Michigan State’s Week 2 meeting with Eastern Michigan already carries a strange kind of familiarity, and the depth chart the Eagles released ahead of their Week 0 game only sharpened that feeling.
Noah Kim is projected to start at quarterback for Eastern Michigan when it visits Spartan Stadium, but he won’t be the only former Spartan in the lineup. The Eagles also list former four-star interior offensive lineman Cole Dellinger at right guard and Caleb Coley at cornerback. All three are entering their final seasons of college football.
Kim is the headline name in that group because he did get his shot as Michigan State’s QB1. In 2023, inconsistency led the makeshift staff to bounce between him, Katin Houser, and Sam Leavitt. He never quite fit the Big Ten quarterback mold in East Lansing, but now he gets another chance to show what he can do.
Dellinger and Coley had different paths. Dellinger arrived as a prized Mel Tucker-era recruit but never really found a place in the two-deep on the interior. Coley appeared in 10 games across three seasons and made one start, but he did not remain with the program for Jonathan Smith’s second season in 2025.
That makes Eastern Michigan’s trip a little more than just another nonconference game. Losing to the Eagles would already sting, but dropping one to Kim, Coley, and Dellinger - three players Michigan State essentially moved on from - would land especially hard.
Michigan State will see more familiar faces later in the year, too. The Spartans are scheduled to face former starting quarterbacks Katin Houser and Aidan Chiles in October, after Kim’s visit in Week 2.
The broader picture around Michigan State’s schedule doesn’t offer much comfort either. The first two games, against Toledo and Eastern Michigan, are being treated by many as likely wins, but neither one feels like a true layup. Toledo has been one of the stronger teams in the MAC, and Eastern Michigan brings the added wrinkle of those former Spartans lining up across from their old program.
Beyond that, the road only gets rougher. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA and Rutgers all sit among the games that look winnable on paper, but several of those teams could still be bowl-bound. Rutgers may be the exception.
If Michigan State is going to get back to a bowl game, the path is pretty clear: handle the first two MAC games, protect home field, and find a way to steal one or two on the road.
In Other News...
Michigan State Gets A Defensive Leader Back At The Perfect Time
Nikai Martinez is lining up for what should be a pivotal final season at Michigan State, and the timing could hardly be better for a defense trying to settle in under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald. After missing most of last year with injuries, the senior safety is back in position to play a major role, and his return gives the Spartans an experienced presence on a unit that needs steady communication and leadership.
Martinez has stayed connected to the program throughout his recovery, which is a big reason teammates voted him one of six captains. Even before he takes a regular-season snap, he already looks like one of the most important voices in the room, and Michigan State will be counting on that blend of experience and authority as it tries to build a tougher, more organized defense this fall. [Read more 🡒]
Former Spartan Tre Holloman Took A Turn Michigan State Fans Never Saw Coming
Tre Hollomans college path has become one of the more unexpected ones for Michigan State fans to track. After helping the Spartans win a Big Ten title, the former junior point guard transferred out of East Lansing and kept his career moving with a stop at NC State under Will Wade, a move that already marked a significant leap from the Big Ten to the ACC.
Now Holloman is headed somewhere else entirely. Granted a fifth year of eligibility, he has committed to Grand Canyon University, sending his journey into the Mountain West and giving his career another fresh start in a third power-conference-adjacent landscape for the next chapter. [Read more 🡒]
Carlos Medlock Jr. Is Pushing For An Immediate Michigan State Role
Carlos Medlock Jr. is already drawing the kind of attention that usually belongs to players much further along in their college careers. The freshman guard is expected to matter for Michigan State in 2026-27, and the early buzz around him is less about long-term upside than how quickly he can slide into Tom Izzos system. With his fit earning praise and his ability to help clean up the ball-handling next to Jeremy Fears, Medlock looks like the sort of guard the Spartans can trust sooner rather than later.
The opening is there, too, because Divine Ugochukwus transfer leaves a clear vacancy behind Fears. Medlock is projected to step in as the primary backup point guard, and that kind of role could put him on the floor for 15-20 minutes a night if things go as expected. For Michigan State, the appeal is obvious: a freshman who can stabilize the backcourt, give the offense another organizer, and maybe make the rotation look a little more settled than it did a year ago. [Read more 🡒]