Michigan State’s All-21st-Century Defense
Few programs have defended as ferociously from 2000 onward as Michigan State, so paring the last quarter-century down to a single starting unit is hair-splitting work. Still, this XI captures the talent, toughness, and swagger that have defined “Spartan Dawg” football since the turn of the millennium.
Defensive line – Shilique Calhoun, Kenny Willekes, Jerel Worthy, Malik McDowell
Mark Dantonio’s best teams were built front-to-back, and it starts on the edge. Shilique Calhoun’s 2013 breakout (Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, three defensive TDs) set the tone for an era in which MSU routinely finished top-10 nationally in sacks and rush defense.
At the opposite end, former walk-on Kenny Willekes matched Calhoun’s honor in 2018 while piling up a league-best 20.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks—production that made him Pro Football Focus’s No. 3 graded 4-3 DE in the nation.
Inside, Jerel Worthy became the program’s first AP first-team All-American defensive tackle since Bubba Smith (1966), anchoring the Big Ten’s stingiest front in 2011.
Malik McDowell rounds out the interior as a 6-6 disruptor who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2016 despite constant double-teams after State’s 2015 playoff run.
Linebackers – Greg Jones, Max Bullough, Denicos Allen
No Spartan defender this century was more decorated than middle linebacker Greg Jones: back-to-back consensus All-American nods (2009-10) and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in ’09 cemented him as MSU’s tackling machine of record.
Jones hands the headset to Max Bullough, a cerebral, two-time captain who paired third-team AP All-America status with First-Team Academic All-America honors in 2013—a rare combination of thump and think.
On the weak side, Denicos Allen supplied the splash plays: three All-Big Ten seasons, 46 career TFLs (3rd in school history) and a legendary stop of Braxton Miller on 4th-and-2 that sealed the 2013 Big Ten title.
Secondary – Darqueze Dennard, Trae Waynes, Kurtis Drummond, Khari Willis
MSU’s famed “No-Fly Zone” is represented by its bookend Thorpe Award-caliber corners. Darqueze Dennard captured the Jim Thorpe Award and unanimous All-America honors in 2013, spearheading the nation’s No. 1 total defense.
His 2014 partner Trae Waynes followed with first-team All-Big Ten status and a Thorpe semifinal berth before becoming the Spartans’ highest-drafted corner of the modern era (No. 11 overall).
Deep patrol belongs to Kurtis Drummond—2014 Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and first-team FWAA All-American—whose ball skills (15 passes defended that season) kept MSU’s single-high looks viable.
Joining him is captain Khari Willis, the emotional anchor of the 2018 unit that finished eighth nationally in scoring defense; Willis posted 84 tackles, 10 PBUs, and delivered a keynote address that showcased the leadership for which NFL scouts coveted him.
Why this group?
Together, these 11 epitomize three pillars of 21st-century Spartan defense: relentless pass rush, sideline-to-sideline linebacker range, and press-man secondary play. They account for four Big Ten positional-player-of-the-year awards, five consensus or unanimous All-Americans, and the core of teams that bagged two conference championships, a Rose Bowl victory, and a College Football Playoff berth. Plug them into a modern 4-3 Over look, let “Spartan Dawg” pride do the talking, and you have a defense that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any Power-Five all-star roster of the last 25 years—proof that in East Lansing, defense is more than a phase; it is the brand.
