Michigan State is coming off of a 38-7 loss to Ohio State. Despite the blowout loss, there were some positives to take away from the game. Austen Flores of Spartans Illustrated gives out his "game ball" from the Ohio State game, lists players to watch ahead of MSU's matchup with Oregon on Friday night and highlights a senior.
Game ball from Week Five: linebacker Jordan Turner
Despite what showed on the final scoreboard Saturday night, the Spartans put up a fight against Ohio State for the first time in maybe a decade. Unfortunately, the untimely, recurring mistakes that thwarted their efforts in critical moments Saturday night are the same that have held the team back too often in 2024. What isn’t holding Michigan State back has been the play of Turner, who leads the Spartans with 31 tackles, and his 6.5 tackles for loss this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten. He is also tied for team lead in sacks on the season with three.
Turner finished with a team-high nine tackles versus OSU and his night was highlighted by a 36-yard interception return in the second quarter that set up the only score of the night for the Spartans. He was also an elbow down away from forcing another fumble later that quarter, but the play was overturned after official review.
The redshirt senior transfer from Wisconsin has been an embodiment on the field of the shift MSU fans have seen in the entire defensive unit under head coach Jonathan Smith and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi. He's also been the most consistent performer on this team in a young season riddled with inconsistency. As long as he’s on the field, MSU has an anchor in the middle who can be a force, and we saw it against the Spartans' toughest competition to date in the Buckeyes.
Two players to watch versus Oregon
Tight end Jack Velling - Velling finally broke out of his shell versus Boston College in Week Four, with 77 receiving yards on six receptions — by far his most productive game as a Spartan so far. Even in a down performance against Ohio State — one catch for 26 yards and a fumble — expect the junior transfer to bounce back this week against Oregon. Velling, center Tanner Miller and quarterback Aidan Chiles all have experience traveling to Eugene and seeing the hostile environment there, and you can expect Chiles to look for his safety blanket in Velling throughout the game.
Cornerback Charles Brantley - Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been one of the most efficient passers in the country this season for Oregon and likely he’ll be throwing the ball a ton versus MSU’s solid run defense. Limiting big plays in the passing game is a must for the Spartans to pull out an upset.
Brantley has been the Spartans' highest graded defensive player in coverage this season, according to Pro Football Focus (78.0). He also has a flair for the dramatic, leading the team with two interceptions this season, including a 100-yard return for a touchdown versus Prairie View A&M, which was the longest interception return in MSU football program history.
Gabriel has been incredibly accurate this season, but he did throw a pick-six last week versus UCLA.
Senior spotlight - Cal Haladay
The redshirt senior has been one of the biggest constants for a program that’s been through several changes since his freshman year in 2020. Not the flashiest of players in any sense, Haladay has been the heartbeat in the middle of the Spartans’ defense for several seasons now.
As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Haladay tied for the team lead with 96 tackles and was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season, including a 78-yard return versus Pittsburgh in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, where he was named Defensive MVP of the game.
Haladay has led the team in tackles over the last two seasons and already has some nice milestones to his name that he'll look to add to before the end of this year. He ranks 18th in MSU history with 307 tackles and his three career defensive touchdowns are tied for the most in school history.
He has made plenty of plays this season, but has also has had is struggles. Haladay has never been an elite athlete, which has led to issues in pass coverage. With that said, he remains one of the leaders of the Spartan defense and will continue to play a large role. With the emergence of Turner, whom Haladay plays next to, Haladay is not leading the team in tackles through five games, but he is second on the team in total tackles (24). Haladay also has 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack this season. I sense there's still some magic left in the tank before it's said and done for Haladay as a Spartan.
Fun fact: Cal’s father, Greg, was an All-American heavyweight wrestler for Penn State from 1986-1990.
