MSU Players Whose Roles Grew, Shrunk in Game at Notre Dame
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Michigan State had to put its best foot forward against No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday.
Any sort of in-game "tryouts" against Toledo or Eastern Michigan had to be wrapped up. The Spartans' distribution of snaps against the Fighting Irish was a pretty great glimpse into how things would look against opponents at or above MSU's caliber. Here are the players who saw a notable increase or decrease in their snaps during Michigan State's 27-10 loss:
Risers
TE Jayden Savoury
The Spartans are starting to lean more and more into second-year tight end Jayden Savoury as the team's TE1. He looked like the best tight end on the team during training camp, but Savoury got fewer offensive snaps in the season opener against Toledo than Brennan Parachek. The next week, Savoury and Parachek got the same amount.
Savoury surpassed Parachek on the snap counter on Saturday, receiving 31 snaps to Parachek's 20. Technically, it's a season-low on snaps for Savoury, but that's because Michigan State was only able to run 45 offensive plays after having 88 snaps against Toledo and 72 against EMU. Going off percentages, Savoury was out there for 44% of the snaps against Toledo, 57% against Eastern Michigan, and 69% at Notre Dame.
It's easy to see why Savoury has taken over as the top tight end. He's just, by far, the most productive option in the passing game there. He's up to 11 catches and 129 receiving yards this year, both of which rank second on the team.
Savoury had three catches for 30 yards against the Fighting Irish on Saturday. Given that Michigan State only completed nine passes against Notre Dame's elite secondary, that's a decent day for MSU's young tight end, who should be in the "must-keep" category for the staff this winter.
EDGE Trey Lisle
Another big surprise was how often Trey Lisle was out there on Saturday. He only played eight defensive snaps between Michigan State's first two games this year, but Lisle wound up getting 26 snaps during the Spartans' loss on Saturday. There weren't any obvious highlights from Lisle's day, though he was credited with two pressures by Pro Football Focus.
The jump also cannot be credited to somebody ahead of him on the depth chart at rush end going down with an injury. Kenny Soares Jr. and Anelu Lafaele were there on Saturday and never seemed to leave the field for medical attention. Lisle also seemed to move towards the interior of the defensive line at times on Saturday. He's another interesting long-term piece for MSU as a former SEMO transfer who stands at 6'6" and 254 pounds.
Fallers
RBs Jaziun Patterson, Brandon Tullis
There may be some separation forming between MSU's first two running backs and the rest. RB1 Cam Edwards and RB2 Marvis Parrish were the only two backs to receive carries against Notre Dame. Jaziun Patterson only received five offensive snaps, and Brandon Tullis didn't play at all on Saturday.
Patterson's snap count has dropped each week this season. He got 25 offensive snaps against Toledo, then 10 against EMU, and now just the previously mentioned five against the Irish. It initially seemed Patterson could be the RB2 over Parrish, but the battle there has turned in Parrish's favor now. It makes some sense, given that Parrish, as a sophomore, gives the program a higher ceiling than Patterson, who is a fifth-year senior.
DTs Mikeshun Beeler and Derrick Simmons
Perhaps connected with the rise in playing time for Lisle, defensive tackles Mikeshun Beeler and Derrick Simmons are among the few defensive players who actually played fewer defensive snaps against Notre Dame than they did against Eastern Michigan (the Spartans played 16 more defensive snaps this week than last, so most players' totals went up).
Beeler went from playing 26 snaps against EMU (49% share) to 19 against the Irish (28% share). Simmons' snaps only slightly dropped from 24 snaps against Eastern Michigan to 23 against Notre Dame, but that means his snap share dropped from 45% to 33%.
Potentially adding Lisle into the defensive tackle rotation could affect things, but Michigan State also rode with its top two interior defensive linemen (Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen) more to try and stop the Notre Dame run game --- there's normally been a drop-off with the run defense with Beeler and Derrick Simmons in the game.
Roberts' snap share went from 47% vs. EMU to 59% against Notre Dame. Coenen's went from 58% against Eastern Michigan to 71% on Saturday. Obviously, the more snaps Roberts and Coenen get, the fewer opportunities there are for Beeler and Simmons. We'll see if Michigan State continues to make its defensive tackle rotation a little more top-heavy once Big Ten play begins next week against Nebraska.
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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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