Cal Haladay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cal Haladay
Haladay in 2021
Michigan State Spartans – No. 27
PositionLinebacker
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Junior
Personal information
Born: (2000-12-16) December 16, 2000 (age 23)
Elysburg, Pennsylvania
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolSouthern Columbia Area High School
Career highlights and awards

Cal Haladay (born December 16, 2000) is an American football linebacker for the Michigan State Spartans.

Early life[edit]

Haladay attended Southern Columbia Area High School in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. In his high school career he notched 334 tackles with 34 going for a loss, 14 sacks, two pass deflections, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles.[1] Haladay committed to play college football at Michigan State over other schools such as Michigan, Nebraska, and Pittsburgh.[2]

College career[edit]

As a freshman in 2020, Haladay redshirted and appeared in four games, recording no statistics.[3] In week five of the 2021 season, he had a breakout game tallying ten tackles with one going for a loss, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble, as he helped Michigan State beat Western Kentucky 48–31.[4] In week seven, Haladay intercepted a pass thrown by Jack Tuttle and returned it 30 yards for a clutch touchdown, as helped the Spartans beat Indiana 20–15.[5] In the Spartans season finale, Haladay racked up 11 tackles with 2.5 being for a loss, 0.5 sack, and a forced fumble, as helped Michigan State survive Penn State 30–27.[6] Haladay was named the defensive MVP of the 2021 Peach Bowl after recording a team-high 11 tackles and a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown to secure the Spartans' 31–21 victory.[7] Haladay finished the 2021 season with 96 tackles with five going for a loss, 0.5 sack, a pass deflection, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, and two touchdowns, earning Freshman All-American honors.[8][9]

In the 2022 season opener, Haladay recorded a strip sack fumble and an interception in a 52–0 victory over Akron.[10] In week ten he totaled nine tackles with 3.5 being for a loss, as he helped Michigan State beat Illinois.[11] For his performance, Haladay was named the Big Ten defensive player of the week.[12] The following week, he notched 19 tackles with one going for a loss, as helped the Spartans beat Rutgers 27–21.[13] Haladay was named the Big Ten defensive player of the week for the second straight week.[14] He finished the 2022 season with 120 tackles with 11 going for a loss, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble.[15] Haladay was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and by the media.[16][17] Ahead of the 2023 season, he was named to watch lists of multiple awards, such as the Butkus Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Chuck Bednarik Award.[18][19][20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cal Haladay Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. ^ Wenzel, Matt. "3-star LB Cal Haladay commits to Michigan State". MLive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Cal Haladay". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Western Kentucky 31-48 Michigan State (Oct 2, 2021) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  5. ^ Friend, Phil. "Replay: No. 9 Michigan State football moves to 7-0 with 20-15 win over Indiana". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Penn State 27-30 Michigan State (Nov 27, 2021) Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ^ Wenzel, Matt. "Michigan State's Cal Haladay caps breakout season as Peach Bowl defensive MVP". MLive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Cal Haladay 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  9. ^ Wenzel, Matt. "Michigan State LB Cal Haladay named Freshman All-American". MLive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  10. ^ Ramsey, Jared. "Recap: Michigan State football pummels Akron, 52-0". The Detroit News. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  11. ^ Wenzel, Matt. "Takeaways, observations from Michigan State's upset win at Illinois". MLive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  12. ^ Wenzel, Matt. "Michigan State LB Cal Haladay named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week". MLive.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Michigan State holds on for 27-21 victory over Rutgers". CBS Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  14. ^ Lounsberry, Matthew. "MSU linebacker named Big Ten 'Defensive Player of the Week' in back-to-back weeks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Cal Haladay 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  16. ^ Brewster, Andrew. "Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named second team All-Big Ten by the Associated Press". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  17. ^ Garcia, Tony. "Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh: Big Ten Coach of the Year". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  18. ^ Moore, Brendan. "Michigan State Award Watch: Seven Spartans named to Senior Bowl Watch List". Rivals.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  19. ^ Lounsberry, Matthew. "MSU's Cal Haladay Named To Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  20. ^ Brooks, Stephen. "Michigan State LB Cal Haladay chosen for Chuck Bednarik Award watch list". 247Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2023.

External links[edit]