Michigan State's defense is off to a strong start through two weeks of the 2024 football season, with eight sacks, 17 tackles for loss and three interceptions thus far. The Spartans currently sit at 2-0 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play on the campaign.
MSU defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa is pleased with how his unit has performed so far and is looking forward to seeing what the Spartans accomplish next.
"One of the things that we're most proud of our guys right now is just the amount of effort they play with, the amount of energy they play with and the amount of poise they've been able to play with," Suiaunoa said on Wednesday. "This defense has already been under stress a few times in the first two games, and we felt like they responded really well. Two games into it, we're starting to find out a little bit more about our guys and what they can do. And so, we can help obviously put together a game plan that can highlight some of our skill sets."
While Michigan State has the aforementioned eight sacks through the first two contests of the season, seven of those came in Week One versus Florida Atlantic and only one sack came in Week Two versus Maryland, which was recorded by rush end Khris Bogle.
With MSU returning home this weekend for a Week Three clash with Prairie View A&M out of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the Spartans should have plenty of opportunities to get pressure on the Panthers' quarterbacks.
"We had some opportunities (versus Maryland), definitely, in terms of getting to the quarterback," Suiaunoa explained. "That's the emphasis this week is being able to finish some of those. We had some opportunities to hit the quarterback or get the quarterback down. Little details in what we're trying to get done in terms of our angles in rushing the quarterback, that always helps — a wrong step here, or a false step here, or a bad read here, that could cost us an opportunity to get to the quarterback. So, those are the things that we're going into this week and trying to get better at."
Suiaunoa feels that his guys have been playing as a unit, playing with confidence and paying attention in the film room. These are some reasons Michigan State's defense has gotten off to a quick start in 2024.
"I think whenever you get 11 guys doing what they're supposed to be doing, and doing it at a high level, you're going to have some success on defense, and I think more often than not, our guys have been able to do that," Suiaunoa said. "Our guys have done a great job so far diving into the game plan, diving into our opponents, and then having an idea when they line up — the formation leads and tips that they've been able to get from watching film — our staff's been able to put together a game plan that they can hang on to, and they've been able to execute the first two games.
"That's always a good thing when the guys know what they're supposed to be doing, and they're confident in what they're supposed to be doing, and then they do it full speed, more often than not, we're gonna come out on top."
