Through the shakiness of the season thus far, there have been players who have stood out as a positive force on the field, and some who have left fans wishing their campaign started a bit stronger. 

Let’s take a look at which players have stood out so far on the field for the Spartans:

Nate Carter

The running back room for MSU lacked a true number-one identity in the 2022 season. Michigan State primarily used three backs, with most of the carries going to redshirt junior running back Jalen Berger last season. Coming into 2023, Berger was thought to be the guy at the position with expectations to handle the role raising for his solid production in 2022, where he rushed for 683 yards and six touchdowns. 

In January, redshirt sophomore running back Nate Carter transferred to MSU from UConn, where he rushed for 983 yards on 190 carries for three touchdowns over the course of two seasons.

With Carter coming in, there seemed to be a competition brewing for the number one spot at running back ahead of week one against Central Michigan. 

Both Carter and Berger recorded a touchdown against the Chippewas, but Carter recorded 18 touches to Berger’s eight. Carter showed lots of flashes with his workload, as he rushed for 118 yards on 6.3 yards per carry, including a 31 yard carry through the middle of the defense on the very first play from scrimmage for the Spartans. 

Carter continued to get most of the carries in the back field in the games moving forward. On 93 total carries so far, Carter has rushed for 477 yards and four touchdowns in addition to 55 receiving yards on ten receptions. In the most recent matchup against Iowa, Carter recorded his third game with over 100 rushing yards with 108 yards on 20 carries. Week two’s contest against Richmond marked Carter’s best performance of the season where he rushed for 111 yards on 19 carries, and he found the end zone three times in the 45-14 win. 

The presence of a true number-one option in the backfield has helped balance the Michigan State offense thanks to Carter, as he should continue to see a consistent number of carries as the season progresses. 

Angelo Grose

Michigan State’s defense has been struggling throughout the season, especially during the game against Washington. The unit has been struggling to create pressure and takeaways, as the Spartans have only recorded four interceptions through five games.

Senior defensive back Angelo Grose is responsible for two of the interceptions this year as he has stepped up to lead a rather young secondary unit. 

Grose has worked at different positions in his previous three seasons, splitting time at nickel corner and safety. From 2020-22, he recorded 157 total tackles to go along with an interception, six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

2023 has been a notable season for Grose. In the five games played, Grose is fourth on the team with 23 total tackles and is credited with half a sack for a loss of four yards against Richmond.

The improvement this season for Grose has come in matchups with receivers where he has generated traffic. Grose has recorded three pass deflections so far in 2023, which is already half of his previous career total. His two interceptions in back to back games against Iowa and Maryland have started to help the defense generate more turnovers as well. 

Noah Kim

Much like Michigan State’s record for the season, redshirt Junior quarterback Noah Kim’s campaign has been a tale of two eras.

Kim looked very sharp against Central Michigan and Richmond under the coaching of Tucker. Kim threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns versus the Chippewas. Against Richmond, Kim had the best start of his career, completing 18 passes on 22 attempts for 292 yards and three touchdown passes. He also earned Big Ten offensive player of the week honors for his performance against the Spiders.

Production in the past three games has massively decreased for Kim. Whether the trend has to deal with the change of coaching with Barnett taking over or not, the quarterback play has not been as reliable for the offense as it once was. 

Week three against Washington was the first true test for Kim. The No. 8 team in the nation brought the first sight of real pressure in the pocket that the offense had seen, forcing Kim to roll out and make plays on the run. Kim finished the game with an alarming 38.7 completion percentage against the Huskies. He also threw his first interception of the year during week three, and only threw for 136 passing yards.

The next week didn’t get much easier for Kim, as Maryland brought many of the same looks on defense to make him uncomfortable. Signs began to show Kim holding onto the ball in the pocket too long or scrambling, which led to more inaccurate throws. The Terrapins limited Kim to 190 passing yards and a touchdown but, more notably, forced two more interceptions.

Kim’s struggles were evident once again against Iowa as well, where he threw for 193 yards and three interceptions. With a 6-6 touchdown to interception ratio on the year, ball security and turnovers have become a frightening trend. The Spartans can’t afford these types of stat lines at quarterback much longer, and the disappointment has raised the question of whether it is time to explore other options at the position. 

Maliq Carr

Entering year three at MSU for redshirt junior tight end Maliq Carr, high expectations have been placed. At six foot five and 260 pounds, Carr has always had the size advantage at the position, which has made both the team and fans excited about what he can do on the field.

In Carr’s previous two seasons as a Spartan, he has only caught 24 balls in a rather less crowded tight end room. Carr had a total of 344 receiving yards and two touchdowns before the 2023 season. 

It was no secret that Carr would be the starting tight end this season with the ability to be a big threat for Kim to find. However, the connection hasn’t been there as much as the Spartans have hoped, especially in the first two weeks.

Although Carr received a touchdown against Central Michigan, he only had two receptions in the first two games. Kim spread out the ball to nine different receivers in both those games, which adds reasoning to why Carr wasn’t involved in those contests. 

As Kim started to get pressured more in the last three games, he has found Carr for more receptions. Carr recorded three catches for 30 yards against Washington, five catches for 53 yards versus Maryland, and six catches for 43 yards in the Iowa game. 

The increased target rate in the past few weeks provides more optimism for the offense going forward, but the projections set for Carr are what have been more underwhelming to some. A big reason for this has been drops, as ball security has not been what it can and should be for Carr. 

Carr began his journey at tight end as a blocker, and has transitioned nicely into a receiving one. Spartan fans should look for Carr to get more targets and catches as the season progresses, but the coaching staff may have to get creative if they want him to reach his maximum potential in the offense.