The Detroit News picks Michigan State’s best football players for the past 25 years

QUARTERBACK – Connor Cook, 2012-15: The winningest quarterback in program history was at the helm during one of the most successful stretches at Michigan State and certainly within the last quarter of a century. While leading MSU to a pair of Big Ten championships and a spot in the College Football Playoff, Cook threw for more yards (9,194) and touchdowns (71) than anyone in program history and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.

RUNNING BACK – Javon Ringer, 2005-08: Ringer still ranks as the second-leading rusher in program history behind Lorenzo White, gaining 4,398 yards while running for 34 touchdowns during a career that spanned the final two seasons of the John L. Smith era and the first two under Mark Dantonio. As a senior, Ringer earned first-team All-American honors from the Associated Press by running for 1,637 yards and 22 touchdowns, which is tied for the most in MSU history with Jeremy Langford.

RUNNING BACK – Le’Veon Bell, 2010-12: Bell was the workhorse for the 2012 team that was a season away from reaching the Rose Bowl. In an offense that had a limited passing attack, Bell was the focal point, running for 1,793 yards, the second-most in a season in program history, while carrying it 382 times and scoring 12 touchdowns. An honorable mention All-American, Bell was also an effective pass catcher, with 78 receptions for 531 yards.

TIGHT END – Chris Baker, 1998-2001: With 133 receptions, Baker has the most catches by a tight end in program history and ranks in the top 10 overall. A two-time second-team All-Big Ten player, Baker had 1,705 career receiving yards with 18 touchdown while catching 40 passes for 548 yards and four touchdowns as a senior in 2001.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Flozell Adams, 1994-97: A first-team All-American as a senior, Adams was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. The 6-foot-7 left tackle helped Michigan State become a top-25 rushing offense in the country, averaging 199.5 yards a game while the Spartans had seven individual 100-yard rushing games. Michigan State running backs ran for at least 100 yards in 21 of Adams’ 35 career starts.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Jack Conklin, 2013-15: The former walk-on was named a first-team All-American as a junior and the following spring became the first Spartan offensive lineman to be picked in the first round since Tony Mandarich in 1989. Conklin started 38 of 39 career games (35 at left tackle and three at right tackle) and was part of Michigan State’s record-breaking 2014 offense before reaching the College Football Playoff in 2015.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Jack Allen, 2012-15: A two-time first-team All-American as a center, Allen started 48 career games – 42 at center and five at left guard – and even filled in at left tackle when injuries caught up with Michigan State in 2015. A two-time finalist for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation’s top center, Allen started four bowl games at center with Michigan State winning three – the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, 2014 Rose Bowl and 2015 Cotton Bowl.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Joel Foreman, 2008-11: One of the most reliable players in MSU history, Foreman was a rock up front as the Spartans moved back to the upper levels of the Big Ten. Foreman started 49 games at left guard, tied for linebacker Eric Gordon with the most starts in school history, the most starts ever by an MSU offensive lineman. As a senior in 2011, Foreman earned second-team All-American honors from Yahoo and was named to the third team by Phil Steele.

OFFENSIVE LINE – Brian Allen, 2014-17: Allen played in 51 career games with 38 starts, including 17 at center, 16 at left guard and five at right guard. A team captain as a senior in 2017, Allen earned second-team All-Big Ten honors for the third straight season while starting all 13 games at center and leading Michigan State to 10 victories just a year after suffering through a 3-9 tumble in 2016.

WIDE RECEIVER – Plaxico Burress, 1998-99: Burress ranks among the program leaders in receptions (131) and receiving yards (2,155) while playing just two seasons for the Spartans. His final season in 1999 was what vaulted him to elite status as he caught 12 touchdown passes, on 66 receptions for 1,142 yards. Three times in his final season, the first-team All-Big Ten selection caught three touchdown passes in a game while piling up 255 receiving yards against Michigan and catching 13 passes in the Citrus Bowl win over Florida.

WIDE RECEIVER – Charles Rogers, 2001-02: Rogers had two of the most dynamic seasons in program history. In 2001, the Saginaw native had 67 receptions for a program-record 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns, also a program best. The next season, Rogers earned consensus All-American honors by recording 68 catches for 1,351 yards and 13 scores, both of which are second-best in MSU history. His 27 career touchdown receptions remain the most of any Spartan receiver while he ranks third in receiving yards with 2,821.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Shilique Calhoun, 2012-15: The energetic defensive end was named second-team All-American for three straight years, garnering the accolade as a sophomore, junior and senior. A leader on some of the best defenses in MSU history, the two-time captain ranks in the top five in program history with 44 tackles for loss and is second with 27 sacks. Calhoun is one of only eight Spartans in program history and first defensive lineman to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors three times.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Kenny Willekes, 2016-19: A former walk-on, Willekes finished his career as Michigan State’s all-time leader in tackles for loss with 51 and ranked third with 26 sacks. He won the 2019 Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on, and was named the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year after leading the conference with 20.5 tackles for loss. Willekes earned second-team All-American honors twice.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Malik McDowell, 2014-16: One the most physically gifted defensive linemen to play at Michigan State, he quickly made a name for himself in 2014 by being named a freshman All-American. Primarily a tackle, McDowell finished his career with 24.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 36 career games before opting to head to the NFL Draft after his junior season, when he was named a second-team All-American.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Jerel Worthy, 2009-11: Worthy started 40 games in his career, including 38 at defensive tackle. He finished with 107 tackles, including 27.5 for loss and 12 sacks (78 yards). As a junior in 2011, Worthy earned consensus first-team All-American honors, the first MSU first-team selection at defensive tackle since Ronald Curl in 1971. Worthy was also named first-team All-Big Ten and recorded a tackle for loss in nine of MSU's 14 games.

LINEBACKER – Greg Jones, 2007-10: Jones earned consensus All-American honors as both a junior and senior, becoming the first Spartan to accomplish that feat in back-to-back seasons since Bubba Smith and George Webster in 1965-66. As a junior in 2009, Jones led the Big Ten and ranked third in the nation with 154 tackles and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He also recorded 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. As a senior, Jones became the first Spartan to reach the 100-tackle milestone in three straight seasons since Percy Snow (1987-89). His 465 career tackles rank third in MSU history.

LINEBACKER – Julian Peterson, 1998-99: In just two seasons, the outside linebacker piled up 48 tackles for loss, a program record that stood until 2019, when Kenny Willekes finished with 51. Peterson was nearly unstoppable in his final season at Michigan State, recording 30 tackles for loss as well as 15 of his career 25 sacks. Peterson was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press that season and capped things off by being named MVP of the Citrus Bowl with five tackles for loss.

LINEBACKER – Ike Reese, 1994-97: His freshman season came before 1995, but it was his consistency and outstanding senior year that landed Reese on the list. His 137 tackles in 1997 still ranks among the top 10 in program history and his 420 career stops are good for fourth overall. A third-team All-American in 1997, Reese’s legacy at Michigan State is likely hindered by the fact the Spartans never finished with more than seven wins in any of his seasons.

CORNERBACK – Darqueze Dennard, 2010-13: The Jim Thorpe Award winner as a senior in 2013, Dennard was also a consensus first-team All-American and the leader of Michigan State’s “No-fly Zone,” the nickname the defense gave itself as the Spartans rolled to the Big Ten title and a won in the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year in 2013 as well as a Nagurski Trophy finalist, Dennard finished his career with 10 interceptions and 20 pass break-ups in 44 career games.

CORNERBACK – Trae Waynes, 2012-14: A Thorpe Award semifinalist as a junior in 2014, Waynes left a year early and became the highest drafted cornerback at MSU in the modern NFL Draft era, going No. 11 overall to Minnesota. He finished his career with six interceptions and 13 pass breakups in 36 career games. A second-team All-American in 2014, Waynes became MSU's third first-team All-Big Ten cornerback under Mark Dantonio, joining Dennard and Johnny Adams.

SAFETY – Kurtis Drummond, 2011-14: As a senior in 2014, Drummond earned first-team All-American honors and was named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year as he led the team in tackles (72), interceptions (four), pass break-ups (11) and passes defended (15) while also grabbing four interceptions. In 52 career games, Drummond had 233 tackles while intercepting 12 passes and recording 14 tackles for loss.

SAFETY – Trenton Robinson, 2008-11: A captain and three-year starter, Robinson had 229 tackles, nine interceptions and 12 pass break-ups in 46 career games, including 32 starts at safety. Robinson earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior on MSU’s Big Ten championship team, then earned first-team honors as a senior, finishing with 80 tackles, including six in the win over Georgia in the Outback Bowl, as well as 12 tackles against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.

KICKER – Brett Swenson, 2006-09: Swenson finished his career as Michigan State’s program leader in points (377) and field goals (71), and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2009, nailing 19 field goals. As a junior in 2008, Swenson booted 22 field goals, second-best in MSU history.

PUNTER – Mike Sadler, 2011-14: One of the best ambassadors in the history of the program, Sadler not only excelled on the field but was the first four-time academic All-American in school history and was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy as a senior, the award given to the nation’s top scholar athlete. A four-year starter, Sadler finished his career ranked among MSU's all-time leaders in punts (second with 268), punting yards (second with 11,307) and punting average (sixth at 42.2). He earned first-team All-America honors from ESPN.com in 2013 and was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist.