EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State middle linebacker Max Bullough isn’t much for the individual honors that come with being a college football star.
Mention his selection as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his dominating performance in last Saturday’s shutout win over Purdue and he shrugs his shoulders, looks down, and credits teammates and coaches for their roles in his success.
So, I prefaced asking him about the MSU student book store displaying his No. 40 jersey in its front window by saying he probably wasn’t into that kind of thing.
I was wrong. Bullough’s eyes lit up as soon as I mentioned it.
“That’s fun," he said. "That’s something I always wanted to have. My jersey’s the one they’re selling, and I’m lucky to be a part of that this year.”
He’s a third-generation Spartan and has been wearing the jerseys of his green-and-white heroes since he was a young boy.
“I think my first ones were Jeff Smoker (No. 9) and T.J. Duckett (No. 8),” Bullough said.
Bullough -- with former teammates Kirk Cousins, Le’Veon Bell and Greg Jones drafted and off to the NFL -- has become the face of the program.
He was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the coaches last season, when he led MSU in tackles for the second straight season with 111. Bullough ranks third on the team this year with 42 tackles, is tied for the lead with 6.5 tackles for losses, and is second with seven quarterback hurries.
“Max Bullough is a controlling figure for our defense," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said."He's a blitzer and a tackler, but most importantly, he's a leader and communicator.
"Game in and game out, Max does his job."
The Spartans (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) travel to Illinois (3-3, 0-2) Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. game against the Fighting Illini.
“We’re focused on winning the Big Ten, going to Indianapolis (for the conference championship game) and going to the Rose Bowl,” said Bullough, whose school leads the Legends Division but hasn't played in Pasadena in 26 years.
The Spartans are unranked and have played only one team that's been ranked at any point this season. That was Notre Dame, which beat MSU 17-13, and has since fallen out of the rankings.
“We can’t control the Top 25 in Week 7,” Bullough said. “But if we’re 11-1 and not in the Top 25, I’d be mad.”
The Spartans play host to No. 24 Michigan on Nov. 2 before traveling to No. 25 Nebraska on Nov. 16. They then visit Northwestern before finishing the season at home against Minnesota.
Michigan State could finish unbeaten in the conference without playing a team in the Top 20. Fourth-ranked Ohio State and No. 22 Wisconsin aren't on MSU's schedule.
The Spartans have an offense struggling for an identity and points, but Bullough is at the center of a defense that could carry them to the conference championship game Dec. 7.
“There’s no question that Max runs the show on the field,” Spartans linebackers coach Mike Tressel said. “He gets all 11 guys on the same page.
"It doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but Max regularly puts guys in positions to make plays.”
Mention this to Bullough and he downplays his impact, saying, “Kurtis Drummond gets all the defensive backs lined up. (Defensive lineman) Tyler Hoover’s been here for 25 years and knows where guys go.”
Outside linebacker Denicos Allen, playing his fourth season next to Bullough, knows better.
“I can name you plenty of plays where Max made adjustments on the field to plays we didn’t even practice,” Allen said. “That’s because he will see a play in the first quarter that we’ve never seen on film.
"In the second quarter, he will see that same formation, recognize the play and move guys around for a play we end up stopping.”
Allen said Bullough has a photographic memory that enables him to do that.
“I think I do,” Bullough said. “It’s kind of how I study things. I don’t have any sense of smell and so I guess I got the photographic memory.”
Spartans defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said: “Max is a tremendous football player and a coach. And he’s also smart enough that he doesn’t want to get into coaching.”
Bullough's grandfather, Hank -- a star of MSU’s first Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship team in 1953 -- was a long-time NFL and college coach credited with originating the 3-4 defensive formation.
Bullough's uncle, Chuck, led the Spartans in tackles in 1990 and 1991, and is the defensive coordinator at Syracuse.
When you think Bullough, you think grittiness and coaching.
“But I’m not coaching,” Max Bullough said. “I’m getting my financing degree and doing something with that.
"My dad was very successful in business. And I want to do that, too, and prove myself out of football.”
Bullough is a captain, just as his father, Shane, was while leading the Spartans in tackles in 1985 and 1986.
“Max not only has a great knowledge of the game, he also sets examples for all of us on and off the field," MSU quarterback Connor Cook said. "He lets people know what he’s feeling, straight up. And he motivates me to be that kind of leader.”
So, he runs the defense and motivates the offense.
And before he takes off that No. 40 for the final time, he could go down as one of the greatest to ever play for the Spartans.
