East Lansing, Mich. - It hasn’t taken long for Jacoby Windmon to make Michigan State history.
On Monday, the senior transfer defensive end was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He becomes the first player in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
The Big Ten has been awarding positional player of the week honors since 1987.
He is the fifth Michigan State player to win positional Big Ten Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks. The other four: K Paul Edinger in 1998; QB Drew Stanton in 2005; RB Javon Ringer in 2008; K Brett Swenson in 2008.
In a 52-0 victory over Akron on Saturday, Windmon forced three fumbles, the most by a Spartan since Joe Bachie against Maryland in 2018. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss (17 yards) and 1.5 sacks (14 yards), broke up a pass, and recovered a fumble while collecting five stops overall.
Through two games, Windmon leads the FBS in sacks (5.5) and forced fumbles (4) and is tied for first in tackles for loss (6.5). In his Spartan debut against Western Michigan in Week 1, Windmon had four sacks, tied for the second most in school history.
“People are asking me, and I’m telling them it’s real,” Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker said of Windmon’s hot statistical start to the season. “He is versatile. We’re seeing a young man who has shown high level pass rush ability. He has demonstrated that, which is good because it’s hard to find pass rushers. It’s real. He an do that.”
Windmon played defensive end as a sophomore at UNLV, and linebacker at UNLV last year before transferring to Michigan State. He came to Michigan State as a linebacker transfer, but moved to defensive end midway through August camp.
“Coach (Marco) Coleman and BT (pass rush coach Brandon Jordan), they do a really nice job with those guys, with the pass rush and coordinating the pass rush and work on it quite a bit,” Tucker said. “What we saw with Jacoby is a legit deal and all that, but right now it’s all about what we do next. Nothing matters about any of that for us. Whether it’s him or me or anyone else, it’s all about stacking today. It’s all about what we do next.”
Michigan State – Big Ten Player of the Week in Back-to-Back Weeks
Paul Edinger, 1998, Special Teams
Oct. 31 vs. Northwestern
Nov. 7 vs. Ohio State
Drew Stanton, 2005, Offense
Sept. 17 vs. Notre Dame
Sept. 24 vs. Illinois
Javon Ringer, 2008, Offense
Sept. 6 vs. Eastern Michigan
Sept. 13 vs. Florida Atlantic
Sept. 20 vs. Notre Dame
Brett Swenson, 2008, Special Teams
Oct. 4 vs. Iowa
Oct. 11 vs. Northwestern
Jacoby Windmon, 2022, Defense
Sept. 2 vs. Western Michigan
Sept. 10 vs. Akron
COMP’S TAKE:
Despite a great tradition of some powerful defenses since 1987, no Michigan State defense has had a player do what Windmon has done in his first two games as a Spartan. That’s kind of amazing.
Even better, from MSU’s standpoint, is that Windmon is by all accounts the type of personality who can take these accolades in stride. Teammates have raved about his leadership ability since the day he arrived as a transfer last winter. Coaches say he had a team-first and program-first mentality when approached about the idea of moving from linebacker to defensive end just a few weeks before the season ended. With Darius Snow and Xavier Henderson having gone down with injuries, Tucker named Windmon as a player who could and likely would step up even more as a communicator and leader.
If any Spartan newcomer could handle the hype of setting a school record in his first two games as a Michigan State player, it’s probably Windmon.