MSU STOCK WATCH

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Here are the Michigan State football players who helped or hurt their stock in the Spartans’ 26-16 loss Saturday at Iowa:

Three up

LB Cal Haladay:

With defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton effectively deploying more of a 4-3 defense than usual, Haladay anchored it with another typical workmanlike performance. The senior tied safety Malik Spencer for the team lead with eight tackles. But it was Haladay’s swarming of the ball in the run game — MSU limited Iowa to just 61 yards on the ground — that produced the Spartans’ only touchdown, his 42-yard scoop-andscore in the third quarter. It was Haladay’s first fumble recovery for a TD but his third touchdown in his career, along with interception returns for scores against Indiana and Pitt in 2021.

DB Angelo Grose/Chester Kimbrough: The somewhat forgotten veterans in a young secondary made some big plays as well. With Jaden Mangham out with an injury, Grose started at safety for the first time since the Wisconsin game last season and his 18th time in four seasons, and the senior intercepted his second pass in as many weeks while adding two tackles. When MSU used its 4-2-5 defense, Kimbrough assumed Grose’s role and produced a well-timed delayed blitz for the Spartans’ only sack of Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill. It was the senior’s fourth sack in three seasons at MSU.

RB Nathan Carter: Though the running back room has been decimated by attrition, Carter remains the most reliable component of MSU's offense. The sophomore transfer from Connecticut got his biggest workload of the season with 20 carries and finished with 108 yards, his third 100-yard game as a Spartan. Carter ranks 17th in the country with 477 rushing yards and 20th at 95.4 yards per game, with both numbers putting him second among Big Ten rushers in those categories.