Michigan State football: Defensive snap counts vs UCLA revealed

On Saturday, Michigan State football played UCLA. In the only game the Spartans were favored for the rest of the season, they underperformed. Michigan State football was embarrassed on Homecoming, losing 38-13. The Bruins scored their first rushing touchdown by a player besides quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and it was with former Spartan Jalen Berger.

It was all sorts of embarrassing. Let’s dive into the snap breakdown.

As always, starters will be italicized. Percentages will be based on the 70 defensive snaps on Saturday. For last week’s defensive snap counts, check out this article for the Nebraska breakdown.

Defensive Line

Alex VanSumeren: (50) 71%

Ru’Quan Buckley: (44) 63%

Kekai Burnett: (32) 46%

Grady Kelly: (32) 46%

Quindarius Dunnigan: (23) 33%

Jalen Satchell: (18) 26%

The defensive line was missing three key contributors by kickoff, with Ben Roberts, Anelu Lafaele, and Jalen Thompson all being out for at least the game. Roberts warmed up, but re-emerged in basketball shorts and a jersey.

In their place, Buckley made his first start as a Spartan, and Burnett made his first career start. The rotation numbers were thrown off, as Buckley and VanSumeren ate a majority of the reps in the middle. Kelly, after starting last week, was back to rotating in. Satchell’s reps came late in the contest.

VanSumeren, Dunnigan, and Kelly all contributed a half-sack on Saturday, too. However, the run game for UCLA ran free.

EDGE Rusher

Isaac Smith: (29) 41%

Cam Williams: (27) 38.5%

David Santiago: (25) 38%

Tyler Gillison: (4) 6%

With Lafaele ruled out for the season, the Spartans reduced their rotation down to three in the EDGE room. Williams and Smith put together their best performances of the season, with the former adding a half-sack and Smith contributing a run stuff.

Santiago’s best moment came in a play diagnosis, calling out a fake punt, but not enough people flowed to his callout. Gillison checked in during the final drive, while the game was out of reach.

Linebackers

Jordan Hall: (56) 80%

Wayne Matthews III: (55) 78.5%

Darius Snow: (23) 33%

Aisea Moa: (14) 20%

Semaj Bridgeman: (6) 8.5%

The linebacker room had a rough outing. It was a bad day in coverage, with flat routes and crossers killing Michigan State football. Marcellius Pulliam was out again for the Spartans, hampering the room a bit.

Moa was rarely called upon in a surprise move. Matthews III missed three tackles on the day, which was very uncharacteristic.

Overall, it was a day to forget for the room.

Cornerbacks

Malcolm Bell: (62) 88.5%

Dontavius Nash: (54) 77%

Joshua Eaton: (38) 54%

Aydan West: (34) 48.5%

Chance Rucker: (6) 8.5%

With Willie still out at nickel, Nash got his start as a Spartan. Speaking of first starts, true freshman Aydan West recorded his first career start. Chance Rucker also got the start for the first time since his injury last season, but was pulled after only six snaps.

Eaton and Bell played off the bench this game. None of the players had an outstanding game, but Eaton and West added pass breakups on the day. This was counteracted by Bell missing two tackles.

Much like the linebackers, a day to forget.

Safeties

Malik Spencer: (69) 98.5%

Armorion Smith: (60) 85%

Devynn Cromwell: (8) 11%

Aveon Grose: (1) 1%

Will you look at that? For the first time since week three, the Spartans played a person will 2026 eligibility at safety. Aveon Grose made his first defensive play of the season, which was one final run as UCLA drained the clock.

Spencer was a one-man band, recording a tackle for loss and adding solid contributions in the secondary. However, Nikai Martinez’s absence was felt. Smith had his worst game at MSU, missing tackles and appearing lost on coverage multiple times. The nickel was not the look for him, and safety did not go much better against UCLA.

Cromwell played well in his sparing snaps, and graded out well on PFF.

Overall, Spencer is the star of this group, but the mysterious case of Justin Denson Jr. vanishing looms large. Denson was late out of the locker room in warmups, but was in uniform on Saturday.

The defense travels to Bloomington to see the No. 3 team in the country, the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers just beat Oregon, and it will be a long day for the Spartans unless they can find some magic and belief this week.