EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay can't wait for the 2023 football season to begin.
"This season my biggest thing is to get bigger, faster, stronger and then getting in the meeting room and just watching film and making sure that I know all the details, the ins and outs," Haladay said.
The redshirt junior works hard because he can't stop pinching himself knowing this is his life.
"This has just been a blessing honestly, because honestly, in high school I didn't even know if I was gonna play football in college or not," Haladay said. "I can't ask for anything better than what happened. You dream of this stuff and it's just been it's been unreal so far.
What's unreal is how Halladay plays the game.
"He's extremely old school. I mean you talk about 100 years. 100 years ago, he would have fit in. He wears nothing on his arms. No wristbands, no tape, no towel. I mean, he's as basic as it gets.
Basic is how last year's Big Ten tackles leader likes to be. He has never worn gloves even when he played youth football. His dad would not let him wear gloves.
"Like pregame I don't listen to music," Haladay said. "I don't like to do anything. I'm pretty much just sitting there and wait until the game starts to put my pads on like 10 minutes before we go out to warm up."
It's that unique and focused mentality that has earned Haladay several nicknames like The Body Man, John Wick and the Boogeyman. Haladay says the nicknames are cool, and he doesn't know why they came to be, but he wants to be known a certain way.
"I just want to be tough," Haladay said. "One of the toughest guys on the field. Even the hardest worker I think that's like the two things that really make me the player I am is just how hard I how hard I work and then the toughness that I have."
That toughness is exactly what Mel Tucker likes to see from the star of his defense.
"He's a Michigan State linebacker," Tucker said. "Old school. He could play in that era where like, you could tackle a guy and he could get up and still run. Like you had to stop the forward progress. The guy had to give up before they blow the whistle. He could have played in that era. I love that guy."
Whether it is 2023 or 1923, Haladay will be ready to go.
"Every game is a war and you got to be ready to play every game," Haladay said.
Haladay and the Michigan State Spartans open up the 2023 season at home against Central Michigan on September 1.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.