Analyzing MSU Players' Snap Counts From Nebraska Loss
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Michigan State's snap counts got pretty interesting on Saturday against Nebraska, but not for good reasons.
Many players were thrust into action during the Spartans' 31-13 loss because of a litany of injuries MSU suffered. Starting linebacker Brady Pretzlaff and cornerback Tyran Chappell were both ruled out before the game. Cornerback Tre Bell got hurt during pregame warmups.
Then, during the game, running back Cam Edwards, offensive lineman Conner Moore, and linebacker Jordan Hall all got hurt as well. That's not even close to all of it.
The severity of the injuries and how much time each player misses will be worth watching over the next few days. Michigan State will have its first availability report for the Wisconsin game out on Wednesday. As for the snap counts against Nebraska, here's what stood out.
Starters Remain Locked at WR
One of the surprises this year has been MSU's insistence on sticking with its top wide receivers. Pat Fitzgerald indicated before the season that the Spartans might rotate at the position, but nearly every meaningful snap features Rodney Bullard Jr., Fredrick Moore, and then perhaps slot receiver Chrishon McCray. Moore got 61 snaps on Saturday, Bullard got 59, and McCray got 38 per PFF. Nobody else in the receiver room received more than three snaps in the loss.
Michigan State has traditionally relied heavily on its starting receivers, with Courtney Hawkins as the team's wide receivers coach, but this unit would probably benefit more from a rotation. A lot of the offense's issues this season stem from the lack of separation the wide receivers are getting. Including more receivers in the game plan each week would make things just a bit more difficult for the opposing defense, which could lead to some more success through the air.
We'll see where MSU goes from here, but Michigan State's offense struggled against Notre Dame and Nebraska, both of which boast two of the better secondaries in the country. Wisconsin is ranked 22nd nationally in pass defense after Week 4, allowing 239 through the air against Notre Dame in its season opener and then just 114 at Penn State on Saturday.
It feels like something needs to change, but that's how things felt before the Notre Dame and Nebraska losses. Perhaps Bullard and Moore are truly the team's best options at X or Z, but it definitely seems like the Spartans' passing attack is going to be a serious weakness throughout the year, and guys like Charles Taplin, Samson Gash, or KK Smith deserve a bigger shot.
Digging Into Defensive Depth
Injuries hit MSU's secondary particularly hard. Michigan State had to dig into its secondary depth, with Tyran Chappell, Tre Bell, Keshawn Williams, and NiJhay Burt all either being ruled out before the game or going down during it.
This led to a lot of run for third-year player Andrew Brinson IV, who recorded 48 snaps out of 68 possible plays. Brinson is probably the fifth or sixth corner on the team's depth chart, but all those injuries gave him a starter-esque role on Saturday after he hadn't seen any action at all during Michigan State's first three games. Brinson missed all of last season with an injury and got 59 defensive snaps during his true freshman season in 2024.
Brinson actually played okay, too. Not perfect, but okay. Nebraska targeted him quite a bit, which is probably the wise thing to do, but Brinson only allowed 22 yards on four catches and seven targets on Saturday.
The secondary thinning out also led to Cam Stodghill getting a lot of playing time. He got 31 defensive snaps on Saturday after getting 28 such snaps during Michigan State's first three games combined. Stodghill had seen his snaps increase from 1 to 11 to 16 during MSU's non-conference schedule, and he was even a starter on Saturday, but the Spartans had to lean on their hybrid linebacker/defensive back some more after injuries in both of those spots.
Other Notes
One notable contributor also made his season debut on Saturday. Aveon Grose got six defensive snaps and played a bit on special teams. Getting Grose back adds some depth at safety, but his contributions on special teams should be significant. He led MSU with 219 special teams snaps during the 2025 season.
These weren't official debuts, but linebacker Adam Shaw also got his first defensive snap in his college career on Saturday. DiMari Malone got 12 snaps at LB as well, though he made his debut on defense on a play against Notre Dame.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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