Can Michigan State football secondary's 'clean slate' erase last four terrible seasons?

EAST LANSING — The “No-Fly Zone” ethos of Michigan State football’s past secondary units crashed and burned the past few years under Mel Tucker.

Defensive backs went from jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage under Mark Dantonio’s press quarters man defense to walking sometimes 5 to 10 yards backward pre-snap in Tucker and former coordinator Scottie Hazelton’s 4-2-5 scheme that played mostly zone coverage the past four years. Instead of forcing receivers to the sideline, they opted to redirect routes and funnel plays over the middle.

The results were dismal. And that may be putting it lightly.

In 2021, the Spartans were the nation’s worst in pass defense, ceding nearly 325 yards a game. In 2022, they had the fewest interceptions in the Football Bowl Subdivision with just two. Over the past four seasons, MSU’s defense gave up 85 passing touchdowns in 44 games under Tucker, who was fired for off-field reasons two games into last fall's 4-8 season.

So when third-year returning starter Dillon Tatum began digging into new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi’s philosophies, it felt like a rebirth and return to the man-coverage concepts he learned in high school.

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“Our goal is to literally delete everything from the past couple years,” Tatum said during the early portions of MSU’s first spring practices under Rossi and new head coach Jonathan Smith. “A pure clean slate.”

Of the multitude of issues on defense under Tucker — struggles at stopping the run, inability to get off the field on third down, problems generating consistent pressure, and so on — perhaps the most egregious area came in the secondary.

Despite winning 11 games and finishing in the top 10 in 2021, the Spartans gave up more yards than any other team in the nation (324.8). They also allowed 27 touchdown passes, tied for 118th out of 130 FBS schools, and ranked 60th with 10 interceptions.

The following year, MSU got just one of its two interceptions from a defensive back. The Spartans improved in yards allowed (237.9, 86th) but continued to give up touchdown passes (26, tied for 114th).

Last season, it was more of the same. Opponents threw for 237.8 yards per game (tied for 86th) and 24 TD passes (tied for 110th). The Spartans had 10 interceptions (84th).

“Coming into this year, we just have to be better,” third-year safety Jaden Mangham said last week. “We have to do a lot more things down to the last details. We have to be smarter players and make more plays. ...

“What we did last year just wasn't what we are really. And as a defensive group, I think this year coming up is gonna be a real test to show who we are.”

Smith did not retain Barnett after he was hired, opting to bring secondary coach Blue Adams with him from Oregon State and hiring former MSU standout Demetrice Martin away from Oregon to work with the Spartans’ cornerbacks. The offensive-minded Smith also lured Rossi away from Big Ten rival Minnesota to become the architect of a defense that is still being ironed out schematically but leaning toward a 3-4 base package that focuses once again on man coverage.

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“It's a lot of, ‘You got that guy, don't let him catch the ball,’” Tatum said. “Very aggressive. ... You're matching so many things. You're just taking stuff away, taking away space. And that's the way that you gotta play football nowadays.”

Tatum and Mangham are entrenched as veteran starters in their third spring and heading into their junior seasons, with Tatum having played both cornerback and safety and continuing to move around the defense. Malik Spencer also emerged as a sophomore starter at safety alongside Mangham. Senior Angelo Grose, who has played both nickel back and safety, returns for his fifth year of eligibility. Oft-injured cornerback Charles Brantley also is back with 15 games of starting experience. And Chance Rucker blossomed into a true freshman starter at corner last fall after Brantley’s season-ending injury.

Behind them, there are a number of players who have seen the field over the past few years and are competing for roles. That group includes experienced veterans (Chester Kimbrough, Marqui Loweri, Semar Melvin, Armorion Smith, Khary Crump and Khalil Majeed) and relative newcomers under the previous staff (Caleb Coley, Ade Willie, Sean Brown, Malcom Jones and Eddie Pleasant III). Two early-enrolled freshmen on scholarship, Justin "Jet" Denson Jr. and Jaylen Thompson, joined them this spring.

“It's just getting those guys to play better. And you got some guys that can play ball here,” Adams said. “What happened last year is kind of what happened last year. What can you do to make them better? How can you get them better? …

“There's a bunch of guys on the back end that I think can play at a high level. And so we're just trying the little things, just getting them to believe in the small details. And so it'll translate, I believe, I hope so.”

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Adams said the secondary remains “a work in progress,” and likely will throughout the summer and into preseason camp. MSU did not lose any defensive backs to the transfer portal, with 25 currently on the roster in the spring. And that's before two more freshmen, Andrew Brinson IV and Keshawn Williams, arrive this summer.

“Right now, it's just about learning assignments,” Adams said. “And I think as they start to get more comfortable with that, they'll play a lot faster. … From afar, I've kind of just watched Michigan State ball. And so my experience is that they were big, they were physical, they were blue collar, they work hard. And so those are some of the same things that we're trying to instill in the secondary here.”

Adams pointed out Mangham, Spencer and Tatum as “big-time” players and identified Grose as one of the leaders in the defensive backs room who are adapting to the new concepts.

“They're asking a lot of us, and we have to live up to what they're asking,” Mangham said. “I actually like that, because they're holding us to a high standard, higher expectations. We got away with a lot of stuff last year that wasn't good, and it obviously showed up on the field. They're trying to get a lot of that out of here.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football secondary: 'Clean slate' after dismal 4 years