Michigan State football's secondary stretched thin, learning to juggle multiple roles

EAST LANSING — Injuries have robbed Michigan State football’s secondary of its depth.

That has meant a lot of reps, and a lot of responsibility, for the Spartans’ young starting defensive backs.

Cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado said injuries to the back end of MSU's defense has required his players to work at safety, the safeties to rep at cornerback and the Spartans’ nickel backs to prepare to take over at either.

“Some of those guys have been doing dual work right now — a lot them — because we only got so many of them,” Salgado said Tuesday as MSU prepares to visit Minnesota on Saturday. “So they gotta be able to do both. And then knock on (wood) that nobody gets hurt and you just keep moving forward. But if somebody does, the next guy's got to be ready to go in. And that could be a nickel moving to corner.”

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The nucleus of the secondary — many of whom also are on special teams units — has mostly maintained its health for the Spartans (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten), with sophomores Dillon Tatum (at corner) and Malik Spencer (at safety) starting all seven games, though both have had to exit games with ailments. Nickel Angelo Grose has made six starts; only MSU's opening in a 4-3 defense against Maryland kept him from starting all seven for the Spartans.

Sophomore safety Jaden Mangham has started the six games he has played in, sitting out only MSU's loss at Iowa, while freshman Chance Rucker has started the past four games after junior Charles Brantley started the first three games. Backup Chester Kimbrough, who has played in all seven games, took over at nickel when Grose was pressed into duty at safety when Mangham was out. Sophomore Khalil Majeed, a former walk-on, took over for Spencer when he was hurt at Rutgers.

Beyond that, it has been a crapshoot.

Brantley’s injury cost MSU its most experienced veteran. Cincinnati transfer Armorion Smith, who began to make inroads into a key role, went down for the season against the Terrapins. Sophomore Ade Willie missed last Saturday’s 49-0 loss to No. 2 Michigan. Fellow reserves Marqui Lowery, Semar Melvin and Malcom Jones all have been out for extended periods this season. And Khary Crump still has one more game to serve on his eight-game Big Ten-issued suspension for swinging his helmet during last year’s tunnel fight at Michigan Stadium.

“The backups, we gotta make sure they know everything and make sure they can go from free (safety) to strong. Just make sure everybody knows everything,” said Spencer, whose 47 tackles trail only linebacker Cal Haladay on the roster. “As DB on this team, you shouldn't be able to just to play (one position), you should know how to play all of them when it comes down to it. …

“Everybody's got to just be able to move around, be unselfish.”

Even though they allowed the Wolverines to throw for 357 yards and four touchdowns last week, the Spartans have shown gradual improvement in the secondary, two years removed from being the nation’s worst unit. MSU ranks 59th nationally in passing yards allowed this season, as well as ninth in the Big Ten. However, the 230.5 yards allowed in four Big Ten games is 13th in the 14-team league.

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There's good news for MSU, however: Minnesota (4-3, 2-2) is among the nation's worst at throwing the ball, ranking 126th out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Minnesota sophomore Athan Kaliakmanis is completing just 53.4% of his passes for 131.9 yards a game, with six total touchdowns and six interceptions.

With snow expected and temperatures dipping potentially into the 20s during the game, that could escalate the Gophers' reliance on the ground game, Salgado expects. That means he needs his secondary to do a better job at wrapping up and not missing on tackles.

But he also realizes that threats such as tight end Daniel Jackson (29 catches, 387 yards, five TDs) mean Minnesota won’t be afraid to put the ball in the air to keep MSU honest.

“They want to run the ball and play-action pass, so you gotta be sound on first- and second-down stuff and make sure your eyes are in the right place, which is big,” Salgado said. “And then on third-down, the quarterback is a big kid with a strong arm and good wideouts. It should be a good challenge for us.”

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

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football falling back on versatility for DBs