Michigan State football is officially off to a 2-0 start in 2026, and staying perfect to begin the Pat Fitzgerald era in East Lansing. The Spartans defeated Eastern Michigan 35-7 inside of Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans had to win this game without the leader of the defense, as Jordan Hall missed the game with an arm injury. Instead, it was Brady Pretzlaff who was relied upon to fill the big void left by Hall. The redshirt sophomore rose to the occasion.
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Pretzlaff had eight tackles in the game, patrolling the middle of the MSU defense and showcasing his leadership ability at such a young age.
After the game, Pretzlaff spoke to the media where he talked about the week leading up into the game and what he saw from his team’s performance against the Eagles:
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“Jordan himself has been a great leader. Throughout this week, he did a great job himself on taking a coaching role.”
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“We want to get to all four quarters to meet our standard as a defense.”
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“I was wearing the green dot all the day today. It was pretty good. Even last week, I got it a little bit. It’s something I have to continue to get used to, having it.”
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“This (smack you in the face, mentioned by Eli Coenen) mentality is what we are trying to get back to. I grew up watching it.”
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“It is treating every game the same. We attack every week the same. For me, personally, being back playing football. I am grateful to be back playing football.”
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“Dev (Devin Vaught) is a guy that shows up, works really hard. The way he plays, the way he attacks every day, that’s what we expect. You don’t have to make a super man play. He is one guy I rely upon every day.”
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Linebacker Brady Pretzlaff talks about stepping up in MSU’s win vs EMU
