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USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Wayne Matthews III says MSU is 'stacked' at LB, gives freshman LB a shout out
A freshman Spartans linebacker is turning heads in what is considered a "stacked" position group A freshman linebacker has gained the respect and grabbed the attention of a veteran within that position room. Veteran linebacker Wayne Matthews spoke with the media on Tuesday, fielding a number of questions about the Spartans as they prepare for the 2025 season. Matthews was quoted staying the Spartans are "stacked" at linebacker this year, with one particular young player getting a personal shout out as well: Brady Pretzlaff. Per a post on social media from Emmett Matasovsky of Spartan Shadows, Matthews said Pretzlaff is "going to be a guy" for the Spartans. Whether or not that is this year or down the road is not clear, but certainly still some high praise from Matthews for the young redshirt freshman linebacker. Here's the full post from Matasovsky with the quote from Matthews: Pretzlaff played in four games last year but was able to preserve his redshirt status. He tallied a seven total tackles, with one of which being for a loss. He was a four-star prospect in On3's ratings for the 2024 class, and a nice recruiting win for Jonathan Smith's staff in his first recruiting cycle. Pretzlaff came to Michigan State with expectations of seeing solid playing time early in his career and it sounds like that is going to happen. Having another young solid linebacker in an already talented -- "stacked" as Matthews said -- room is great news for the Spartans. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly 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 X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
29-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Smith highlights a true freshman player that stood out on MSU football's first day of practice
There is a true freshman on the Spartans that reportedly got head coach Jonathan Smith's attention on opening day of preseason fall camp. Michigan State kicked off fall preseason camp on Tuesday, with the Spartans holding their first practice of the season. As part of the opening day of fall camp, Smith met with the media to field a number of questions on his Spartans. One of the questions was related to players standing out on the first day of practice, where he gave a somewhat surprising answer. According to Ben Schadel of Spartan Shadows, Smith noted that true freshman defensive lineman Derrick Simmons was one of the players that stood out on Tuesday. Simmons is entering his first season with the Spartans after playing his high school ball at Frankenmuth High last year. He was a four-star prospect in the 2025 class, and ranked as the No. 27 defensive lineman in the class. So with that being said, he was expected to be a big-time player for the Spartans but I personally didn't expect him to have an impact right away -- which appears could be the case. We will need to continue to monitor Simmons throughout fall camp and see if he is getting similar praise from other coaches and players. If he could step into the rotation as a true freshman, that would go a long way for the Spartans and his future with the program. Michigan State opens the regular season on August 29 against Western Michigan. Kickoff from Spartan Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with the game set to be televised on FS1. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly 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 X @RobertBondy5.
