Michigan State Football: Ken Talley has finally arrived

Michigan State football has a rising star in the form of Ken Talley who showed out in the season opener against FAU.

The majority of the fanbase is in panic mode after the 16-10 Michigan State football win against FAU. I’m not there yet, but the next three games will be very telling. The offense was underwhelming. The defense, particularly the defensive line, exceeded expectations.

One of those key contributors: Ken Talley.

A consensus four-star coming out of high school, Talley signed his NLI with Penn State but ultimately transferred to MSU just before the 2022 season. Although highly-rated, Talley was known to be a bit of a project. Undersized, he had all the intangibles but some things needed fine tuning. Based on Friday’s performance, I’m thinking he had a more productive off-season than we were all expecting.

Although the plan all along was to consistently rotate guys in, Talley was never supposed to take significant snaps. 

On Monday, Jonathan Smith confirmed this.

Smith said redshirt-sophomore Ken Talley was impressive and wasn’t supposed to play a lot of snaps but forced his way onto the field.

— SpartanMag.com (@TheSpartanMag) September 2, 2024

Even with the entire front-seven impressing on Friday, Georgia Tech transfer D’Quan Douse, Khris Bogle, and Talley really stood out to me.

Any player who chooses to stay while having every reason to leave holds a special place in my heart. Plenty of programs would have taken a flier on him. Talley chose to stay in East Lansing and made sure to make the most of his snaps.

Recording two quarterback hurries and credited for 0.5 sacks, Talley played with the explosiveness recorded in his recruiting profile.  

SACK!!!@MSU_Football defense making big plays! 💪 pic.twitter.com/YfsiP4IWBX

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024

I watched this play live (in person) and did not know Talley was ‘built like that’ as the kids say. Simply put, I did not think he possessed that kind of explosiveness.  

Being the college football nut that I am, I went back and checked his high school recruiting profile. 

I was shocked with what I saw: 

Ken Talley recruiting eval 🎯 https://t.co/xDnLJtPbxq pic.twitter.com/gkiZXvGPqk

— MilkManMSU (@MilkManMSU) August 31, 2024

Pretty spot on, right?

The defensive line has been a hot topic in East Lansing ever since head coach Jonathan Smith got to town. Expected starters Derrick Harmon and Simeon Barrow both hit the portal for a new team. Who would take over those starting spots was always a question.

Talley is not going to fill the shoes of Harmon or Barrow. He’s honestly too small to even play their position. But from the edge, Talley could help lessen the blow potentially as early as this year.

Let’s see how Maryland goes. Go Green.