Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer, Cal Haladay and others earn All-Big Ten honors

It was announced on Tuesday that Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer was named as the recipient of the Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year Award on Tuesday. Baringer becomes the first MSU punter to win a Big Ten award.

Baringer also received first-team All-Big Ten honors as voted by the coaches and second-team honors as voted by the media, while Spartan linebacker Cal Haladay received second-team honors from both. Jayden Reed received third-team honors from the media for his contribution as a return specialist, also receiving an honorable mention nod from the coaches.

Other Spartans received an honorable mention as well, including defensive tackles Simeon Barrow Jr. and Jacob Slade, as well as safety Xavier Henderson.

Baringer, a sixth-year senior, led the nation in average yards per punt by over two yards, averaging 49 yards a pop. This 49-yard average is good for the seventh-most in a single season in NCAA history. Baringer punted the ball 50 times this season, with 23 of them being downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Baringer was also named as a finalist for the Ray Guy Punter of the Year Award, joining Cincinnati’s Mason Fletcher and Adam Korsak from Rutgers.

The Spartan punter earned Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week honors twice this season in games against Ohio State and Illinois.

Haladay, a redshirt sophomore, led the Spartans and the Big Ten Conference in tackles this season, racking up 120 total tackles on the year. He also contributed 11 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks on the year, as well as a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Haladay was recognized as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back games against Illinois and Rutgers. Against Illinois, Haladay finished with nine total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss in a 23-15 upset victory over the Fighting Illini. Haladay followed up that performance by racking up 19 total tackles in a 27-21 win over Rutgers the following week.

Barrow Jr. totaled 40 tackles on the season, including nine tackles for loss, four sacks and a recovered fumble. Slade came up with 20 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack on the year ,while Henderson recorded 38 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception. Reed returned one kickoff for 20 yards as well as 13 punts for 114 yards.