Meet the Spartans: 5 MSU players every Alabama fan should know

Let’s tell the truth: Very few Alabama fans know much about Michigan State’s football team, the opponent the Tide will face on New Year’s Eve in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

A relative of mine, in fact, asked me this week what time Bama plays “Michigan.” It’s understandable. There are only so many hours in the day, and only the biggest of college football nerds can pay attention to the sport when it’s happening outside our region.

Here, then, are five Michigan State names that Alabama fans should know in advance of Thursday night’s game in Dallas.

Connor Cook, QB

Cook is the most obvious choice that all fans should recognize. The fifth-year senior signal-caller was up and down in 2015. He averaged 7.9 yards per completion, had a 56.9 completion percentage and over 2,900 passing yards total. But he was limited in November with a sprained throwing shoulder suffered against Maryland. Here’s the bottom line, though: When Cook starts in the past three years, the Spartans are 34-4, with two Big Ten championships. He’s also thrown for 24 touchdowns, against only five interceptions this season.

For what it’s worth, Cook has spent three weeks resting the shoulder. He told the media on Saturday that he still feels some discomfort between possessions, but not on the field.

LJ Scott, RB

Scott has only 691 yards for the season, and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. But, when the Big Ten championship was on the line in the fourth quarter against Iowa, the true freshman touched the ball on 14 of 22 snaps in a drive that covered 82 yards and melted all but the final 27 seconds off the clock. He also scored the game-winning touchdown, a powerful effort on third-and-goal from a yard away.

At 6-feet and 233 pounds, the matchup between him (and, by extension, MSU’s offensive line) and Alabama’s run defense will be key.

Aaron Burbridge, WR

Burbridge led the Spartans with over 1,200 yards receiving. And also, against Penn State he did this.

Trevon Pendleton, FB

Pendleton doesn’t have many eye-popping stats, but the fullback is 250 pounds coming out of the backfield and is a threat as both a blocker and receiver. His coaches refer to him as the “Ginsu Knife,” which is worth a mention all on its own.

Riley Bullough, LB

Bullough finished the season as the Spartans’ leading tackler, with 95 total stops. He is the fifth member of his family to suit up at MSU, and has the chance to become the second in that number to win a national championship (his grandfather, Hank, played on the MSU team that won the crown in 1951). He was also the key cog in the Big Ten’s second-leading rush defense.

Will Heath

Will Heath is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.