Week 1 of the NFL season gave Michigan State fans a fresh batch of Spartan snapshots, from rookies taking their first pro snaps to veterans filling out key roles for contenders and rebuilding clubs alike.
The newest Spartans in the league are already in the mix. Center Matt Gulbin, a sixth-round pick by the Washington Commanders, and punter Ryan Eckley, a sixth-rounder with the Baltimore Ravens, are the two Spartan rookies on NFL rosters this year. MSU has now produced at least one draftee in five straight years after its 80-year NFL Draft streak was snapped in 2021.
There’s also more recent championship hardware in the Spartan pipeline. Ben VanSumeren won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, Kenneth Walker III did it with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025, and after earning Super Bowl MVP honors in that title run, Walker later moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. Other MSU products with Lombardi Trophy experience this decade include Will Gholston, who won with Tampa Bay in 2020, and Brian Allen, who won with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
As the 2026 season got rolling, several former Spartans found themselves right in the middle of the action.
Kenneth Walker III wasted no time making his new team look smart. In his first game in a Chiefs uniform, he ripped off 173 rushing yards and a touchdown, then added 18 receiving yards and another score in Kansas City’s 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Kirk Cousins also made a strong first impression in a new place. In his Raiders debut, the veteran quarterback completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions as Las Vegas beat the Miami Dolphins 27-13.
Jalen Nailor was part of that win too, catching three passes from Cousins for 27 yards in his own Las Vegas debut. Connor Heyward, another new Raider, handled 32 offensive snaps and eight more on special teams, and also had one carry for a 1-yard gain.
Cody White, who was cut by Seattle after training camp and then landed on the Raiders’ active roster for Week 1, made his biggest mark on special teams with a touchdown-saving tackle on kickoff return. White finished with three total tackles, was targeted once in the passing game and did not record a catch, but still earned the team game ball in the locker room.
A few other Spartans were doing the dirty work on special teams. Ameer Speed logged 16 snaps, all on special teams, in his first game as a Cowboy as Dallas fell 28-20 to the New York Giants.
Joe Bachie, who went from being cut by the Lions to the practice squad and then up to the active roster before Week 1, played 18 special teams snaps in Detroit’s 31-30 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints. Montorie Foster Jr. also stuck his foot in the door during training camp and got on the field for seven snaps, all on special teams, in Seattle’s 13-10 win over the New England Patriots.
Jordan Turner saw plenty of special teams work in Denver’s loss to Kansas City. In his second year with the Broncos, Turner played 28 snaps against the Chiefs, with 26 coming on special teams, and added one solo tackle. Jayden Reed and the Green Bay Packers dropped their opener to division rival Minnesota, 39-22, and Reed was targeted seven times, finishing with three catches for 20 yards.
The rookies had different kinds of Week 1 debuts. Gulbin did not get onto the field in Washington’s 24-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Eckley, meanwhile, got his first true NFL action and averaged 46.7 yards on three punts as Baltimore rolled past the Indianapolis Colts 41-23.
Elsewhere, Bryce Baringer started his fourth NFL season on injured reserve, which kept the Patriots punter sidelined for several weeks and left Mitch Wishnowsky to handle the job in New England’s loss to Seattle. And Luke Newman saw the field in one of the wildest games of the week, playing nine snaps - all on special teams - as the Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 59-37 on the road.
In Other News...
Michigan State Has A Real Chance To Make Notre Dame Sweat
Michigan State heads into its matchup with No. 3 Notre Dame with the kind of point spread that usually tells you everything you need to know, at least on paper. Still, theres a reason this game is drawing more than routine attention: the Spartans have shown enough recent competitiveness to make a lopsided number feel a little less certain, and the changes under coach Pat Fitzgerald have given this team a different edge than the one many people expected earlier in the season.
The bigger question may be how the game actually plays out once the ball is kicked off. Notre Dame has the clear talent advantage, but Michigan States recent form suggests it can hang around longer than the betting market thinks, and the flow of the game could depend on whether the Spartans can keep enough pressure on both sides of the ball to avoid an early runaway. Even with the Irish heavily favored, this looks like the kind of matchup where Michigan State can at least make Notre Dame work for it. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Offense Faces A Brutal Reality Check At Notre Dame
Michigan State is heading into a September test at Notre Dame with one of the tougher passing-game evaluations it can draw this early in the season. The Spartans have already had to work through issues creating receiver separation, and that becomes a much bigger conversation when the next opponent brings a secondary built to squeeze windows and punish hesitation.
The matchup gets even more difficult because Notre Dame is not leaning on a single standout in the back end. The Irish have a corner group that can rotate quality players into coverage, which means Michigan States offense will have to be sharper across the board just to get the kind of clean looks that can keep drives moving. The Spartans do not just need answers for one defender here. They need a plan that can hold up against a group designed to make every route feel crowded. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Volleyball Keeps Building Momentum At The Perfect Time
Michigan State kept its unbeaten start rolling at the Breslin Center with a four-set win over Oakland, a match that showed both the depth and the edge that have carried the Spartans through the opening stretch. The teams traded competitive sets before MSU closed it out by winning three of them, another sign that this group is finding ways to handle pressure even when the margin is tight.
The performance also gave the Spartans more proof that production is coming from multiple spots, which matters as the schedule gets tougher and opponents start focusing on the usual names. A few players delivered notable efforts in support, and the result added another layer to a start that already has Michigan State feeling like a team with real momentum at the right moment. [Read more 🡒]