Michigan State football: Defensive Snap Counts at Indiana Disaster Revealed

Michigan State football traveled to Bloomington to face the No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. While the Spartans lost, 38-13, it was better than what most outlets had predicted. That said, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was practically practicing against air when playing the Spartan defense.

How did the snaps break down on another disastrous day for the defense? As always, starters are italicized. Snap percentages are out of the 58 defensive snaps this week. For last week’s breakdown against UCLA, please click here.

Defensive Line

Alex VanSumeren: (41) 71%

Ben Roberts: (29) 50%

Jalen Satchell: (29) 50%

Jalen Thompson: (24) 41%

Quindarius Dunnigan: (23) 40%

Ru’Quan Buckley: (14) 24%

Kekai Burnett: (12) 21%

The defensive line did not get much pressure on Mendoza, nor did they force many stops or tackles for loss. Ben Roberts was back in the lineup, although he did go down with an injury during the game before returning. Grady Kelly was out with injury this week after being listed as questionable.

Kekai Burnett rotated in late after his start last week, as did Ru’Quan Buckley. Not many star plays from the unit against a great Hoosier offense.

EDGE Rushers

David Santiago: (21) 36%

Isaac Smith: (20) 34.5%

Cam Williams: (18) 31%

Tyler Gillison: (1) 2%

If the defensive line group did not have much to remember, the edge group was outright forgettable against Indiana. Cam Williams generated one pressure, a hurry, on Fernando Mendoza, and that was the extent of the EDGE room’s contributions.

Linebackers

Wayne Matthews III: (57) 98%

Jordan Hall: (47) 81%

Aisea Moa: (11) 19%

Darius Snow: (5) 9%

Semaj Bridgeman: (3) 5%

With Marcellius Pulliam out for the third straight game, rotation remained down in the linebacker room. Hall was only out once the game got out of hand, which is when Moa rotated in.

After showing flashes in the first five games, Moa has been reduced to playing mop up duty. Snow and Bridgeman each barely played with IU’s offense frequently calling three-receiver formations.

Cornerbacks

Malcolm Bell: (58) 100%

Dontavius Nash: (46) 79%

Joshua Eaton: (39) 67%

Aydan West: (22) 38%

Chance Rucker: (2) 3%

Outside of Malcolm Bell, there is not much good that came from the corner room on Saturday. Joshua Eaton tried to rotate out in an inexcusable personnel flaw during the second half, and him being well out of position forced Malik Spencer out of position, and Eaton missed a tackle as Indiana rushed for a 29-yard score.

West was picked on by Mendoza, as was Nash. West has the excuse of being a freshman playing in his third game with extended action. Nash had a team-worst 36.4 coverage grade on PFF.

Chance Rucker going missing from the depth chart the last three games is another defensive back personnel choice that has me scratching my head. There is not much success to counter my point about playing him.

Safeties

Armorion Smith: (47) 79%

Malik Spencer: (35) 60%

Aveon Grose: (23) 40%

Devynn Cromwell: (11) 19%

The Spartans rotated Aveon Grose in as Spencer’s primary backup today, which is a new development. Spencer left with an undisclosed injury in the second half. Outside of a nice pass breakup by Spencer, the safety room did not have a great day.

Cromwell and Smith each got burnt on multiple occasions. To make matters worse, the only backups at safety beyond Grose and Cromwell were true freshman, as the Spartans did not even bring Justin Denson Jr. on their travel roster. He was also not listed on the injury report.

It is safe to say, there are a few questions about personnel usage. Regardless, the Michigan State football will be taking their next snaps against their bitter in-state rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.