MSU Football Position Group Breakdown: Safeties
Football is right around the corner. The Michigan State Spartans are on a mission to bounce back this season after falling short of their goals in 2022. Getting back on track starts against Central Michigan in less than a month.
The defensive unit as a whole is looking to improve. Injuries and suspensions plagued the Spartans throughout last season. With nearly everyone back, Michigan State looks to make a jump.
In preparation of the start of the season, I’ll be diving into each defensive position group over the next couple weeks starting with the Safeties.
Projected Starters
The Spartans lost both starters from a year ago in Kendall Brooks and Xavier Henderson, who combined for 138 tackles and 18 starts in 2022. That's a lot of production Michigan State needs to replace with a young safety group.
Sophomores Jaden Mangham and Malik Spencer will likely be the starters against Central Michigan. Both battled through injuries but have been healthy since the end of last season. Senior Angelo Grose made the move from safety to nickelback a year ago and is expected to start at nickel. He may rotate between the two positions if need be.
While young, the graduating seniors spoke very highly of this group. Henderson pointed at Mangham and Spencer as two future high-level players. Grose brings experience at multiple positions in the secondary.
Under the Radar Player
Redshirt sophomore and Cincinnati transfer Armorion Smith can be a contributor right away. Because MSU does not have a lot of depth at safety, specifically, he can play his way into the rotation.
Smith is a Michigan native who attended River Rouge High School, and a former three-star recruit. He was a key special teams player and got his shot on defense late in the season at Cincinnati. While he’s not a proven player, he does have college experience and three more years of eligibility. This young core will compete with each other this year and in the future.
How This Group Can Improve
We learned last season how quickly a position group's depth can be ravaged by injury.
Henderson was hurt in the Spartans' season-opener and was out for the next five games. Spencer was unavailable through the first seven games of the year due to injury. Mangham suffered a head/neck injury against Ohio State and played limited snaps the rest of the season. He was held out of the Wisconsin and Penn State games entirely. Even Brooks missed one game due to injury.
So, how can this group improve? By staying much healthier.
Michigan State is still thin at the safety spot. Behind Spencer, Mangham and Smith it gets a little interesting. As mentioned above, Grose could move back to safety, but options beyond him likely include Wisconsin transfer Semar Melvin or redshirt senior Chester Kimbrough, who has struggled to play corner but might find a spot at safety.
Sophomore Dillon Tatum, who is expected to compete for one of the starting cornerback spots, got some reps at safety a year ago and could also be an option should things go sideways at the safety spot. A pair of young options include redshirt freshman Malcolm Jones or redshirt sophomore Khalil Majeed.
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