A few players ended season with a flourish

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Here are the Michigan State football personnel who helped or hurt their stock in the Spartans’ 42-0 loss to No. 11 Penn State.

Three up

LB Jordan Hall: He got banged up and had to leave the game at one point, but the true freshman showed fiery passion that should make him one of the program’s best leaders should he decide to stick around. Hall flew all around the field on blitzes and in pass coverage, an area where he showed he needs some work, and finished his first season with a flourish. His personal-high 12 tackles included a well-timed blitz to drop PSU quarterback Drew Allar. Hall finished his debut season with 4½ sacks among his 67 tackles.

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) is tackled by Michigan State linebacker Jordan Hall (5) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.

P Ryan Eckley: Taking the game inside to Ford Field allowed the redshirt freshman to put together one of the best days for a punter in MSU and Big Ten history. No Spartan was as busy or as productive as Eckley, who averaged 54 yards on his nine punts. He also sized up, took a good angle and made a perfect form tackle on Daequan Hardy’s 38-yard return to prevent a touchdown. Eckley’s 46.7-yard average for the season ranks fifth in school history, and he proved to be the heir apparent to Bryce Baringer, who had the top two averages the past two seasons (49 yards in 2022, 48.4 in 2021). Baringer now punts for the New England Patriots.

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TE Maliq Carr: The junior finished his season strong, catching a team-high four passes for 34 yards, one of them for 29 yards. Carr had career highs with 30 catches, 364 yards and three touchdowns. His next decision could be whether to test the 2024 NFL draft or return to school for his final season…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-football-stock-watch-170439773.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2023-11-26 17:04:39

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