Michigan State football is headed into 2026 with a familiar kind of uncertainty: a new coach, a fresh reset, and a roster full of questions that still need answers.
The Spartans wasted little time moving on from Jonathan Smith after a 4-8 season in 2025. The day after the season ended, Smith was out, and roughly two hours later news broke that Pat Fitzgerald was coming in. That move alone tells you how quickly MSU wants to turn the page.
Fitzgerald is not exactly the usual “new era” hire. On paper, bringing in a coach who spent 17 years running a Big Ten program sounds steady, not experimental.
But this one carries more baggage than most. He had been out of college coaching for three years after Northwestern fired him in the wake of a hazing scandal.
He became hireable again in August 2025 after settling a wrongful termination lawsuit with NU, with the school saying that "extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing."
Even setting that aside, there were football reasons to wonder how the fit would play. Fitzgerald’s last two Northwestern teams went 3-9 in 2021 and then 1-11 in his final season.
Those were also the first two years college athletes were allowed to make NIL money, and Fitzgerald brings a very old-school, '90s-linebacker style to the job. The question is how that lands with players who are 17 or 18 and making hundreds of thousands of dollars.
One of the first major decisions he’s already made is at quarterback, where Michigan State is going with Alessio Milivojevic. That’s a notable internal promotion, especially for a new coach. Milivojevic got his audition over the final four games of 2025 and turned in what looks like an A-minus showing: nearly 1,000 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
Fitzgerald saw Milivojevic up close at Iowa, during the third of his four starts, when the quarterback threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Whether that performance or the broader film evaluation sold him, Fitzgerald decided to stick with Milivojevic as QB1 and effectively remove the interim label he carried last November.
The bigger issue on offense may be the receivers. Michigan State has maybe eight or nine players at the position who can credibly compete for snaps, but almost all of them remain unproven. For now, Chrishon McCray, Rodney Bullard Jr., and Charles Taplin look like the starters, though the drop-off to the next group does not appear to be especially large.
Courtney Hawkins still has some built-in credibility there. He’s been kept on through two head coaching changes as the wide receivers coach, which says plenty. The hunch is that somebody in that room is going to emerge this season; the only real mystery is which one.
Up front, the offensive line has to be better if Fitzgerald’s first season is going to gain traction. MSU gave up 37 sacks last year, one fewer than Rutgers for the most in the Big Ten, and it finished with the fourth-fewest yards per carry in the conference.
Milivojevic was sacked 16 times last season, which made him the 10th-most-sacked quarterback in the Big Ten even though he only started four games. He also is not the kind of runner Aidan Chiles is, so the line won’t have that same escape hatch. The starting five is expected to look completely different from last season, which at least leaves room for improvement.
Defensively, the clearest swing factor is the line and whether it can create pressure. Michigan State managed just 22 sacks last season, tied for the third-fewest in the Big Ten, and no Spartan finished with more than 2.5 quarterback takedowns.
That lack of pressure showed up in the takeaway numbers, too. MSU’s five interceptions were also among the fewest in the conference, and opposing quarterbacks had too much time to read the defense.
The hope now is that additions like rush end Kenny Soares Jr., defensive end Keahnist Thompson, and linebackers Caleb Wheatland and Dion Crawford can help change that. The Spartans also kept key pieces in rush end Anelu Lafaele, defensive end Cal Thrush, and EDGE Isaac Smith.
In Other News...
Michigan State Still Has A Receiver Battle Taking Shape Under Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgeralds arrival has put a fresh spotlight on Michigan States wide receiver room, and Courtney Hawkins is seeing a group that seems eager to make an impression early in the 2026 transition. With the Spartans moving through fall camp, Hawkins said the position group has been working through the usual early-season mix of competition and refinement, with an emphasis on sharper route running and cleaner technique as players try to separate themselves.
Hawkins also pointed to the way individual receivers are progressing, which is exactly what this stage of camp is supposed to reveal. The challenge now is turning that energy into a clearer hierarchy, and in a room that is still taking shape under a new head coach, every rep matters as Michigan State tries to sort out who will be ready when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Receivers Face Mounting Pressure Around Chrishon McCray
Montorie Fosters latest NFL grind is playing out on HBOs Hard Knocks, where the former Michigan State receiver is trying to carve out a roster spot with the Seahawks after already spending time on their practice squad and earning a Super Bowl ring along the way. For Spartans fans, it is another reminder of how much turnover this program has absorbed at receiver, with a familiar name from a previous era now fighting for his next opportunity on a bigger stage.
Back in East Lansing, the depth chart looks very different under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and the departures have left Chrishon McCray as the most experienced returning wideout. That puts added pressure on the room to develop quickly, because Michigan State does not just need bodies at the position - it needs someone to emerge as a reliable anchor while the rest of the rotation takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Suddenly Faces A Serious Question On Its Offensive Line
Michigan States offensive line picture suddenly comes with an off-field cloud, as projected starting guard Nick Sharpe is being looked at by Bath Township police after a sexual assault allegation from a woman reportedly visiting from Texas. The investigation is still in its early stages, but it has placed one of the Spartans expected front-line pieces under immediate scrutiny at a position group that is supposed to provide stability.
Sharpe has denied the allegation and said the encounter was consensual, while coach Pat Fitzgerald has not made any decision on his status as the matter unfolds. For a team trying to settle its line and build momentum, the uncertainty is the point now, and it leaves Michigan State waiting on a process that could affect both the depth chart and the tone around camp. [Read more 🡒]