A week or so ago, I lamented a bit here about how I forgot to ask Coach Tucker at Big Ten Media Days about who was going to replace Xavier Henderson from both a leadership and communication point of view on defense. This week, my schedule allowed me to attend the media availability with Coach Hazelton and I was finally able to ask him my question.
@Brendanmoore101 talked about Hazelton's answer in one of his articles this week: https://michiganstate.rivals.com/ne...ut-msu-s-defensive-line-ahead-of-crucial-year
Basically, Hazelton admitted that the players were a bit shellshocked when X went down last year. But this year, he implied that it was more of a "communication by committee" situation. He sort of dodged the question, though.
When we probed a little deeper, my impression was that the leadership and communication in 2023 is most likely going to come from the linebacker level from Cal Haladay and Jacoby Windmon. Based on their position on the field and on their experience, I think that makes sense. However, I am a bit concerned that neither guy strikes me as being super vocal. Haladay was pretty shy at Big Ten Media Days and Windmon always struck me as softspoken as well. Both can lead by example, but neither are Xavier Henderson.
I also tried to ask both Derrick Harmon and Tunmise Adeleye about the leadership on the defensive side of the ball. Both told me that on the defensive line, Simeon Barrow is the leader. That makes sense. But, I would also keep an eye on Jalen Sami, the 6th year transfer DT from Colorado. He was mentioned by his teammates A LOT. They said that he is big and athletic and that he learned the playbook in like two weeks. He is also a grown-ass man. He is a player to watch.
As for the defensive backfield, Harmon gave me a couple of other names to watch for. When I asked him about replacing Henderson, he said that sophomore safety Malik Spencer has impressed him. The other name that he gave me was Cincinnati transfer Armorion Smith, which was a mild surprise. I also find this kind of player-level intel to be pretty interesting. We will see how it pans out.
@Brendanmoore101 talked about Hazelton's answer in one of his articles this week: https://michiganstate.rivals.com/ne...ut-msu-s-defensive-line-ahead-of-crucial-year
Basically, Hazelton admitted that the players were a bit shellshocked when X went down last year. But this year, he implied that it was more of a "communication by committee" situation. He sort of dodged the question, though.
When we probed a little deeper, my impression was that the leadership and communication in 2023 is most likely going to come from the linebacker level from Cal Haladay and Jacoby Windmon. Based on their position on the field and on their experience, I think that makes sense. However, I am a bit concerned that neither guy strikes me as being super vocal. Haladay was pretty shy at Big Ten Media Days and Windmon always struck me as softspoken as well. Both can lead by example, but neither are Xavier Henderson.
I also tried to ask both Derrick Harmon and Tunmise Adeleye about the leadership on the defensive side of the ball. Both told me that on the defensive line, Simeon Barrow is the leader. That makes sense. But, I would also keep an eye on Jalen Sami, the 6th year transfer DT from Colorado. He was mentioned by his teammates A LOT. They said that he is big and athletic and that he learned the playbook in like two weeks. He is also a grown-ass man. He is a player to watch.
As for the defensive backfield, Harmon gave me a couple of other names to watch for. When I asked him about replacing Henderson, he said that sophomore safety Malik Spencer has impressed him. The other name that he gave me was Cincinnati transfer Armorion Smith, which was a mild surprise. I also find this kind of player-level intel to be pretty interesting. We will see how it pans out.
