Michigan State football stock watch: Coaching concerns in back-to-back losses
EAST LANSING — Here are the Michigan State football players who helped or hurt their stock in theSpartans’ 34-7 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
Stock up
WR Jayden Reed: He was a game-time decision, but the senior wide receiver returned and played through a lower back injury. He did not take kickoff or punt returns, but Reed finished with four catches for 21 yards, though quarterback Payton Thorne did miss him on one deep pass that looked like it could have been a touchdown. Reed made his 23rd straight start since transferring to MSU from Western Michigan, and he has a catch in each one of those games.
P Bryce Baringer: The senior remains a bright spot for the Spartans, sending four punts for a 50.8-yard average against the Gophers. He is averaging 53.0 yards on his 13 punts this season, sending seven of them over 50 yards and landing four inside the 20. With the offense sputtering, the equally struggling defense needs Baringer to continue to supply them with optimal field position in the coming weeks.
S Kendell Brooks: Yes, MSU’s secondary got picked apart again for the second straight week. But the former Division II player filling in for the injured Xavier Henderson did his best to wrap up receivers to try and prevent bigger gains.
Brooks’ career-high 18 tackles were the most by a Spartan since Eric Smith had 19 against Notre Dame on Sept. 18, 2004. The senior now leads MSU with 38 tackles and has forced three fumbles on the season.
MSU GRADES: Only one unit was able to avoid an F vs. Minnesota
Stock down
Mel Tucker: It is clear fans are demanding more after the $95 million, 10-year contract Tucker received in December and an offseason filled with hype and talk of chasing a national title right now. He is now 15-9 in his three seasons in East Lansing, with a difficult five-game stretch over the next six weeks awaiting.
The Spartans’ defensive struggles reflect directly on the head coach, who was a defensive coordinator in the NFL and at Georgia before taking the top job at MSU in 2020. But the Spartans, repeatedly, have not played up to the standard Tucker preaches of hard-hitting, tough football.
Scottie Hazelton: After 24 games as coordinator, Hazelton’s defenses continue to struggle. Minnesota dissected MSU through the air and on the ground, totaling 508 yards. The Gophers were the second straight opponent and sixth in three seasons to gain 500-plus yards on the Spartans. Hazelton’s unit is giving up 418.9 yards and 27.5 points per game, including nearly 290 yards a game through the air. Perhaps the most immediate concern, though, is how little looked different against Minnesota from the 503 yards MSU gave up a week earlier at Washington.
QB Payton Thorne: Of the all-encompassing issues MSU is facing on both sides of the ball — the huge chunks of passing yards allowed on defense and the increasing inability to run the ball on offense — Thorne appeared to be one of the stabilizers. Yet after appearing to turn the corner at Washington, the junior regressed in a major way against Minnesota. He threw two interceptions, one telegraphing a pass to Keon Coleman and the other directly to a defensive lineman on a screen, and fumbled on a designed QB run around the left end in the red zone.
Despite completing 17 of 24 throws, only three went for longer than 10 yards and just one beyond 20. Thorne has thrown five interceptions to just four touchdowns after his second game this season without a scoring pass.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football stock watch: Coaching concerns arise in losses
