeren got his first NFL start on Monday night against the Giants.

Former Michigan State football standout linebacker Ben VanSumeren has been making a name for himself in the NFL this season. He hasn’t had the smoothest path to success in the NFL, but he seems to finally be getting his shot as he made his first start in the league on Monday night.

Ben VanSumeren got his first NFL start

Before the Eagles’ game on Christmas, VanSumeren had appeared in two games so far this season. In those games, he only accumulated two tackles with one solo. Monday night, however, in his first career start, he had a much better game.

In Philadelphia’s 33-25 win over the New York Giants, VanSumeren totaled a career-high six tackles with two solos. Those six were tied for second-most on the Eagles team in the game. For as slow of a start to his career as Ben has had, I’m glad he was able to make a major impact.

Ben’s football journey

Ben began his college career at Michigan before transferring to Michigan State. Can’t say I’ve seen that college path very often. He spent three years in Ann Arbor before making the move north to East Lansing. During his college career, he totaled 100 tackles, two sacks, and two pass breakups. Weirdly enough, he also played a little offense for Michigan (before transferring to MSU), too, where he ran the ball nine times for 20 yards and one touchdown.

VanSumeren went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. Soon after the draft, he was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent. This so far is a normal path for many NFL players, but he unfortunately did not stick in the league right away. The Eagles originally cut VanSumeren, but later brought him back on the team for some of their preseason games. VanSumeren took full advantage of this opportunity.

In the three preseason games he appeared in, he totaled 26 total tackles, including an impressive 17 in their preseason finale. This, however, wasn’t good enough to earn him a roster spot to start the season. The Eagles did sign him to their practice squad which is where he has been for the season before getting called up to the main roster a few weeks ago.

Ben’s next game with Philadelphia is against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 31.