Michigan State Football 2025 Positional Preview: Defensive tackles
The countdown to kickoff of the 2025 season continues to tick down, and when Michigan State runs out of the tunnel to face Western Michigan on Aug. 29, the Spartans be looking to take a step forward after a 5-7 finish to 2024.
As head coach Jonathan Smith enters his second campaign in East Lansing, one position group that will be key to the Spartans’ success in 2025 is the defensive tackles — a unit that had an up-and-down season last fall. Defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa leads the group.
Michigan State was quite stout against the run, allowing just 125.1 yards on the ground per game, which ranked 32nd nationally. However, the pass rush truly struggled. After a fairly hot start to the season with 15 sacks in September (and seven in Week One alone against Florida Atlantic), Michigan State went six weeks without recording a sack in 2024 — a streak that was finally broken against a reeling Purdue team coming to East Lansing in late November. Of course, it is not always the defensive tackles’ jobs to get sacks, as the defensive ends, rush ends and linebackers are counted on to do that, but a more fierce pass rush from the defensive unit as a whole, including the interior defensive linemen, is going to be of the utmost importance for MSU in 2025.
In order for the Spartans to take a step forward in year two of the Jonathan Smith era, they’ll need to have consistent success in the defensive trenches, and that’s anchored by the defensive tackles.
Similarly to last year, MSU has a lot of defensive tackles it could rotate in throughout games. Let’s take a look at who’s slated to suit up in the interior for the Green and White in 2025, and what each player brings to the team.
Grady Kelly, redshirt senior
The 6-foot-2, 296-pound Grady Kelly is an incoming transfer this season after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Colorado State and the 2024 season at Florida State, where he played in all 12 games. He logged 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack for the Seminoles last season.
In the spring, Kelly mentioned the culture at Michigan State under Smith, Suiaunoa and the rest of the coaches, and the vision the staff has for building a winning program, are some of the things that drew him to East Lansing.
His redshirt sophomore season at Colorado State in 2023 was a great indicator of his potential, where he logged 35 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He recorded at least a half-tackle-for-loss in seven of the 12 games he played in that season. Kelly earned second-team All-Mountain West honors by Phil Steele that year.
As a redshirt freshman at CSU in 2022, Kelly earned Freshman All-America honors from College Football News. He amassed 43 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two pass break-ups and one fumble recovery.
While the Big Ten is certainly a step up from Mountain West competition, Kelly got some valuable experience playing in the ACC against Power Four competition last season at Florida State, and is line to play a lot of snaps and become a strong contributor to the Michigan State defensive tackles room in 2025.
Alex VanSumeren, redshirt junior
After missing the entire 2023 season with an injury, Alex VanSumeren earned a starting role as a defensive tackle and came out strong against Florida Atlantic in Week One of 2024, recording his first sack, along with three total tackles. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound VanSumeren started all 12 games for Michigan State last season, finishing with 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
In 2022 as a true freshman playing under Mel Tucker, VanSumeren played in four games to preserve his redshirt. He recorded three tackles that season.
VanSumeren was a highly-rated four-star recruit coming out of Garber High School (Essexville, Michigan). He ranked as the top defensive tackle in Michigan and the No. 27 defensive lineman 2022, so he certainly has the talent to be one of the next great Spartan defensive tackles. In what will be his second full season of playing time in 2025, it is fair to expect VanSumeren to build on his 2024 season and be one of the Spartans’ top contributors in the trenches this fall.
In the spring, Vansumeren expressed confidence in Michigan State’s defensive line room as a whole. He also discussed what he is looking forward to improving upon in 2025, both individually and as a unit.
“We’re trying to get better at everything,” Vansumeren previously said. “I felt really good stopping the run last year. First and second down, (were) really good. Getting to the quarterback is the biggest thing, just working on that. And just overall knowledge of the game, as far as the X’s and O’s go. It’s the second year in the system now, so it’s not just knowing what I know, it’s (knowing) where the help comes from — what does the safety have because that can allow me to play faster.”
Ben Roberts, redshirt junior
The 6-foot-2, 338-pound Ben Roberts transferred to Michigan State from Oregon ahead of the 2024 season. As a redshirt sophomore last year, Roberts played in 10 games for the Spartans and logged eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. He missed the trips to Maryland and Boston College due to injuries. He played 128 defensive snaps.
While at Oregon in 2023, he recorded two tackles and was credited with a blocked extra point, so there’s certainly some athleticism to go along with his frame. He also played in four games with the Ducks as a true freshman in 2022, tallying three tackles.
Roberts has served as a rotational player during his time at both Oregon and MSU thus far, but if he can stay healthy and find consistency, it’s quite possible that the man nicknamed “Big Worm” sees a larger role in 2025.
Ru’Quan Buckley, redshirt senior
West Michigan native Ru’Quan Buckley transferred in from Nebraska before the start of the 2024 season, and while playing in all 12 games in his inaugural season in East Lansing, he tallied nine total tackles, with two tackles for loss. He also blocked a field goal during the game against Purdue. He played 127 defensive snaps.
The 6-foot-5, 327-pound Buckley’s name came up on a couple of different occasions throughout spring ball by players and coaches, so it would not be shocking to see him play a larger role in 2025.
At Nebraska, Buckley only recorded two tackles in nine games played. Off the field, however, Buckley shines academically. He is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, four-time honoree on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and two-time recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.
In high school at Godwin Heights High School in Wyoming, Michigan, Buckley played both offensive and defensive line, and was named first-team All-State in 2020 by the Detroit Free Press. He is another athletic member of the defensive tackle room.
Jalen Satchell, redshirt senior
Jalen Satchell comes in with plenty of experience to start the 2025 season. He played in 11 games last year for Michigan State, 11 at Old Dominion in 2023, and 16 combined contests between his first two seasons at Temple. He has also started 10 games in his career, with all of those starts coming prior to his time in East Lansing.
Last season, the 6-foot-1, 290-pound Satchell recorded five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack, along with a pass defended in 213 defensive snaps. In 2023 with the Monarchs, he tallied a career-high 16 tackles (one for loss), along with a sack and forced fumble. In 38 career games played, Satchell has amassed 41 tackles, four tackles for losses (for 23 yards), two sacks, one pass break-up and one forced fumble.
Satchell is another player that is likely to be a part of the rotation in the interior of the defensive line. He should have opportunities to make plays in the time that he does see on the field, as MSU will look to rotate in multiple players at the defensive tackle spot and keep bodies fresh.
Others on the roster:
- Ben Nelson is a 6-foot-7, 309-pound redshirt junior who has played in seven career games and recorded three tackles. He began his career as a preferred walk-on offensive lineman, but made the switch to the defensive side of the ball during preseason camp in 2023. He will provide depth for the Spartans in 2025.
- Mikeshun Beeler is a 6-foot-2, 285-pound redshirt freshman. He drew praise from coaches in teammates during 2024 fall camp, but played just three snaps against Prairie View A&M last season. The former three-star recruit out of Chicago could potentially carve out a larger role in 2025.
- Derrick Simmons is a 6-foot-3, 288-pound true freshman out of Frankenmuth High School. He was a four-star prospect and listed as the No. 27 defensive lineman in On3 Industry rankings. Simmons was also ranked as the No. 3 player in the state of Michigan and No. 277 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle. It is unlikely that Simmons will be counted on for a large role as a true freshman, but he is somebody with a bright future whom the staff is excited about.
Note: It is also possible that we see some players who primarily play the traditional defensive end position, such as junior Jalen Thompson and seventh-year senior Quindarius Dunnigan, line up inside in certain situations and formations as well. Those players will be discussed further in Spartans Illustrated’s upcoming defensive end and rush ends preview.
For more information on the Michigan State roster for 2025, check out our other positional previews below: