Michigan State Special Teams: One Thing I Like, One Thing I Don't
One week until 'Game Day'! Michigan State is just seven days from its season-opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 2 at Spartan Stadium.
Spartan Nation has been breaking down every position group on Michigan State football's roster, pointing out one thing we like, one thing we don't and one thing to keep an eye on.
Today, we conclude this 10-part series by looking at the third phase of the game: Special Teams
One Thing I Like
It's an absolute luxury for Michigan State to have second team All-Big Ten punter Bryce Baringer back as a graduate senior.
During the 2021 campaign, the best of his career, Baringer led the Big Ten and was fourth in the nation with a net average of 48.6 yards per punt on 56 attempts. He was tied for first in the conference with 25 punts of 50 yards or more.
Baringer downed 18 punts inside the opponents' 20 yard line, and pinned opponents inside their 10 yard line on 10 occastions. He was on the Ray Guy Award watch list for the majority of the season, an award given annually to the nation's best punter.
Field position is a crucial part of the game, and Michigan State has a certified weapon at punter with Baringer.
One Thing I Don't
After a seemingly endless career in East Lansing, long-time place kicker Matt Coughlin finally ran out of eligibility with the Spartans. He leaves Michigan State as the program's all-time scorer (382 points responsible for) and holds the school record for most field goals made in a career (76).
Those are big shoes to fill for the next MSU kicker.
The Spartans signed 3-star kicker Jack Stone in the 2022 recruiting class, who is expected to be the heir apparent of Coughlin. Stone was ranked the No. 7 kicker in the '22 class, and Tucker and MSU's staff liked him enough to award him a scholarship as a specialist.
Stone could turn out to be just as reliable as Coughlin was, but until we see how the freshman pans out Michigan State's the kicking game remains a massive unknown going into the 2022 season.
If Stone isn't ready for the starting job, the Spartans only had two other guys listed as kickers on the spring roster — sophomore Stephen Rusnak and redshirt junior Evan Morris, who doubles as a tight end for MSU.
Rusnak missed the only field goal attempt of his career in a game against Purdue last season. Morris has not attempted a field goal in his career, having been only used on kickoffs thus far.
The Spartans won four games by a touchdown or less in 2021. In close game, the value of a reliable kicker is priceless. It remains to be seen in Michigan State will have a reliable kicking option this season.
One Thing To Keep An Eye On
In 2021, wide receiver Jayden Reed was named second team All-Big Ten as a kick and punt returner for the Spartans. Reed averaged 23.5 yards per kick return, and 19.8 yards per punt return with two touchdowns.
However, despite Reed's success in the return game, I question whether Michigan State will continue to use him in that role in 2022. The Spartans lost one of its top receivers to the NFL Draft in Jalen Nailor, and while I like MSU's other options at receiver, there isn't as much proven depth at the position in 2022.
Additionally, special teams is a great way for programs to break in young athletes and get them time on the field. Maybe there's a young guy on the roster that the coaching staff wants to see with the ball in his hands — special teams is a great way to do that.
Regardless of who's back there fielding punts and kickoffs, I expect Michigan State to be good in this area. I'm just intrigued to see what special teams coordinator Ross Els has in mind here.
In Case You Missed It
This article is part of a series examining every position group on Michigan State's roster. You can find the other position groups that Spartan Nation has already covered here: (Quarterback, Running back, Wide Receiver, Offensive Line, Tight End, Defensive Line, Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety, Special Teams)
Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI
