EAST LANSING — Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker rotated his defensive and offensive linemen liberally at Northwestern. Not so much so at other positions.
But the Spartans took care of business quickly with a fast start in Saturday’s 42-14 win over Youngstown State in the home opener, and Tucker maximized the opportunity to get a number of players first-half snaps on both sides of the ball.
“We’re going to need depth, we’re gonna need guys to play in games. We know that,” Tucker said after the win. “We know that, whether it’s the fourth game or the fifth game or the sixth game, we know that, at some point, he’s going to go in, and we’re gonna need him to go in the game and play winning football for us.”
That depth will be vital when the Spartans (2-0) travel to the South Florida heat next week at Miami, which hosted Appalachian State late Saturday night. And the Spartans got plenty of production despite being thin at defensive end.
MSU played without three of its top five pass rushers, with a program spokesman saying Drew Beesley, Drew Jordan and Itayvion “Tank” Brown were not in uniform “for medical reasons.” But that didn’t stop Tucker from subbing consistently.
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Sophomore Jeff Petrowski made four tackles with a sack in his first career start opposite sixth-year senior Jacub Panasiuk, who also had four stops and two QB hurries. Junior Michael Fletcher and senior Jack Camper swapped in for Petrowski and Panasiuk, while junior Zach Slade — whose career has been plagued by injuries — made his collegiate debut in the first half.
“Going into the game, we knew we were going to be without two guys who played a lot,” Panasiuk said. “But we have a deep room, that’s what we pride ourselves on. So everyone just had to step up, from the last guy in the room to (sixth-year senior Panasiuk). I think everyone helped each other out this week.”
Slade’s twin brother, Jacob, started again at defensive tackle, with Simeon Barrow next to him. Tucker also rotated in Dashaun Mallory and Jalen Hunt, followed by Maverick Hansen and Kyle King as the third pair. Freshman Derrick Harmon also made his collegiate debut.
There was a bit more movement in the secondary than at Northwestern. Florida transfer Chester Kimbrough started at cornerback instead of Alabama transfer Ronald Williams, who played the entire game at Northwestern. Freshman Chuck Brantley got second-string work at cornerback and made three tackles. And senior Emmanuel Flowers got early reps at nickel back behind starter Michael Dowell and in front of sophomore Darius Snow, who shared the spot with Dowell last week.
On offense, Kenneth Walker III started for the second straight week at running back and ran seven times for 57 yards and a touchdown, but sophomore Jordon Simmons did the bulk of the work with 19 carries for a career-best 121 yards. They did so behind an offensive line that started the same five but also rotated in backups throughout the game, maintaining effectiveness as the Spartans’ 408 yards of total offense before halftime were their most in a first half since getting 438 against Alabama-Birmingham on Sept. 1, 2007.
“This week, we split carries in practice. It wasn’t that going into the game, I thought I was going to be the workhorse,” Simmons said. “Throughout the week, we just practiced hard. And when we came on here, he trusted me out there, and I went out there. The O-line also did a great job blocking up front.”
Junior Elijah Collins took a screen pass 20 yards for his first career receiving touchdown after showing burst and vision with 32 rushing yards on three carries during a four-play, second-quarter drive. It was his only appearance of the game, however, as Collins appeared to injure his left foot on the score and did not return. He was spotted on the sideline in a walking boot and street clothes in the second half.
Tucker did not immediately have an update on Collins, MSU’s leading rusher in 2019 who suffered from COVID-19 after-effects last season.
Quarterback Anthony Russo took over for starter Payton Thorne late in the third quarter and was 5-for-7 passing for 43 yards, but the Temple grad transfer also lost a fumble in the final period deep in YSU territory. MSU did not score on Russo’s two drives.
New faces
Other than Brantley and Harmon, a number of new Spartans made anticipated appearances at their natural positions, including two expected basketball walk-ons — in front of their future teammates.
Tight end Maliq Carr, a Purdue transfer, had one second-quarter catch for 8 yards and was the third tight end in the game after starters Connor Heyward and Tyler Hunt. And wide receiver Keon Coleman, who only played on special teams at Northwestern, made his first catch, for 2 yards, in the third quarter. Tom Izzo’s hoops team was at the game, as were several prominent program alums (Denzel Valentine, Draymond Green) and a few recruits.
Ma’a Gaoteote, the lone four-star recruit in the 2021 freshman class, played early on special teams after traveling to Northwestern but not playing. He also made a tackle after entering at linebacker late in the game.
Redshirt freshman Donovan Eaglin got six carries for 33 yards in the fourth quarter in his debut at running back after playing on special teams at Northwestern.
Among the other newcomers who appeared for the first time (some on special teams) included offensive linemen Ethan Boyd, Brandon Baldwin, Geno VanDeMark and Kevin Wigenton; safety Antoine Booth II; and tight end Powers Warren.
Roster updates
The Spartans also suffered some bumps and bruises throughout Saturday’s game against the Penguins, who play in the lower Football Championship Subdivision.
The Spartans also did not use Harold Joiner III at running back until the final few minutes Saturday after he got hurt late in the season-opening win at Northwestern, but he did play on special teams the entire afternoon.
Starting offensive tackles Jarrett Horst (neck/left shoulder) and AJ Arcuri (left hip/lower back) both left the game but returned after getting hurt, while backup center Nick Samac also left the field with what appeared to be a minor right leg injury in the fourth quarter.
At defensive tackle, Hunt played sparingly with his left foot heavily wrapped, while Hansen left the game late with an apparent right foot injury. Linebacker Ben VanSumeren (lower-body) and Brantley (right arm) also both left the game but returned with injuries.
Other notable players not in uniform included safety C.J. Hayes, quarterback Hamp Fay, wide receiver Ricky White, running back Davion Primm, safety Michael Gravely, safety A.J. Kirk, cornerback Marqui Lowery, tight end Kameron Allen and tight end Evan Morris.
Tight end Adam Berghorst returned from a right knee injury and played.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
