The first day of training camp gave Michigan State a clearer picture of its Week 1 offense, and a few spots already look settled as the Spartans move deeper into camp.
At quarterback, there’s no mystery. Alessio Milivojevic remains the clear No. 1, and UCF transfer Cam Fancher is locked in as the backup. Milivojevic made four starts last season, which served as his audition for the job, and Pat Fitzgerald appears ready to stick with him as the starter in Year 1.
The backfield is just as straightforward. UConn transfer Cam Edwards is the unquestioned RB1 after piling up 1,240 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns last season. It’s a crowded running back room, but nobody else brings that kind of production.
Wide receiver is where things start to get a little more interesting. Chrishon McCray is the only receiver who feels locked into a starting role right now. He led all returning Spartans wideouts with 24 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns, and there’s a real sense that he could take off in Nick Sheridan’s system now that the depth chart ahead of him has thinned out.
Behind McCray, the picture is still coming into focus. Second-year receiver Charles Taplin remains projected as a starter for now after making noise in the spring, even though he had just one catch last season.
The bigger change is at the other outside spot, where Rodney Bullard Jr. gets the nod over KK Smith for the moment. That comes with a condition, though: Bullard still needs NCAA approval to play this fall.
If that doesn’t happen, Smith would slide back into the spot. Bullard already showed what he can do when given a chance, starting against Minnesota last year because McCray was hurt and responding with four catches for 102 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown.
Tight end is also shifting. Jayden Savoury now projects as the starter after standing out on Thursday.
Carson Gulker had been penciled in there before, but Michigan State may end up using him more as a movable piece than as a traditional tight end. During one drill, Savoury and Brennan Parachek were taking the first reps.
Up front, left tackle still belongs to Ben Murawski, the UConn transfer whose reputation as an elite run-blocker helped fuel success for him and Edwards at Connecticut. That spot looks steady.
The rest of the line has moved around a bit. Conner Moore, who started at right tackle last season and was the only returning starter on the offensive line, is now projected on the left side after playing guard in the spring and working left on Thursday. Trent Fraley is set at center after winning the FCS Rimington Award last year, leaving no real debate there.
Nick Sharpe is now projected as the right guard after previously being placed on the left. That change makes sense given his background with offensive line coach Nick Tabacca, who used him exclusively at right guard at Wake Forest. Sharpe did play left guard at South Carolina last season, but his earlier work with Tabacca seems to carry more weight.
Moore’s move opens up the right tackle spot, and the competition there appears to be between Robert Wright Jr. and Rakeem Johnson. Wright arrives after a strong season as a starter at Georgia Southern, while Johnson is in his third year with the program and brings versatility.
For now, Wright gets the slight edge. Johnson has only 90 snaps of game experience at right tackle, while Wright logged a full season there and did it without committing a penalty across 752 snaps last year.
In Other News...
Former Spartan Tre Hollomans Next Move Could Haunt Michigan State
A Colorado judges ruling has reopened the door for a small group of college seniors from the 2022 recruiting class, and the ripple effect has already reached East Lansing. Former Michigan State guard Tre Holloman, along with Jaxon Kohler, entered the transfer portal after the decision, giving both players a path to chase another season of college basketball and forcing the Spartans to watch one more layer of roster movement tied to a class that seemed finished just weeks ago.
For Michigan State, the timing is awkward because Hollomans departure had already taken him to NC State, and now he is officially in the portal again while exploring fifth-year options. The ruling creates a new kind of uncertainty for everyone involved, including programs that thought they had a clean read on their roster future, and it leaves open the possibility that a familiar face could end up somewhere else in the 2026-27 season. [Read more 🡒]
Kenneth Walker IIIs Viral Chiefs Moment Felt Very Familiar To Spartans Fans
Kenneth Walker IIIs first summer with the Chiefs already has a little edge to it, and Spartans fans know that part of his game well. During a public training camp session, Walker got into a physical altercation with teammate Alohi Gilman after being shoved near the sideline, a scene that instantly felt familiar to anyone who watched him at Michigan State, where his response to contact and his competitiveness were never far from the surface.
For Walker, the moment was less about a brief camp scuffle than about the same push-and-pull that has followed him throughout his career: he has long had to prove himself, and now he is trying to do it again in Kansas City after questions about the value of his contract. The Chiefs signed him with the expectation that he can help them, but as this camp moment showed, he is still carrying the intensity that has defined him for years, even if the bigger question is how that fire translates when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Enters Camp With Key Starting Battles Still Unsettled
Michigan State has opened its first full week of fall camp under Pat Fitzgerald with several of the biggest jobs still up for grabs, and that gives the early practices a little more weight than usual. The Spartans are sorting through competition at wide receiver, linebacker and running back, with a mix of returning players and new faces all trying to carve out roles before the depth chart starts to settle.
At linebacker, the early buzz has centered on Adam Shaw, who has already made a strong impression after adding about 15 pounds since arriving on campus. The same kind of uncertainty hangs over the offensive side, where the receiver and backfield rotations are still being evaluated, and there is at least one more wrinkle in the mix as Rodney Bullard Jr. continues to wait on NCAA eligibility clearance. [Read more 🡒]