Tag: Cal Haladay

A trio of Spartans highlighted in the Big Ten’s top performers of Week 10

Payton Thorne and Cal Haladay are among our top performers of the week.

All 14 Big Ten teams were in action during Week 10. The Spartans won for the second time in three weeks after snapping their four-game skid against Wisconsin two weeks ago.

In the Big Ten East, both Michigan and Ohio State remained perfect on the season after first-half scares against Rutgers and Northwestern. The blowouts of the week belonged to the Penn State Nittany Lions, who ran past Indiana 45-14, and the Wolverines with their 52-17 victory.

Prior to Week 11’s action, we take one look back at the top performers of the week voted on by our Big Ten editorial team.

The Voters:

Without further ado, let’s dive into the selections made by our editorial team

Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

Cal Haladay named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

For the fourth time this season, a member of the often-maligned Michigan State football defense has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

On Monday, MSU linebacker Cal Haladay received the honor after recording 3.5 tackles-for-loss and nine total tackles in the Spartans’ win over Illinois. Haladay joins Jacoby Windmon, who has earned the award three times, in taking home the honor.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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Handful of Spartans listed on Phil Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten teams

See which Spartans that made Phil Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten teams

The college football season is getting closer and closer, with opening kickoff only a few months away at this point.

In preparation for the upcoming season, longtime college football analyst and reporter Phil Steele has released his batch of preseason All-Big Ten teams. To no surprise, there were quite a few Spartans who cracked his list.

See which Michigan State players were listed on Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten teams below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named Freshman All-American by Football Writers Association

Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay named a Freshman All-American

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Cal Haladay was something of a revelation for Michigan State football this year. The freshman came in and earned a starting job this summer despite the presence of some veterans in the linebackers corps. Because of his strong season, Haladay is the first MSU player to be named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association since Donnie Corley in 2016.

Haladay is the first defensive player to make the team since Malik McDowell in 2014.

Haladay led the team in tackles with 96, five of those coming for a loss. He also forced two fumbles and had two interceptions for a touchdown.

The former 3-star recruit only played on special teams as a true freshman but came in during his redshirt freshman season and turned a lot of heads, it’s great to see him recognized for a phenomenal season.

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Watch Cal Haladay’s pick-six that sealed Michigan State football’s Peach Bowl win

Relive Cal Haladay’s Peach Bowl sealing pick-six

Michigan State completed an 11-point comeback to win the Peach Bowl against the Pitt Panthers. The win improved MSU to 11-2 on the season, capping Mel Tucker’s second year at the helm in style.

The Spartans trailed 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter, when the offense decided to wake up, and score two touchdowns to go up 24-21. With Pitt driving late in the game, and only 30 seconds left, Cal Haladay made sure nothing crazy was going to happen and put the game away. Haladay picked a first down pass off and returned it to the house for a game-sealing pick-six.

You can watch Haladay’s great play below:

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Michigan State LB Cal Haladay named to The Athletic’s Freshman All-American team

Michigan State LB Cal Haladay makes The Athletic’s Freshman All-American team

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Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III isn’t the only Spartan getting some love this awards season.

Spartans’ linebacker Cal Haladay was named to The Athletic’s Freshman All-American team on Wednesday. Haladay was third on the team in tackles this year, and emerged as one of the Spartans’ top defenders this season.

Haladay recorded 78 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble this season. He also had a touchdown on his lone interception against Indiana.

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Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named to 2021 Freshman All-American Team

Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named to 2021 Freshman All-American Team

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In case you hadn’t heard, Cal Haladay was raised on a chicken farm. This was a fact that we were reminded all year about the Michigan State football linebacker who would play without any gloves, bands, etc. Now, there will be a new factoid to read off about Haladay: he is a 2021 freshman all-american.

Haladay is the only Spartan to make the team this year, joining Eric Gentry of ASU and Junior Colson of Michigan as the linebackers on the squad.

Haladay racked up an impressive 78 tackles on the season to go along with an interception (for a touchdown), a fumble recovery and half of a sack.

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Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named to Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list

Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named to Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list

Cal Haladay has been a huge surprise this season for Michigan State football. The farm-raised linebacker who doesn’t wear any gloves, arm wraps or anything has come out of nowhere this year to help lead the Spartans’ defense, and his stellar play could earn him some hardware at the end of the season.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Haladay has made the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list. This will be the fourth year of this award.

Haladay will go up against star players like C.J. Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson and more for the honor.

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Michigan State football players comment after win over Michigan

Take a look at what MSU’s players had to say after the win over Michigan

The Michigan State football team had a miraculous comeback win against the University of Michigan, overcoming a 16-point deficit and showing a great team effort in the win.

The players of Michigan State have a lot to be proud of, showing a huge sense of resilience and not backing down at any point in the football game.

The Spartans football team preaches about their unity and just embodying what it means to be a team, and it shows.

Take a look at what the players had to say after their win over Michigan:

WATCH: Cal Haladay opens Michigan State football scoring with a pick-six

Cal Haladay puts the Spartans on the board with a pick-six!

Michigan State is in the midst of a rivalry contest against the Indiana Hoosiers for the Old Brass Spittoon trophy.

With the offense struggling early on in the game, the defense needed to help give the team a boost and they did just that.

On a key third down play, Cal Haladay showed blitz, but backed away and read the play perfectly leading to an interception that he would return to the house for a touchdown.

Watch the Michigan State pick-six here:

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