Michigan State football is heading into fall camp with a roster that looks very different, and that kind of turnover usually creates opportunity. With Pat Fitzgerald taking over as head coach and a mostly new staff in place, the Spartans brought in 32 transfer additions and 30 freshmen. That leaves 62 newcomers on a 111-man roster, which means there are plenty of jobs still up for grabs when camp opens next Thursday.
A few players are positioned to make the loudest first impression.
Charles Taplin is one of the clearest names to watch on offense. The second-year receiver was barely a footnote last season, appearing in Michigan State’s final four games and finishing with one catch for eight yards.
He came in as a low-three-star recruit from Red Oak, Texas, and was the lowest-rated wideout MSU added in the 2025 cycle, as well as the second-lowest-rated scholarship player overall. None of that seems to matter much now.
Taplin was working heavily with the starters during April’s spring game and looks like a real candidate to climb into the starting mix this fall. The wide receiver room remains wide open, though, so nobody is being handed anything.
A Week 1 starting job is far from guaranteed for anyone, and it would not be a shock if the competition runs well into the season.
Jayden Savoury is another young returnee who could force his way into a bigger role. Tight end may be even harder to sort out than receiver, and that uncertainty should help him.
Savoury flashed with one impressive catch against Boston College in 2025, but he still logged just 12 offensive snaps all year. At 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds, he has the kind of frame that stands out in the room.
There isn’t much college tape to lean on yet, but he profiles as the sort of tight end who could eventually stay on the field for all three downs, working both as a vertical threat and as a blocker. Brennan Parachek looks like the other main challenger for that kind of role, while Ferris State transfer Carson Gulker gives MSU another interesting option as a gadget piece.
On defense, the pressure is on Derrick Simmons. The redshirt freshman is a former four-star recruit who already saw 44 defensive snaps last season, and Michigan State needs more from him now.
Defensive tackle depth is thin, and the rotation picture is pretty straightforward: Ben Roberts, Eli Coenen, and Simmons, with very little proven experience behind them. Simmons does not have much game exposure either, but he does carry the expectations that come with his recruiting profile.
He earned that reputation while playing smaller-school football in Michigan at Frankenmuth, and the leap from there to the Big Ten was always going to be a big one. Still, MSU is going to need him this fall.
Houston Christian transfer Tyran Chappell also has a chance to become a name fans learn quickly. He was one of the more quietly strong portal pickups for Michigan State after a breakout FCS season in which he intercepted four passes and earned First Team All-Southland honors.
Even with three years of eligibility left, he still checked in outside the top 1,500 transfer portal prospects in both 247Sports’ and On3’s rankings. That could end up looking silly if his spring carries over into camp.
Chappell finished spring as MSU’s No. 3 corner and was getting first-team reps alongside Iowa State transfer Tre Bell while Charles Brantley was unavailable. Brantley and Bell look like a solid pairing going into camp, but Chappell still appears set to play meaningful snaps as the top backup.
Then there’s Rodney Bullard Jr., whose situation remains tied up in the NCAA’s hands. His eligibility for the 2026 season still hasn’t been decided, so everything with him is conditional on that ruling going in MSU’s favor.
If it does, he becomes another player with starting-level upside. Bullard caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown in his first season with Michigan State after transferring from Division II Valdosta State.
Four of those catches, along with 102 yards and the score, came against Minnesota in Alessio Milivojevic’s first start. Bullard’s speed and big-play ability make him a dangerous option if his role grows.
In Other News...
Tom Izzo Faces A Tough Roster Call As NCAA Fight Looms
A federal ruling out of Colorado has added another layer of uncertainty to Michigan States long-range planning, because it opened the door for college basketball players in the 2022 class to seek an extra year of eligibility. For Tom Izzo and the Spartans, the issue is not about the coming season so much as the one after that, when roster math could get complicated if veterans decide they want to come back for a fifth year.
The NCAA, for its part, has said it will stick with its original eligibility rules and may challenge the decision, which leaves the whole situation in limbo for now. Michigan State can only plan so far ahead with that kind of legal cloud hanging over it, and the potential impact on the 2026-27 roster is real even if the final shape of the ruling is still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Fitzgerald Sounds Like Exactly What Michigan State Fans Wanted
Pat Fitzgerald used Big Ten Football Media Days to lean right into the standard Michigan State fans tend to want from a head coach: belief, pressure and a clear-eyed insistence that the goal is bigger than just being respectable. He spoke about his excitement for the season ahead, said the expectation in East Lansing should be to chase championships and pointed to the rivalry game against Michigan as one of the defining markers of the year. Even with ESPNs College Football Power Index giving the Spartans long odds to win the Big Ten, Fitzgerald made it clear he does not see that as a reason to shrink the message.
What stood out was how much confidence he projected in the programs foundation, from the resources around it to the fan base waiting for something bigger. Fitzgerald also drew on his own playing days at Northwestern as part of that broader point about what it takes to build a winning culture in the Big Ten. For Michigan State, the interesting part now is whether that kind of public certainty turns into the kind of season that lets the Spartans stay in the conversation deeper into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Freshmen Are Already Creating Real Playing Time Pressure
Michigan States new freshman class is arriving with a little more runway than classes of the past, and that could matter quickly for a roster still sorting out its depth chart. Under the NCAAs new 5-in-5 eligibility rules, the Spartans are no longer working around the old four-game limit, which opens the door for young players to get on the field without burning a year of eligibility in the same way they once would have. With five four-star recruits in the 2026 class, the talent level alone is enough to make this group worth watching as the season unfolds.
Pat Fitzgerald pointed to that flexibility at Big Ten Football Media Days, noting how the new setup can help teams find real roles for freshmen sooner rather than later. For Michigan State, the bigger question is how quickly those newcomers can turn recruiting buzz into actual snaps, especially with several spots already carrying competition and the staff evaluating where the best matches might be. The opportunity is there, but the freshmen still have to earn it, and that is where the pressure starts to build. [Read more 🡒]