Michigan State Football Looks to EDGE Duo to Fix Pass Rush

As Michigan State football gears up for another season, the position rooms and position battles come center stage. One of the areas that was the microcosm for struggles in the Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith years was the pass rush.

In 2024, the Spartans went six full games without recording a sack. Since Mark Dantonio’s retirement, Michigan State football has only had one player record a season with over six sacks, that being Jacub Panisiuk’s 7.0 in 2021.

Since that 2021 season, the Spartans have Jacoby Windmon’s 5.5 sacks in 2022, most of which came in a two-game stretch, and Aaron Brule’s 5.0 sacks in 2023 as their only five-plus sack marks.

During the two-year Jonathan Smith era, the Spartans regressed further. Last year, Jordan Hall tied for the team lead in sacks. Jordan Hall was sent to rush the passer exactly 53 times last season, or less than one-sixth of the average number of pass attempts per season (370) for an FBS team.

The EDGE room this year brings some high-energy players. The top two, in particular, aim to bring the Spartans back to the win column while boasting individual sack numbers that erase the bad tastes of previous years.

Meet The New Guy, Alias “The Spartan”

The first name, and surefire starter, of the group is “The Spartan,” donning the no. 1 jersey, Kenny Soares Jr.

Soares is a former Pat Fitzgerald recruit, signing and enrolling with the Northwestern Wildcats prior to Fitzgerald’s ousting in 2023.  He transferred to NC State, where he moved to a linebacker role as injuries plagued the Wolf Pack. In limited pass rush time, Soares showed pop, recording 2.5 sacks during the 2025 season. His abilities, along with the pre-existing relationship with Fitzgerald, made the senior one of the first calls as the transfer portal window opened.

The head coach recommended Soares, but left it up to Joe Rossi and the defensive staff to make decisions on him.

“Coach (Fitzgerald) came to us and said, when he was in the portal, he was like, ‘hey, I coached this guy.’ But he was like, ‘here is what I know, evaluate him,’ because he wanted us to get an evaluation of him,” Rossi said. “And I’ll be honest, it was a projection, because at NC State, he went there to play edge, and they had injuries, so they moved him to off the ball.”

“So when we looked at him, we said we felt like he was best on the edge. He had the traits, he just needed to be developed a bit and coached in rushing the passer. We got on the phone with him and we really, really liked him a lot in terms of personalities, attitude, just his intelligence, so it all kind of came together.”

The staff had their meeting and came back to Coach Fitzgerald with a resounding ‘yes.’

“We came back to coach and was like, ‘hey, we really like him,’ Rossi said. “He was like ‘cool, I like him too.’”

One of the things that stands out to the staff is Soares’s competitive spirit. Even during pickup basketball games, Rossi said that Soares treated it like the NBA Finals. Corn Hole is not a relaxing hobby either, with Soares treating it like he was on ‘ESPN Ocho.’

That led to fellow senior Chuck Brantley telling Rossi that Soares is the most competitive dude the corner has ever seen. Coach Rossi admitted he concurred.

This, among many other reasons, is why Soares will be donning the No. 1 this year.

“This guy competes, and he’s always going a thousand miles an hour. He’s a good person, and he’s a leader for it, so it was an honor, well deserved,” Rossi stated.

Pass rush boils down to being relentless and not giving up, and it is obvious that Soares is a high-motor player. During the Spring Game, Soares could have had a multi-sack game if allowed to go full boar at the quarterbacks.

There are times where the staff has to rein him in, which is what is needed for a pass rush group that struggled with ‘juice’ for the entire Jonathan Smith tenure.

The Returner, The Flash

Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows

At points in 2025, there was hope of that ‘juice’ coming back in the EDGE room. That mostly revolved around Anelu Lafaele, a former Wisconsin transfer. In his first collegiate snap against Western Michigan, the Hawaiian came screaming off the edge for a forced fumble strip sack.

Similarly, against Boston College, Lafaele recorded a tackle that was nearly a sack before the quarterback fell across the line of scrimmage. However, that flash was gone when a lower body injury against Nebraska ended the pass rusher’s season seven games short and after only two sacks.

The third-year player has attacked his rehab and is fully back without limits in summer camp, as Rossi revealed. Lafaele, much like Soares, is a “pull back” player, with the staff holding the pass rushers in from terrorizing their own offensive line too much.

“That’s another guy where, like, you got to put a rope around him to hold the guy back,” Rossi said fondly. “He’s been great, haven’t had a worry, he’s like a thousand miles an hour, okay? Sometimes we have to calm him down.”

“He’s looking really good rushing the passer right now in one-on-ones,” Rossi revealed. “I thought he had some really good rushes in practice. I’m excited to have him back.”

Kenny Soares sees an expanded role for Lafaele, too. While the younger rusher has finesse and speed, there has been development in his other areas with power.

“He’s a dog, honestly. We all knew he was a pass rush guy, but I feel like there’s more to him. He’s getting into his role, obviously, of just being that physical guy that’s just able to be an every down player and we’re growing every single day as a room,” Soares said. “I feel like we got a lot of guys ready to be able to step on the field at any point. So him growing as a player is very important for our defense.”

Time will tell for the Spartans. This year, the hope is to return to the defensive dominance that was showcased in the Mark Dantonio era. Michigan State football is now under three weeks from kicking off under the lights against Toledo.