MSU DT Alex VanSumeren's Excitement Surrounding Upcoming B1G Schedule

One of the mainstays in Michigan State's defense is excited for the Spartans to get into conference play.

Michigan State defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren speaks to the press about an upcoming game against USC on Sept. 17, 2025. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

EAST LANSING --- One of the top players on Michigan State's defense, defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren is excited about the upcoming challenge that No. 25 USC and the entire Big Ten present.

The Trojans are first in the entire FBS in total offense (604 yards per game) and second in scoring (55 points per game).

See all of what VanSumeren had to say below.

Watch Alex VanSumeren here:

MSU head coach Jonathan Smith also spoke to the press on Monday about the game at USC and also to recap the Spartans' 41-24 victory against Youngstown State. Below is a partial transcript of his opening statement.

Jonathan Smith

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith jogs back to the sideline before the game against Youngstown State on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"OK, kind of like each week here, recapping a couple of thoughts. Offensively, you know, 10 possessions, I think we scored seven times on those 10. 

"I did think, again, watching the tape, Aidan (Chiles) did a solid job. Completing pass, eyes up, smart with the ball, another good game running it. 

Sep 13, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) runs for a first down in the fourth quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images | Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

"But in general, the running game, we got to get better, first and second down. You know, credit to the opponent schematically a couple of those, but we've got to break a couple of tackles, one of them with the safety kind of delaying, misidentification took place too many times, and we're just not getting the type of movement we want to get, so we've got to get improvement on that in the run game. 

"Defensively, I thought they did a nice job of stopping the run. These guys were leading the country in running the ball, especially with the quarterback (and) his capabilities of running it; I did like that part, except on the long one, 66-yard play, I want to say. First of all, we're misaligned, unique formation, give 'em some credit, we're misaligned, we don't got anyone in the B-gap. We're not aligned correctly in the second area, we've got an opportunity to at least get him down, it's going to be a 30-yard play, we can't do that, so we've got to get better there. 

"It was good to have Nikai Martinez back, getting a taste of it, he played, you know, maybe half of it, so it was great to see him out there, we do want to continue to improve going forward. Fourth down, third down, on that side.

"Special teams continues to be a positive, obviously huge return from Omari (Kelly); I do think the blocking on the thing, the decision-making on the punt return unit was critical. Martin (Connington) had a solid game, (Ryan) Eckley was only out there one time, that's usually a good thing."

Michigan State's Alex VanSumeren, left, tackles Western Michigan's Jalen Buckley during the first quarter on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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