Michigan State football: Grading Spartans' depth chart ahead of season-opener

Michigan State has a talented team that is not a favorite to win the Big Ten this season. The team lost two players, but has enough talent to compete. Mel Tucker has evolved into one of the game's highest-profile coaches. On Sept. 2, the team hosts Western Michigan. The depth chart is graded according to the quality of players.

Payton Thorne is the starting quarterback for Michigan State football. He threw for 27 touchdowns last season. Noah Kim is next in line behind Thorn. Neither Kim nor Hamp Fay have any game-day experience. Katin Houser is competing for the No. 2 spot.   The team is playing its season-opener against Rutgers on September 14.

Jarek Broussard and Jalen Berger are the new running backs for Michigan State. They are expected to be a good 1-2 punch in the back-up position. Jordon Simmons is the third back.

Daniel Barker had the third-most catches at Illinois last year (18, 202 yards) and played in each of the Illini's 12 games. He brings experience and maturity to the Michigan State tight end position.

Reed and Coleman are returning starters at wide receiver for Michigan State. Tre Mosley had 35 catches in 2021. There are a lot of questions at other positions beyond the top three.

Michigan State lost 3 starters on the offensive line. The team needs to improve quickly if it wants to compete for a top spot in the Big Ten.

Jacob Slade is one of the top defensive tackles in college football. Jeff Pietrowski had 5.5 sacks last season. Brandon Wright is a junior who started playing defensive end in 2021. There are only 2 defensive linemen who have played a significant amount of snaps.

MSU has a lot of depth at linebacker, but not a ton of experience. Jacoby Windmon, a transfer from UNLV, should make an instant impact at WILL.

The addition of CB Ameer Speed will help the Spartans' pass defense. Charles Brantley, Ronald Williams and Angelo Grose bring experience to the safety position. Xavier Henderson and Jaden Mangham are ideal mentors for the freshman.