Youth Movement On Michigan State Football Defense Line Provides X-Factor

Michigan State football faced a multitude of questions after the beginning of the Pat Fitzgerald era. In the transfer portal, the Spartans lost major 2025 contributors Jalen Thompson and Alex VanSumeren, replacing them with mostly rotational pieces from their old stops.

Safe to say, there was a belief that the defensive line needed to surprise early. Thus far, the surprise has been pleasant for the Spartans. Eli Coenen has 3.0 sacks, which leads the Spartans and would have led the 2025 Spartans after all 12 games.

Ben Roberts has developed a pass rush as the primary nose guard, recording two pressures against a stout Notre Dame unit last week.

The youth movement, however, is starting to stand out for the Spartans. Trey Lisle III recorded two pressures on Saturday, while Derrick Simmons has started creating push in his second season in East Lansing. Mikeshun Beeler has added his own push, introducing himself to Spartan Stadium with an assisted tackle for loss and pressure against Toledo.

Michigan State Football Needs the Younger Spartans

While Coenen and Roberts eat the majority of the reps in the middle of the defensive line, the rotational pieces are needed to ensure the Spartans stay successful as Big Ten play starts.

Trey Lisle has seen his role increase significantly since the season started. He recorded under 10 snaps on defense until the Notre Dame game, where he saw his role increase to over 20 snaps and 2 pressures recorded.

This impact all came down to a choice made in training camp for the first year Spartan.

Coaches, Teammates Weigh In

“Trey is a great example of a young man that made a decision at a certain point in training camp to change his mindset and his habits,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Joe Rossi made a point about that today (Monday), and so did I in a team meeting. There was kind of a day in training camp, for lack of better terms, kind of hit rock bottom from a standpoint, maybe frustration for him. Debo (Winston DeLattiboudere) and Joe did a great job, Joel Welsh, myself having communication with Trey. Trey made a choice that he wanted to impact this team, right now, and he did it through scout team reps. He did it as a scout player for special teams first.

“All of the sudden, everybody said, ‘that’s what we’re looking for, Trey.’ I think that just spurred his confidence. He’s nowhere close to where he can be, which is exciting, but the future is right now,” Fitzgerald revealed.

On Wednesday, Joe Rossi added his view of Lisle’s decision to make the change.

“We had some good heart-to-heart, honest conversations with him and to his credit, he changed,” Joe Rossi added. “He’s been doing it consistently since the last week and a half, maybe two weeks, of camp. He went in the first few games and did some really good things, and we rewarded him. He’s got a really high ceiling. He’s got to put the work in…he’s changed, and he’s got to keep doing it. If he lets up, he’ll fall back down, but that’s with everybody.”

For teammates, it was not a surprise to see Lisle stand out once he elected to make the choice to impact the team.

“We knew he was going to make that choice, and he did,” senior defensive tackle Ben Roberts said of Lisle. “We knew from that day, he made that choice. He came out a totally different person and then a different player. I think that’s on us, too. We got a rally around him, help him, because it’s football, right? There’s things that go outside, we got to be able to be there for each other. We’re a team, we got to act like one. He’s done a great job, and he’s going to continue to do great things.”

Derrick Simmons has turned heads pushing the pile, and the coaches have been very high on the second year player from Frankenmuth, Mich. Joe Rossi cited Simmons’s effort level in practice as ramping up, and gave him a lofty ceiling.

“He’s going to be very good,” Joe Rossi said of Simmons. “I’ve said that before, I’m going to say it again. He’s going to be a really, really good player. You’re starting to see the sparks and the signs.

“He’s been practicing at a really high level for three, four weeks. Now, that doesn’t always translate immediately to the game. It isn’t like ‘hey, you have one good week of practice and you become an All-Conference player.  But he’s just got to be consistent, which he has been, and what you’ll see is you’re going to see him start to get better and better and better and better. His ceiling, in my opinion, is an All-Big Ten defensive tackle. I’m not afraid to say that about him, that’s how highly I think of him.”

Mikeshun Beeler rounds out the room and the rotation thus far in the young season. The Illinois native has seen his role increase from less than 20 career snaps entering the year to back-to-back-to-back games with over 15 snaps.

“Just like what I said about D. Simms (Derrick Simmons),” Ben Roberts said of Beeler’s practice. “Mikeshun and D. Simms are doing a great job. They come to work every day and then just kind of dipping their head into the playbook. They’re only going to elevate from here, and when they do, watch out for Mikeshun and D. Simms, because it’s gonna be scary once they play. It’s only getting started.”