This is back-to-back weeks where TOC Nation has (correctly) selected a defensive player as MSU’s player of the game. Unlike the week before when a couple offensive players at least had an argument for the honor, this past week had no noteworthy performances on offense. That’s to be expected when you play both QB3 and QB4 in a game.
As has become the norm this year, we did have one name who stood out with his great performance while the majority of his teammates were lackluster. This week it was safety Devin Vaught. The transfer from Maine tied his season best with 8 tackles. He also knocked the ball out for a couple forced fumbles, one which he recovered, and also had a pass deflection. All in all, one of the best individual games by a Spartan defender in 2026.
Vaught ended up collecting 84% of the vote, the largest piece of the pie we have had this season. Congrats to you, Devin Vaught.
Through 8 games, we have given out the award 6 times to 6 different players, with 2 games where it was decided that no one was deserving. The other winners have been DT Ben Roberts, K Liam Boyd, RB Cam Edwards, LB Jordan Hall, and RB Jaziun Patterson. Hopefully, our Spartans can at least be competitive in our 4 remaining contests so we can give this award out a few more times.