Michigan State football defensive snap counts at USC revealed

On Saturday night, Michigan State football travelled out to Los Angeles to take on the USC Trojans. The Trojans boasted the top scoring offense in the country, and they were able to outlast a shootout with the Spartans. Michigan State football lost 45-31.

Heading into the game, Jonathan Smith and Joe Rossi implied there would be less rotation, and that came to fruition with the shorter travel roster. How did the snap counts break down on Saturday? The totals are out of 67 plays, and starters are italicized. For last week’s snap counts in a win over Youngstown State, please click here.

Defensive Line

Alex VanSumeren: (47) 70%

Jalen Thompson: (47) 70%

Ben Roberts: (32) 48%

Grady Kelly: (32) 48%

Ru’Quan Buckley: (15) 22%

Quindarius Dunnigan: (13) 19%

Kekai Burnett: (7) 10%

The most noticeable change in this room is that Derrick Simmons did not play on Saturday night. Overall, this unit struggled against the Trojans, failing to record a sack or tackle for loss against the dominant USC offense. Eli Sanders gashed the Spartans early, and Waymond Jordan gashed the Spartans the rest of the time, as USC finished with north of 275 rushing yards.

Kekai Burnett impressed in his handful of snaps, nearly coming down with a TFL and then stuffing a play for a gain of one yard. Dunnigan left the game injured near halftime, and did not return. Jonathan Smith said post-game he did not expect the senior to have a long-term injury.

EDGE Rush

Isaac Smith: (22) 33%

Cam Williams: (19) 28%

Anelu Lafaele: (14) 21%

David Santiago: (13) 19%

Outside of an Anelu Lafaele hard hit, this spot was nearly invisible against the Trojans. The entire room combined for zero pressures on Jayden Maiava’s drop backs and only had 6 tackles between 68 snaps. Lafaele continued to have the most juice in the room, with the seniors of Williams and Smith underwhelming through the first third of the season.

Linebackers

Aisea Moa: (43) 64%

Darius Snow: (40) 60%

Wayne Matthews III: (37) 55%

Marcellius Pulliam: (29) 43%

Jordan Hall: (21) 31%

Semaj Bridgeman: (5) 7.5%

This room played every linebacker that travelled, with the sole exception of special teams ace Sam Edwards. That came from Jordan Hall being ejected from the game for targeting in the first half. Mere minutes later, Wayne Matthews III, the new “green dot” (the person that Rossi communicates defensive play calls to), had to be carted off following a scary collision near the end zone.

Pulliam became the next man up with the green dot, as Brady Pretzlaff was out with injury against the Trojans. Overall, Aisea Moa impressed among this group, but there was still room for improvement. Any time a team scores on 70% of their possessions, there is a lot of concern.

Cornerbacks

Malcolm Bell: (67) 100%

Joshua Eaton: (57) 85%

Ade Willie: (27) 40%

Chance Rucker: (10) 15%

Anthony Pinnace III: (4) 6%

Jeremiah Hughes: (3) 5%

NiJhay Burt: (1) 1.5%

Near the end of the game, the Spartans sent Burt, Pinnace, and Rucker in. Until then, Michigan State football rolled with Bell, Eaton, and Willie for most of the game.

Makai Lemon got his yards and touches, but no Spartan played a “bad” game. Jeremiah Hughes only playing three snaps is surprising, as he was poised to go in multiple possessions before the Spartans rolled with three linebackers instead.

Overall, this group might be the one I give the highest grade to, but the highest grade is still a C- or D+.

Safeties

Malik Spencer: (60) 89.5%

Armorion Smith: (37) 55%

Nikai Martinez: (36) 54%

The Spartans trimmed Justin Denson Jr. and Devynn Cromwell out of their rotation this week, with both travelling but not recording a snap on defense. Spencer and Martinez each had their own struggles on Saturday night, although Martinez missed the entire second half following a collision with Dunnigan during the closing stages of the first half.

Smith stepped up with Martinez out, and punched the ball out to breathe new life into the Spartans in the third quarter. Smith also recorded the top coverage grade for the Spartans, via PFF, this week. That makes it two weeks in a row for the River Rouge product.

While trimming the rotation is smart, there is one concern about the current three-man rotation the Spartans utilize. All three players are out of eligibility following the 2025 season. In fact, Denson is the only Spartan to take a rep at safety this season who will be playing college football in 2026.

The Spartans will have a bye week to assess their rotation and injury status, before returning to action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on October 4^th at 4 p.m. in Lincoln.