Michigan State’s fall camp has already started sorting out who looks ready to matter when the Spartans kick off in two weeks, and a handful of players have separated themselves early.
One of the clearest risers is tight end Jayden Savoury. The redshirt freshman and second-year player sat out last season after appearing in four games and catching one pass for 16 yards against Boston College.
Now he looks like a real candidate to start. Savoury brings reliable hands, a wide catch radius and enough blocking ability to hold up in the run game.
He has also added size, checking in at 253 pounds after being 13 pounds lighter last year, and he’s grown to 6'5". Michigan State figures to rotate three or four tight ends regularly, but Savoury looks best positioned to be the every-down option.
On the defensive side, Illinois transfer Eli Coenen has emerged as an important piece. His college path has been a steady climb, which makes him stand out in the portal conversation: he redshirted at Division II Bemidji State in 2023 before becoming part of Illinois’ defensive rotation in 2025.
At Michigan State, he projects as the No. 2 defensive tackle and the quicker interior lineman in the group. During one drill last Monday, he looked like the fastest and most aggressive defensive tackle on the field.
If the Spartans stay healthy, the interior trio of Ben Roberts, Coenen and Derrick Simmons could be a strong one.
Anelu Lafaele is another player who looks ready to take a step. The rush end was winning reps consistently in a 1-on-1 drill against the tight ends, and that was encouraging after he missed the final seven games of the 2025 season with a foot injury.
Before the injury, he had 2.0 sacks and was on track to finish as the team’s top sack producer. The bigger question now is usage.
Lafaele is a dangerous pass rusher, but last season he mostly came onto the field when Michigan State expected pass. The next challenge is becoming more reliable against the run.
NC State transfer Kenny Soares Jr. should be part of that rush-end rotation too, and he has already made his presence felt beyond the field. The team voted him "The Spartan" this year and selected him to wear the No. 1 uniform, a tradition Pat Fitzgerald brought from Northwestern. That kind of recognition says plenty about the way he’s fit into the room.
Running back Cam Edwards is drawing plenty of attention as well, even with some questions still lingering. His 3.8 yards per carry against ACC teams last year is part of the hesitation, though his career mark of 4.6 yards per rush against Power Conference opponents softens that concern a bit. Fitzgerald, though, is setting a high bar.
"I expect him to be the best running back in the country," Fitzgerald said on Monday. "I mean, that's his goal, and we expect to push him to be that.
He has shown just unbelievable ability here in camp. There was a play the other day where he ran through it; Devon Spalding and I made eye contact, and I go, 'I'm good.
I don't need to see him 'til the opener.'"
Edwards ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns at UConn last season, and he also averaged 8.0 yards per carry when running to either gap adjacent to left tackle Ben Murawski. Murawski and Edwards will be teammates again at Michigan State.
The last name on the list might be the most under the radar. Cornerback Tyran Chappell is still listed third on the depth chart behind Charles Brantley and Tre Bell, but he looks like someone who will play plenty this season.
He was already starting at corner during the spring game while Brantley was out. Chappell has a chance to be a real takeaway threat for the Spartans after posting four interceptions at Houston Christian last season and earning First Team All-Southland honors.
Even with that production as a redshirt freshman, he was still outside the top 1,500 in On3’s portal rankings and outside the top 2,000 in 247Sports’ rankings.
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