Spartan Windmon makes history after move to LB
First at MSU as B1G defensive player of week three times
EAST LANSING – A shift backward to linebacker got Jacoby Windmon back on track. It also led to the Michigan State football senior making some history Monday.
Windmon became the first Spartan to capture three Big Ten defensive player of the week honors after another all-around performance in Saturday’s 34-28 double-overtime win against Wisconsin.
“It felt good, man. It felt good to be back home,” Windmon said Saturday. “It was just kind of natural to me because I played linebacker for a long time.”
After starting the first six games at defensive end, Windmon moved to linebacker next to Cal Haladay and Aaron Brule as MSU used a base 4-3 defense for most of the afternoon. Defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton predominantly orchestrated a 4-2-5 scheme for the first 26 games of Mel Tucker’s coaching tenure with the Spartans.
That decision paid off, as MSU held the Badgers to the fewest passing yards allowed in the past three seasons (131) and the second-lowest total offense (283 yards) given up by Hazelton’s defense. It only ranks behind the 276 allowed in Tucker’s 2020 debut loss to Rutgers.
“I practiced it a lot and I was able to get a lot of those reps. It just translated from the practice to the game field,” Windmon said of his position switch. “I’m a firm believer in that you practice how you play. I had a good week of practice, I feel like we had a good week of practice as a defense. We came in and did what we had to do.”
Windmon proved to be the catalyst for making things work.
The 6-foot-2, 250-pound UNLV transfer flew around the field, posting a season-high 11 tackles and showing why Tucker and Hazelton brought him in as a linebacker before moving him to defensive end just before the season.
In the first quarter, after MSU’s offense moved the ball and stalled deep in Wisconsin territory, Windmon dropped into coverage and picked off quarterback Graham Mertz for his
first interception of the season. That set up the Spartans’ first touchdown two plays later.
Then in the second overtime, after Mertz threw a touchdown to tie the game on the previous play, Windmon zoomed in and punched the ball free from running back Braelon Allen for his nation-leading sixth forced fumble. Dashaun Mallory recovered to end the Badgers’ drive, and MSU won it on Payton Thorne’s 27yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed after the change of possession.
“He was big in the game,” Tucker said Saturday of Windmon. “We moved him to defensive end right at the end of camp because of injuries. We had some significant injuries, we were extremely thin, we’re trying to get the best guys on the field, so he was unselfish, he
made that move.
“Obviously, he’s got a really good pass-rush ability. We started to get some guys back that could play that end position, so we decided to move him back to linebacker on the run downs. He still is rushing on third down in our rush package. It’s just having more depth at end allowed us to do that.”
Defensive end shuffle
Mallory is one of those players who has returned from injury in recent weeks, and Saturday he spent much of his time working at defensive end.
Some of that comes from the weight he lost before the 2021 season, with the senior now listed at 6-2 and 280 pounds after arriving in 2018 at 331 pounds. Some of it comes from the depth the Spartans have at defensive tackle, especially with preseason All-American Jacob Slade returning against the Badgers for his first action since getting hurt Sept. 10 against Akron.
And some of it is because of the glut of injuries to MSU’s edge rushers, which was a major position of need coming into the season with the graduation losses of last year’s top trio of Jacub Panasiuk, Drew Beesley and Drew Jordan. The Spartans on Saturday were without starter Jeff Pietrowski for the fourth straight game and Florida transfer Khris Bogle for the third in a row. Avery Dunn, whose role increased with those top two out, also did not dress. Then Michael Fletcher got ejected after a targeting penalty on a late hit of Allen in the first half.
With Windmon moving to linebacker, that opened snaps for Mallory alongside converted running back Brandon Wright and freshman Zion Young.
“It means a lot to have someone like that on the D-line that can play multiple positions, because it’s an advantage,” Windmon said of Mallory. “He might go to D-tackle and be too fast for the guard, or you can go to end and be too strong for the tackle. It’s one of those deals that great guy to have down there.”
Rookie moment
With Kendell Brooks and Jaden Mangham both out Saturday, MSU turned to freshman Dillon Tatum to split time with Angelo Grose next to senior Xavier Henderson.
A four-star recruit who spent most of his first six games on special teams, the 5-11, 200pound Tatum produced six tackles and a passbreakup that was almost his first career interception.
Tatum’s classmate Mangham was on the sideline but not in full uniform after suffering a head/neck injury against Ohio State the previous week. His status remains questionable moving forward, with the Spartans on a bye this week before going to No. 3 Michigan on Oct. 29 (7:30 p.m./ABC).