Michigan State’s 2026 roster comes with a new kind of pressure attached. In a Big Ten where schools are spending an average of $48 million to build out their teams, according to Opendorse, the Spartans have several players who likely sit near the top of the pay scale - and the expectations that come with that are no joke.
Jordan Hall is one of the clearest examples. Keeping the linebacker for another season probably came at a real cost after he put together a huge 2025: a team-high 88 tackles, a tie for the team lead with 2.5 sacks, and a team-best three forced fumbles. After Michigan State’s second head coaching firing in three years, Hall would have had every reason to move on, but Pat Fitzgerald did enough to bring him back for Year 4.
If Hall stays healthy, 100 tackles feels like a realistic target. He made a major jump from 2024 to 2025 and still produced through turf toe and a torn oblique late in the year. He can return to college in 2027 under the NCAA’s new eligibility rules, but his eyes are on the NFL Draft.
Kenny Soares Jr. is another expensive-looking addition, and maybe the most fascinating one. He’s the only player on the roster who has already played for Fitzgerald, having started at Northwestern in 2022 before spending last season at NC State. There, he posted 80 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, and half a sack.
Soares is only in East Lansing for one year as a redshirt senior, but he already made his mark in the offseason. Fitzgerald carried over a Northwestern tradition in which the player who best represented the program’s values got to wear No. 1, and Soares was the teammate vote to earn it this year.
His role change makes him even more interesting. Soares has been a linebacker his whole career, but Michigan State plans to move him down to the defensive line and use him at rush end.
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said NC State had been preparing to make the same move before injuries at linebacker forced the Wolfpack to shift him back. That’s a useful sign for the Spartans, especially since they aren’t the only Power Four program to see Soares in that kind of role. It also explains why this wasn’t simply a Buffalo transfer Dion Crawford move from linebacker to rush end instead.
Nikai Martinez is another major returnee after what could have been his final college season. Injuries - and maybe an extra business decision, too - held him to just four games last year, which opened the door for a redshirt and a fifth season.
Martinez had been one of Michigan State’s most important players in 2024 after arriving from UCF. He finished third on the team with 51 total tackles and added two interceptions, while playing 724 defensive snaps, the most on the defense that season. Without him for much of 2025, MSU’s pass defense dropped from 46th in the FBS to 92nd.
Charles Brantley is part of the effort to rebuild that secondary as well. He came back to Michigan State after four years with the Spartans, a run that included his game-sealing interception against Michigan in 2021.
His best season, though, came in 2024, when PFF credited him with three interceptions and no touchdowns allowed. He likely would have earned All-Big Ten honors if he hadn’t gotten hurt and missed the final three games.
The question now is whether Brantley can get back to that level after a strange year at Miami (FL). He played in only three games in 2025, entered the portal in the middle of Miami’s CFP run, and was limited for much of the offseason.
Then there’s Cam Edwards, probably Michigan State’s biggest portal pickup of the offseason. The former UConn running back was one of the most productive backs in the FBS last year, finishing with 1,240 rushing yards, good for 15th nationally, and 15 touchdowns, tied for 13th.
The standard for Edwards is straightforward: be the best running back Michigan State has had since Kenneth Walker III. The jump in competition may trim the raw numbers, but the Spartans should still expect him to be an above-average Big Ten RB1.
In Other News...
Michigan States New Era Already Comes With An Uncomfortable Opener
Pat Fitzgeralds first game-week press conference as Michigan States head coach had the expected tone of a coach trying to set the table for a long season, but it also served as an early reminder of how little room there is for patience in a new era. Fitzgerald called Toledo a strong program and made clear the opener will not be a walk-through, a familiar warning for any Spartans fan who has watched the school navigate a string of season debuts under previous coaches.
The timing matters because the betting line has already drifted slightly in Toledos favor, a small move that has not gone unnoticed in East Lansing. It is only one game, and the opener has a way of exposing every fresh start for what it really is, but Michigan States first chance to show signs of life under Fitzgerald now carries a little more edge than anyone probably wanted this early. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Samac Just Landed A Fresh NFL Chance For Michigan State Fans
Nick Samacs NFL path has already taken a few turns, and the former Michigan State center has now found another landing spot. Minnesota claimed him off waivers after Carolina moved on from him, giving the Spartans product a fresh chance to stick in a new locker room as he keeps working to carve out a place in the league.
Samac spent last season with the Panthers, appearing in 11 games and working mostly on special teams, a role that can matter just as much as depth on the offensive line for teams trying to survive a long season. It is another opportunity for a player who never got to suit up for Baltimore after the Ravens drafted him in 2024 because of injury, and now the next step will be seeing how Minnesota chooses to use him. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Still Has One Big Receiver Question Before Toledo
Michigan States receiver room still looks like one of the more unsettled spots on the roster as the Spartans head toward their season opener against Toledo. Under Pat Fitzgerald, the staff is still sorting out roles at a position where Chrishon McCray appears to be the lone wideout with a secure hold on a starting job, leaving the rest of the depth chart open to competition.
That uncertainty has pushed the Spartans toward a rotation, with Charles Taplin, Rodney Bullard Jr., KK Smith and Fredrick Moore all in the mix for snaps as the staff tries to settle on its best combination. With several transfers and freshmen expected to contribute, the final shape of the group may not be fully clear until the games start, which makes this one of the more interesting spots to watch when Michigan State opens the year. [Read more 🡒]