Michigan State football: PFF ranks top and bottom 5 defenders from opener

Pro Football Focus ranks the top and bottom five Michigan State football defenders from the season-opening win.

Michigan State football opened its 2025 season with a championship performance on defense, refusing to surrender a single point to the Western Michigan Broncos.

Following some fluctuating grades during the last few days, it is safe to think that everything is finalized from the Spartans’ home opener, a 23-6 final score. Fair warning, the Spartans played 30 defenders on Friday, so if you do not see your favorite player on here, that is why.

For a full usage breakdown in terms of snaps per position room, click here for defense and here for the offense.

Top 5 Michigan State football defenders, via PFF

• Grady Kelly, DL: 92.4 (27 snaps, 47% on field percentage)
• Jordan Hall, LB: 81.5 (55 snaps, 96.5%)
• Aisea Moa, LB: 78.1 (17 snaps, 30%)
• Quindarius Dunnigan, DL: 77.3 (27 snaps, 47%)
• Wayne Matthews III, LB: 75.5 (52 snaps, 91%)

The big shock here is Grady Kelly knocking it out of the park during his debut. There were rumors that the Florida State transfer had dominated the scrimmage, and that was more than just a rumor. Kelly and Dunnigan paved the way for the defensive line, and Alex VanSumeren ranked sixth among defensive PFF grades, too.

Jordan Hall and Wayne Matthews III played the most snaps on Friday, by far, among defenders. That did not phase either, with both linebackers putting up extremely strong performances. Hall was all over the field, and Matthews III covered any spot where Hall was not. The junior (Hall) got a sack, and the senior (Matthews III) recorded his first collegiate interception.

The biggest question mark after Friday’s game was the edge rusher room and the secondary, and fittingly, neither made the PFF list for top five. Moa was the closest to an edge rusher, but, as of this writing, he is a linebacker on the team roster. Chance Rucker got the closest to making the list for players in the secondary, ranking seventh on the defense.

Bottom 5 Michigan State football defenders, via PFF

• Derrick Simmons, DL: 55.7 (15 snaps, 26% on field percentage)
• Devynn Cromwell, DB: 54.0 (11 snaps, 19%)
• Justin Denson Jr., DB: 53.6 (12 snaps, 21%)
• Armorion Smith, DB: 51.7 (41 snaps, 72%)
• Jeremiah Hughes, DB: 51.6 (10 snaps, 17.5%)

This list, if you cannot tell, was very defensive back heavy. While that is not a surprise, with the amount of defensive backs the Spartans trotted out, the names on the list are a surprise compared to what I saw in the press box.

Simmons, the lone player not in the secondary, was making his collegiate debut after a jump from Division 5 Michigan high school ball. He is a player with a ton of talent, but a learning curve was awaiting him. Expect the grades to change for the better as the season goes on.

Cromwell missed a tackle during his 11 snaps on the field, which tanked his PFF grade to put him on this list. That said, the Texas Tech transfer was never targeted during his seven coverage snaps.

Denson Jr. on this list is surprising. His lone target in coverage came during a man coverage blitz, with WMU hitting a hot receiver in the flat for five yards. Additionally, Denson stopped his player’s run after catch after three yards, and is ranked fourth in PFF tackling among his teammates.

Hughes and Smith each had high motor effort plays during their time on field. Smith played his personal highest number of snaps on defense since playing Maryland in 2023, nearly two full seasons ago. Hughes was targeted twice, only allowing one catch. In 10 snaps, however, that sunk him.

When the entire defense pitches a shoutout, it is really hard to look for improvement, from the outside. Internally, there will be discussions, and PFF will not factor into any decisions. Besides Smith, none of these defenders had many reps to redeem any negative plays that PFF knocked their grades for. The plan entering the game was to rotate many defensive backs, and doing that also helped keep others fresh and injury-free. Full marks all around for health, that we know of.