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USA Today
21-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Way-too-early predictions for Michigan State basketball in 2025-26
Way-too-early predictions for Michigan State basketball in 2025-26 We made our guesses for how the 2025-26 Michigan State basketball season will go. The 2024-25 Michigan State basketball season felt like a return to form for Tom Izzo and his Spartans. After a five-year period that included many anxiety-inducing Selections Sundays hoping the Spartans would make the cut for the NCAA Tournament, MSU dominated the Big Ten this year, cruising to a Big Ten title and a 2-seed in the tournament, where they were just six points away from a Final Four berth. The year has restored a lot of the faith and excitement around the team. While there will be some new faces in the building next year, the expectations have definitely shifted back to normal for MSU. Instead of just hoping the Spartans can eek their way into the Tournament, there will be hope for another strong push next year. Below, our staff took a stab at making some predictions, including team MVP, sixth man, season outlook, and more. Team MVP Cory Linsner: Jeremy Fears Jr. Robert Bondy: Jeremy Fears Jr. Andrew Brewster: Coen Carr Analysis: This is going to be Jeremy Fears Jr.'s team next year. Tom Izzo could have broke the bank and brought in an elite-level transfer to be the alpha on offense. Instead, he added pieces that will complement Fears and his strengths. I think this is the chalk pick for Team MVP, but I still opted to vote for Coen Carr here, but he will need to expand his scoring acumen to earn that title. Defensive Player of the Year CL: Trey Fort RB: Coen Carr AB: Coen Carr Analysis: Coen Carr wins the majority of the votes here, which isn't a surprise considering how far his defense took a leap. Cory went with Trey Fort, which would be very welcome as the Spartans will need to replace both Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman's wing defense. Sixth Man CL: Kaleb Glenn RB: Kaleb Glenn AB: Kaleb Glenn Analysis: It seems were are all very high on Kaleb Glenn off the bench, which isn't a surprise as he's a very exciting player whose flaws will be less apparent in the bench role. One note, I might have voted for Kohler here if he was slated to start the year off the bench. However, I'm expecting him to start most games, at least at the start of the year, so... Best Addition CL: Kaleb Glenn RB: Kaleb Glenn AB: Trey Fort Analysis: We were all high on the transfers they brought in this year, but I was tempted to put Cam Ward in here, but it's still unclear how many minutes he will be able to get in a crowded position. Rotation RB Starters: Jeremy Fears Jr. Trey Fort Coen Carr Jaxon Kohler Carson Cooper Bench: Kaleb Glenn Jesse McCulloch Kur Teng Cam Ward CL Start of the year: Starters: Jeremy Fears Jr. Trey Fort Coen Carr Jaxon Kohler Carson Cooper Bench: Kaleb Glenn Jesse McCulloch Kur Teng Cam Ward End of the year: Starters: Jeremy Fears Jr. Trey Fort Coen Carr Cam Ward Jesse McCulloch Bench: Kaleb Glenn Carson Cooper Kur Teng Jaxon Kohler AB Starters: Jeremy Fears Jr. Trey Fort Coen Carr Jaxon Kohler Carson Cooper Bench: Transfer PG Kaleb Glenn Jesse McCulloch Kur Teng Cam Ward Analysis: Cory had the spiciest rotation, as he actually broke his down between the start of the year and the end of the year, with a prediction that Cam Ward and Jesse McCulloch will overtake Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper for starter minutes in the back half of the season. There have been rumors for a while that McCulloch has been impressive in practices, and Cam Ward is coming into East Lansing with a lot of hype, so that wouldn't be a huge shock. For more on the potential rotation, I published a piece diving into more detail last week, which you can find here. Season Record/March Madness outcome CL: 22-14, Round 32 RB: 26-12, Sweet 16 AB: 28-10, Elite 8 Analysis: We are all varying degrees of positive about the outlook for next year, while still having the expectation that this probably isn't the year the Spartans really make a run at a national title. I think the consensus is that next year will probably be a slight rebuild as the team re-orients itself around Jeremy Fears Jr. and focuses on the development of incoming freshmen Cam Ward and Jordan Scott. I was the most optimistic about their chances, predicting a similar outlook for next year that we saw this year, because I do expect the defense to still be elite and I think the Spartans made some savvy additions in the portal this offseason to improve their shooting. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X, 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.
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
D.J. Reed, Haason Reddick, and Jets' 10 best free agents
Aaron Glenn has made it clear that he wants a clean slate. The Jets' new head coach has moved on from just about every holdover from the previous coaching staff. In the coming weeks, we'll find out if he'll apply the same logic to the roster. The Jets have a number of notable free agents, a group that includes a few crucial starters, some of former GM Joe Douglas's bigger disappointments, and some veterans who can still provide depth at this point in their careers. Advertisement Here's a look at the 10 best unrestricted free agents heading into the offseason: Joe Douglas had a lot of misses as Jets general manager, but Reed will go down as one of the better free-agent signings in team history. His stats weren't mind-blowing (two interceptions in three seasons) but he was a perfect complement to Sauce Gardner and allowed the Jets to keep both of them on their side of the field rather than having either travel with another team's star receiver. The lack of production in terms of takeaways might hurt Reed, but he's at worst a high-end No. 2 cornerback, an adept tackler and a locker room leader. PFF ranked him 25th among cornerbacks in 2024, 17th in 2023 and 20th in 2022. He forced 11 incompletions this season, which tied for sixth among cornerbacks, and had the second-best forced incompletion percentage. He averaged 7.6 snaps per target (11th-best among eligible corners) and 13.1 snaps per reception (10th), and allowed two or fewer receptions eight times in 14 games — including against Vikings, Texans and Dolphins, teams with talented wide receiver groups. On the downside, Reed was one of only eight corners to play more than 500 coverage snaps and not record an interception this year, and his 11 penalties tied for the fourth-most among corners. Reed has spoken openly about his desire to get paid this offseason, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he prioritized the highest bidder. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the sixth-best free agent and projects a three year, $42 million contract — an uptick from the three year, $33 million deal he signed with the Jets in 2022. GO DEEPER Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey bring the Jets hope — if Woody Johnson stays out of their way If someone had predicted before the season that Sherwood would be voted the Jets' Team MVP, they would have been considered crazy. Sherwood wasn't even a projected starter at the beginning of the season, in a defense that usually plays only two linebackers and already had Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley. But the combination of Mosley's injuries (he played only four games), a disappointing season for many on the roster and a major leap forward for Sherwood in his fourth year led to a breakout campaign for the locker-room favorite. Sherwood played in all 17 games and started 16 of them, finishing tied for third in the NFL in tackles (158), ninth in run-play tackling and graded as the 10th-best linebacker by PFF, 15th-best at run defense and 12th-best in coverage. Advertisement He's only 25 and is relatively new to the linebacker position — he was a safety at Auburn — so there is reason to believe Sherwood has yet to reach his full potential. The Jets presumably will be interested in bringing him back, especially if Mosley is on the way out, but he has no ties to the new coaching staff. The Falcons hired ex-Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg, both instrumental in Sherwood's development, and former head coach Robert Saleh is back in San Francisco as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. PFF has Sherwood ranked 66th among free agents and projects a two-year, $15.5 million deal. Conklin's stats don't jump off the page, but he was often under-utilized and had to overcome a lot of poor quarterback play. He's a solid, starting-caliber NFL tight end and a great leader. Since signing with the Jets in 2022, Conklin is tied for eighth among all tight ends in receptions (170) and 14th in yards (1,622 yards). He also already ranks sixth all-time among Jets tight ends in receptions. He scored a career-high four touchdowns in 2024 — after having zero in 2023. PFF had him graded 30th of 31 tight ends with at least 50 targets. On the positive end: ESPN ranked 22nd of 43 eligible tight ends in 'open score,' which measures a receiver's ability to get open on a route. Conklin will be helped by a weak tight end free agency class, topped by Juwan Johnson, Zach Ertz and Mike Gesicki. Moses is a warrior. In his return to the Jets, he quickly became a leader and garnered a lot of respect for playing (14 games) through pain — specifically, multiple knee injuries he dealt with during the second half of the season. He graded out as average according to most metrics: 49th overall among offensive tackles by PFF and 12th in pass-blocking efficiency, the result of only allowing two sacks and 16 pressures in 467 pass blocking snaps. He did commit eight penalties and turns 34 years old in March. But Moses is an ideal veteran to add to an offensive line-needy team, both for his leadership and because he still can play as a starting-caliber right tackle. Advertisement PFF ranks him 57th overall and projects a two-year, $10 million contract. Reddick's season could not have gone much worse. He didn't exactly endear himself to his teammates, coaches or the fan base when he skipped all of offseason workouts, mandatory minicamp, training camp and the first seven weeks of the season. When he returned, he wasn't exactly in football shape — and it showed. He was one of the least productive pass rushers in the NFL considering how much he played. Reddick had a half-sack in Week 9 and a half-sack in Week 18. That's it. He had three quarterback hits in 10 games. PFF ranked him 96th of 105 edge rushers to play at least 300 snaps, and 95th in pass rushing. He had 11 pressures in his first two games, and then only nine over the next six. He ranked 79th of 93 edge rushers in PFF's pass-rush win rate metric. He often disappeared, to the point that it was often easy to forget he was on the field at all. Even worse: He never addressed his holdout, publicly or privately, despite being a distraction for the entire offseason and into the beginning of the year. It would be hard to find someone who hurt their stock in 2024 more than Reddick, who was one of the NFL's best sack artists over his previous two seasons, with the Eagles. Maybe a team will talk themselves into the idea that he didn't have a training camp and he'd be better with a full offseason — and the possibility of buying low on someone who had 16 sacks in 2022. But it wouldn't be advisable to invest many years, or much money. Despite all of that, PFF ranks Reddick 12th among free agents and projects a two-year, $25 million contract. Echols struggled as a full-time starter in 2021 and then was relegated to reserve and special-teams duty once Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed came into the mix. He has thrived at times in spot duty, getting both of his interceptions in 2024 — a team-high, somehow — while filling in for Gardner and Reed when they left games with injuries. He played 66 snaps in Week 2, had an interception and only allowed one catch, but struggled otherwise when receiving significant playing time, especially against the Steelers in Week 7 when he had three missed tackles and allowed five catches on five targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Advertisement Still, he's a solid NFL cornerback and viable as the third- or fourth-best on a depth chart — and as an added bonus he's developed into a quality special teams player too, helping the Jets as a gunner for a few years. For teams in need of depth at cornerback, he should draw some interest. He'll turn 35 in December and is currently considering whether he wants to keep playing. Smith graded out well according to both ESPN and PFF metrics, but neither of those rankings pass the eye test. Smith looked like a shell of his former self, often struggling with athletic edge rushers. He's a future Hall of Famer, but he doesn't play at that level anymore. He only played in 10 games in 2024 due to a neck injury. If willing, he might be valuable as swing tackle or stopgap solution for a rookie. Smith allowed five sacks after not allowing more than two in a season since 2017. Despite that, PFF ranked him 26th of 67 offensive tackles to play at least 500 snaps, and ESPN ranked him first in run-block win rate. The Jets were the only team to offer Smith a contract in free agency last season; it's unclear if anyone will be interested in signing him this time around. PFF projects a one-year, $8 million contract. Another case where the numbers don't exactly pass the eye test. Kinlaw had a career-high 4.5 sacks and ranked 15th among eligible defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, but he didn't really make a major impact as a pass rusher and often struggled to get off blocks in the run game. The Jets' decision to give him a one year, $7.25 million contract in free agency last offseason — it's unclear who exactly they were competing against — was confusing at the time and didn't age any better. Kinlaw can be a solid rotational backup but likely isn't well-suited for a full-time starting role. He wasn't highly productive (three pass deflections, zero interceptions), but Oliver brings some valuable versatility as someone who can play safety, outside corner or nickel corner when called upon. PFF had him graded 41st of 86 eligible safeties, and 31st in both run defense and tackling. He did allow the 10th-most yards among safeties and had the second-worst snaps per reception rate. Ashtyn Davis was also an option on this list since he's an impressive athlete and special teams contributor, but he struggles when given significant snaps. He also played better in 2023, which still didn't lead to any interest in free agency last offseason. Advertisement He's best as a rotational defensive tackle; the Jets lacked depth in 2024 so Thomas probably played a little more than necessary. But he is a highly respected veteran that's had decent production for a rotational player the last two years: five sacks in 2023, 3.5 in 2024. PFF had him ranked 77th of 85 defensive tackles and he graded poorly in run defense (76th). • Safety Tony Adams is a restricted free agent and would have slotted in at fifth or sixth in these rankings if he was unrestricted. It will be interesting to see if the Jets bring him back — he's young (26) and won't cost much — considering owner Woody Johnson pushed Ulbrich to bench Adams during the season. • WR Irv Charles became the Jets' best gunner, sometimes double- and triple-teamed by opponents to keep him from getting to returners, though he tore his ACL in December. He's an exclusive-rights free agent that the Jets should bring back if he's healthy. If not, expect the 49ers — with Saleh and ex-Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer — to try to sign him. (Photo of D.J. Reed: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
