How Michigan State is preparing for Michigan’s QB mess

EAST LANSING – The mention of a name brought a memory and smile to Cal Haladay’s face.

It was the middle of the Michigan State linebacker’s first season as a starter when he intercepted Indiana’s Jack Tuttle and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

The pick-6 opened the scoring for the Spartans, who went on to win 20-15 on the road to improve to 7-0 heading into an epic showdown against Michigan.

Three years later, Haladay remains a fixture in the middle of Michigan State’s defense while Tuttle is a seventh-year senior in his second season at Michigan and part of a messy outlook at quarterback for the Wolverines. They’ve used three different starters already this season, including Tuttle, who got the nod in last week’s 21-7 loss at Illinois. Next up is the annual clash between the Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) and Wolverines (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., BTN) for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore declined to discuss who could start against Michigan State during his Monday press conference before saying on his radio show that evening it will probably be Tuttle but that wasn’t a lock. So, that leaves the Spartans guessing.

“I think they all have some different strengths and weaknesses and different skillsets,” defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi said after practice on Wednesday. “I think they all at various times during the year have moved the ball and scored points. We’ve got to have the mindset of we could see any of them and we’ve got to have an answer for the things that they present.”

After losing J.J. McCarthy to the NFL draft, Michigan went into the fall with Davis Warren as the starter. The senior and former walk-on threw six interceptions in the first three games before being benched.

Next up was junior Alex Orji, who was mostly a running threat, before Michigan turned to Tuttle. The 25-year-old provided a spark on the road in a loss at Washington but was 20-for-32 passing for 208 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and a fumble at Illinois in a performance he called “embarrassing.” That led to even more uncertainty for the Wolverines at the top spot moving forward.

“It just makes the preparation a little bit tougher,” Haladay said, “because that means you’ve got to prepare for the different guys. … We don’t know who exactly we’re going to get but we just have to have a plan for all three.”

A season after winning a national championship, Michigan is 0-for-3 in finding what it’s looking for in a quarterback. The trio of passers have combined for six touchdowns and nine interceptions and the Wolverines rank 129th out of 133 teams in the nation in passing at just 128.3 yards per game while relying on the ground.

“You prepare (for) what you see on tape and we’ve got tape of all their players that have played offensively,” coach Jonathan Smith said. “It is about a run game because this run game of theirs is potent. It can be unique in some of their schemes, they do a nice job of that. It’s a physical brand of football we’ve got to get ready for.”

Michigan State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 32-20 victory against Iowa last week while beating the Hawkeyes at the point of attack. The Spartans will be tested up front again on Saturday regardless of who lines up at quarterback for the Wolverines.

“We don’t expect to know, we’ll kind of see when we get there,” Rossi said. “We may even see some different packages, I would expect packages. If it is Tuttle I would expect to see (Orji) in the game running the ball. Those are things that we all have to be prepared for.”

Michigan has two other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, including true freshman Jadyn Davis. Moore on Monday said the former four-star recruit has “taken steps to put himself in a good position,” but he hasn’t taken a snap yet. That could change Saturday night but seems unlikely.

“You prepare for him by preparing for their offense,” Rossi said of Davis. “He hasn’t been on film and you haven’t had a chance to see him. If he comes in, what are they going to do? They’re going to run their offense and they’re going to run those plays. They may tailor some things to him but we kind of put our focus on the guys that we’ve seen on film and have seen in games.”

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