Cal Haladay: LB · Michigan State · #27.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Cal Haladay
Ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. Played for two head coaches at Michigan State: Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith. The first one came in 2022: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 6 tackles against Rutgers — Week 14, 2024.
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
58 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
The Detroit News Oct 27
Detroit Free Press Oct 24
Lansing State Journal Oct 23Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Michigan State | 58 | 36 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Michigan State | 91 | 41 | 5.5 | 1.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Michigan State | 120 | 42 | 11.0 | 1.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Michigan State | 96 | 39 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 365 | 158 | 25.5 | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 16-10vs Florida Atlantic | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 27-24@ Maryland | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 40-0vs Prairie View A&M | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-23@ Boston College | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-38vs No. 3 Ohio State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 10-31@ No. 6 Oregon | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 32-20vs Iowa | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 17-24@ Michigan | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 10-47vs No. 13 Indiana | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 16-38@ Illinois | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 24-17vs Purdue | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | L 14-41vs Rutgers | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 58 | 36 | 4.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 |
Week 3 · 2024
W 40-0
1 sack · 1.5 tackles for loss · 4 tackles
Dominant 40-point win at home against Prairie View A&M.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
58tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%4 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
2%1 pass breakups58 tackles · 4.5 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Road5g | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 5.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jonathan Smith
Pass share
48.1%
354 pass / 382 run
Plays / game
61.3
12 games
Team sack rate
8.6%
373 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #334 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan State, 365 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 48 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2022)
Weekly recognition
2 weekly honors (2022)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Mel Tucker, Harlon Barnett, and Jonathan Smith. Multi-era developmental context.
