Matt Allen is back in East Lansing, and this time he’s not anchoring the offensive line - he’s helping coach it.
The former Michigan State center has joined Pat Fitzgerald’s staff as a volunteer on offense, and Fitzgerald hasn’t been shy about the impact. Speaking to the media earlier this week, he called Allen a “huge addition”. Nick Tabacca now has another set of hands helping out in the offensive line room.
Allen’s return carries some familiar Spartan weight. He was the starting center on Michigan State’s 11-2 team, appeared in all 13 games and finished his college career with honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. That season helped clear the runway for Kenneth Walker III’s Doak Walker Award run, and Allen’s first start in that All-Big Ten year came against Fitzgerald’s Northwestern team.
That game turned into one of those nights where the ground game just kept rolling. Michigan State ran for 264 yards and four touchdowns from K9, and Allen was right in the middle of it.
He’s also part of a growing list of former Spartans around the program. Allen is the third former Michigan State player on the coaching staff, joining Courtney Hawkins and Max Bullough, and he’s the second who spent time playing in the Mark Dantonio era.
There’s another layer to Allen’s return, too. He’s the youngest of the three Allen brothers who played for Dantonio, following Jack and Brian, and now he’s back at the school where he spent his entire college career.
Fitzgerald has clearly leaned into that kind of familiarity this offseason. He’s brought in former Spartans who know what the program looked like during one of its strongest stretches, including Dantonio and Ken Mannie, to speak to the team and spend time around practice. Adding Allen, Hawkins and Bullough only deepens that connection.
For Fitzgerald, it’s another move that fits the tone he’s tried to set. And for Michigan State, it’s another former player giving the program a boost from the inside.
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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 🡒]