Michigan State’s wide receiver group took an early preseason blow Wednesday, with true freshman Rai’Shawn Elmore suspended indefinitely.
A program spokesperson confirmed the suspension, and Elmore was also not listed on the online roster. For a Spartans team in the middle of Pat Fitzgerald’s first year and already trying to navigate a rebuilding season, it’s the kind of depth hit that lands harder than it might elsewhere.
Elmore arrived as a three-star recruit from North Carolina and came in with some buzz despite being ranked No. 218 at receiver in the class. At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, he had the kind of frame that makes coaches take notice, and he was getting some early praise during fall camp. He also enrolled early, which gave him a chance to start settling into the offense and building toward a future role.
That future, at least for now, is on hold. Michigan State has not made public any reason for the suspension, but the fact that Elmore has disappeared from the roster page suggests this is more than a minor hiccup.
Even so, the Spartans weren’t expecting him to be a major part of the offense right away. He was sitting behind a long list of receivers who were already ahead of him on the depth chart, including Chrishon McCray, Rod Bullard Jr., Charles Taplin, Fredrick Moore, KK Smith, Braylon Collier, Bryson Williams, and fellow freshmen Zach Washington and Samson Gash.
That’s why the bigger picture for Michigan State doesn’t change dramatically. The room still has bodies, and it still has options. There are roughly 6-7 receivers who could step in and contribute quickly, and Alessio Milivojevic said earlier this week that the group has enough depth to rotate multiple players with the starters.
McCray looks set to lead the way as WR1, while the rest of the pecking order remains open. Williams and Taplin stand out as breakout candidates, and Bullard could also be in line for a bigger year after getting an extra season of eligibility granted last week.
Still, losing a promising young receiver this early is not the kind of development Courtney Hawkins wanted to see. Michigan State can survive it, but the staff would clearly rather have Elmore available than deal with another question mark in a room that’s still trying to prove itself.
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