A fresh reset in East Lansing means a fresh set of statistical leaders, and Michigan State’s 2026 team looks built around a few clear bets.
At quarterback, there hasn’t been much suspense. Even with previous two-year starter Aidan Chiles off to Northwestern, the job has belonged to third-year quarterback Alessio Milivojevic all offseason.
He closed the 2025 season by averaging nearly 250 yards per game over four starts, and his 986 passing yards as a starter project to 2,958 over a 12-game schedule. The last Spartan quarterback to top that kind of production was Peyton Thorne, who threw for 3,232 yards in 2021.
Milivojevic also brought a 7-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a starter, which only strengthens the case.
The backfield should run through UConn transfer Cam Edwards. He’ll share some carries in a deep room, but his résumé is loud: 1,240 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns last season, both top-15 marks in the FBS.
The expectation is that he can be Michigan State’s best back since Kenneth Walker III. Edwards didn’t flash huge numbers against the three ACC teams he faced last year, but the rebuilt offensive line, including another UConn transfer in Ben Murawski, gives the Spartans reason to think the fit can click.
Out wide, slot receiver Chrishon McCray looks like the No. 1 target. He stood out for Milivojevic during the April open scrimmage, and that connection should carry into the season.
McCray’s best game in 2025 was a two-touchdown outing against Iowa, and Milivojevic was the quarterback delivering those throws. Michigan State was also lucky to keep McCray in the building after he entered the transfer portal.
At that point, Rodney Bullard Jr. was the team’s leading returning receiver with five catches for 119 yards, but the staff convinced McCray to reverse course. It’s hard not to think the promise of a larger role was part of that pitch.
Defensively, Jordan Hall feels like the safest tackle bet on the roster. If someone else leads the team in tackles, it likely means something unexpected happened or Hall missed time.
He fought through turf toe and a torn oblique late last season and still finished with 88 tackles, 15 more than Wayne Matthews III. The next closest returning player, EDGE rusher Isaac Smith, had just 26.
With decent health, Hall could push close to 100 tackles.
Michigan State’s sack race looks a little more open, but Anelu Lafaele has the inside track. The former Wisconsin transfer was the Spartans’ most productive pass rusher last season, finishing with 2.0 sacks in just four games before a foot injury against Nebraska ended that run.
A three-way tie for the team lead last year settled at only 2.5 sacks, and Lafaele looked like he was on a better pace than anyone else. Kenny Soares Jr. has drawn strong reviews at rush end, but Lafaele is the one I’d pick to finish first in sacks.
Turnovers are tougher to forecast, but the safest call at interception is a split between Charles Brantley and Nikai Martinez. Brantley had three picks and Martinez had two in 2024.
Nobody on the Spartans finished with more than one last season, with Brantley in Miami and Martinez sidelined for most of the year. This time around, Michigan State will be leaning on both again to generate takeaways.
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Michigan State Has A Real Chance To Reset Everything Under Pat Fitzgerald
Michigan State enters 2026 with a different feel around the program, and Pat Fitzgerald brings the kind of reputation that can change the tone quickly. His teams have long been associated with discipline and structure, and the Spartans will lean on a defense that already has some recognizable pieces in Jordan Hall, Kenny Soares Jr. and Charles Brantley while trying to build enough steadiness on the other side of the ball to matter in the Big Ten race.
There is at least a path here to something better than a typical transition year, with Alessio Milivojevic at quarterback and Cam Edwards part of the offensive foundation. The ceiling is not hard to imagine if the pieces settle in, but the real question is whether Fitzgerald can turn that promise into a group capable of hanging around the league's better teams and making Oregon and Washington feel reachable instead of aspirational. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Dantonios Presence Around Michigan State Says Plenty About This Era
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For Fitzgerald, having Dantonio around is more than a ceremonial touchpoint. The relationship between the two is described as respectful and beneficial, with Dantonio offering advice and motivation while backing the current leadership. In a program that has long valued continuity and identity, his presence says plenty about the kind of standards Michigan State still wants around its football operation. [Read more 🡒]