Additionally, Henderson, Slade and junior linebacker Quavaris Crouch were named honorable mentions by the coaches while redshirt freshman linebacker Cal Haladay and sophomore safety Darius Snow were added as honorable mentions by the media.

On special teams, three Spartans received honors with redshirt senior punter Bryce Baringer and redshirt junior wide receiver and punt/kick returner Jayden Reed earning spots on both the media and coaches All-Big Ten Second Team. Graduate kicker Matt Coghlin was named an honorable mention by the media.

In 2021, Panasiuk has been a menace on the defensive line, generating one of the better pass rushes in the conference. He has made 32 tackles and six sacks while also recovering two fumbles, one at Miami and the other versus Michigan. Panasiuk particularly got hot in the middle of the season, where he made five and a half of his six sacks in a span of four games. His seven tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble performance versus Nebraska caught national attention that rewarded him Pro Football Focus' Defensive Player of the Week and spot on the PFF Team of the Week.

Henderson has been the backbone of the Michigan State secondary, leading the team in tackles with 94. Defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton has had Henderson playing all around the field, coming in on blitzes which resulted in three sacks, in addition to being a ball hawk in pass coverage.

Like Panasiuk, Henderson had an incredible performance versus Nebraska, racking up an astonishing 17 tackles and helping him earn a spot on the Second-Team Midseason All-America Team Selection by The Athletic. His biggest highlight came in week two when Henderson made an acrobatic one-handed interception versus Youngstown State. Henderson is the only MSU player the be named team captain in all 12 games.

Slade was a big part of Michigan State's defense as a run-stopping unit, causing chaos up the middle leading the Big Ten with 37 quarterback pressures and 32 quarterback hurries, the most by a defensive tackle in the Big Ten. Slade also had a career-high 34 tackles to go along with one fumble recovery.

Crouch, a transfer from Tennessee, started in all eight games, before missing three games with an injury. He is fourth on the team in tackles with 75 and ranks 11th in the conference in tackles per game at 7.5.

Haladay has played alongside Crouch at the linebacker position and broke out in 2021. He ranks third on the team in tackles with 85 while also being named a Freshman All-American by the Maxwell Football Club. Haladay had a key pick-six in the first half versus Indiana that helped the Spartans squeak out a road victory.

Snow was not a starter to begin the season but has improved immensely throughout the course of the games. He ranks second on the team and 14th in the Big Ten in tackles with 86 to go along with two forced turnovers, an interception versus Indiana and a fumble recovery versus Purdue.

Baringer leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with a punting average of 48.6 yards, the highest in school history. He has been an under-appreciated field-flipping weapon for MSU, with 10 punts traveling 60 or more yards.

Reed is the only player in the Big Ten and one of only four in the country with two punt return touchdowns. They came on back-to-back returns across two games, with the first late in the fourth quarter versus Nebraska to force overtime. He is a Paul Hornung Award finalist and ranks among the top in the country with a punt return average of 21.3 yards. This is Reed's second year in a row earning an honor as a return specialist after being named an honorable mention by the media in 2020.

Coghlin battled through injuries to end the season, but broke the school record and sits second in Big Ten history with 75 career field goals made. He is also tied for first in school history with 377 points while ranking fifth in Michigan State history in field-goal percentage (.735). In 2021, Coghlin has made 11 of 17 field-goal attempts and has been a perfect 39 of 39 in extra-point attempts. This is Coghlin's fifth time in his career he has earned All-Big Ten honors.