Every spot in a college football depth chart can turn into a battleground now, and Michigan State has plenty of them as camp winds down.
The clearest squeeze may be in the backfield. UConn transfer Cam Edwards looks locked in as the Spartans’ RB1, and transfers Jaziun Patterson from Iowa and Marvis Parrish from Western Kentucky are expected to factor in as well. That leaves junior Brandon Tullis in a much tighter fight for touches, with a path that could drop him all the way to RB4.
That would be a smaller role than the one Tullis handled a year ago. In 2025, he was usually the second back behind Makhi Frazier and also drew starts against USC and Minnesota. If you leave out the two carries Bryson Williams had before shifting his focus to wide receiver, Tullis, Frazier and Elijah Tau-Tolliver were the only backs to log a rush last season.
Up front, the right tackle job is still the main unresolved spot. Conner Moore’s move to left guard opened the door, and Rakeem Johnson and Robert Wright Jr. have been the names in the mix. With less than two weeks before kickoff, Johnson appears to be pulling ahead.
Wright brings a lot of experience into the competition. He’s headed into his redshirt junior year, but he arrived at MSU with three years of eligibility left because of two medical waivers.
Last season at Georgia Southern, he started every game at right tackle and didn’t commit a penalty all year. If Johnson wins the job, it would qualify as a mild surprise, though that’s the direction things seem to be moving.
Receiver is another spot worth watching. Michigan State made the position a priority in the transfer portal this winter and brought in Notre Dame’s KK Smith and Michigan’s Fredrick Moore. For now, though, neither one is sitting in a starting spot.
Chrishon McCray remains the expected slot starter, while Charles Taplin and Rodney Bullard Jr. - with eligibility still pending - appear set at the X and Z spots. Even so, Smith and Moore are not going to sit quietly on the sideline. Based on the camp clips MSU has shared, Smith has piled up plenty of standout moments and has beaten starting cornerback Tre Bell a couple of times.
There may also be a change in how the Spartans use their receivers. Pat Fitzgerald said he expects a rotation this season, which would be a shift from what Michigan State did last year under receivers coach Courtney Hawkins, when the starters played almost all the snaps.
On defense, Cam Stodghill is trying to find a lane in a crowded linebacker group. He arrived from Albany after putting up 65 tackles in only seven games last year, including a 10-tackle performance against Iowa in the 2025 season opener.
But the numbers ahead of him are real. Jordan Hall, Caleb Wheatland and Dion Crawford sit at the top of the depth chart, while Brady Pretzlaff and true freshman Adam Shaw are also pushing for snaps.
That could make it hard for Stodghill to see much of the field.
Luka Vincic is another player with a lot riding on this season. He looked ready to start at right guard last year before a season-ending injury in Week 3 against Youngstown State. His status for Week 1 against Toledo still isn’t fully settled, but he is practicing now without any obvious limitations.
Even if Vincic doesn’t land in the starting five, he should matter. He can back up either guard spot and center, giving Michigan State flexibility if injuries hit or if the staff decides to rotate him in. This is his fifth college season, and he should be eligible for a sixth through a medical waiver tied to last year.
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On the defensive line, Derrick Simmons has an opportunity of his own to keep climbing the depth chart, and that makes these next few practices especially important for a staff still trying to settle on reliable pieces. For a team looking to enter the season with some clarity, these camp battles are less about headline-grabbing drama than they are about who can show enough consistency to earn real snaps when the games count. [Read more 🡒]