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#4 Joe Bachie, Michigan State
When Michigan State was expected to be in rebuild mode two years ago, it was the play of quarterback Brian Lewerke and middle linebacker Joe Bachie that put the program right back in the mix for the Big Ten.
While Lewerke took a major step back last season, Bachie was one of the best linebackers in all of college football. Over the last two years, he has finished 100+ tackles in each of them, with 16.5 of those for negative yardage, while forcing four fumbles, recording four picks and eight other passes deflected.
Slightly undersized at 6’2”, 230 pounds, the Spartan standout loves to shoot gaps aggressively and rarely gets driven backwards by guys that outweight by almost 100 pounds because of the way he attacks one half of the blocker or just weaves around them.
He truly chases ball-carriers around sideline to sideline and plays with a ton of energy. When it comes to the passing game, Bachie does a good job in zone keeping guys in front of him while pass concepts develop and then jumps on shallow crossers when his area is cleared.
With two guys on that defensive line already making top five at their respective position and a physical secondary, this MSU defense should be tough to score on once again.
