There’s a real chance Michigan State’s first season under Pat Fitzgerald produces a few names nobody had circled back in the winter. With the roster split almost evenly between returners and newcomers, the Spartans are basically starting from scratch. That kind of reset opens the door for players buried on the depth chart to force their way into the conversation.
Charles Taplin looks like one of the best bets to do it at wide receiver. During April’s Spring Showcase, he was working with the first team in the finale, which was not the expectation heading into the spring.
That was a notable turn for a player who came into MSU’s 2025 class as one of the lowest-rated recruits, checking in at 1,671st overall on the 247Sports Composite out of Red Oak, Texas. Only running back Zion Gist, who was ranked 2,642nd, came in lower.
The Spartans signed two receivers ranked ahead of Taplin in Braylon Collier and Bryson Williams. Taplin also redshirted last season, playing in his four allowed games to preserve eligibility, and he caught one pass in his debut against Minnesota for eight yards.
Linebacker Adam Shaw also made noise in April. He was on the field plenty during Michigan State’s scrimmage and mostly worked with the second team, which is already ahead of where he should be at this stage.
Shaw missed most of his senior season because of an injury, a setback that can derail a young player’s momentum. Even so, he finished 1,028th overall in the Spartans’ class of 2026 and made a strong first impression as an early enrollee, despite a crowded linebacker room in front of him.
On the defensive line, Toledo transfer Carlos Hazelwood is a name that can easily get lost in the shuffle, even though he could matter a lot this fall. He announced his commitment to Michigan State on Jan. 8 as one of six pledges the Spartans landed that day.
Hazelwood is expected to be part of the rotation up front, with Ben Roberts, Eli Coenen, and Derrick Simmons already positioned to cycle through snaps. But if one injury hits, Hazelwood could be pushed right into that top group and asked to play regular snaps.
He logged just 83 defensive snaps last season at Toledo, so MSU will be looking for a major jump as he makes the move to the Power Four level.
Redshirt freshman Cal Thrush is another internal candidate who could pop in 2026. He didn’t play a snap last year, but he showed up to spring looking noticeably bigger.
Thrush went from 247 pounds last season to 263 pounds on the spring roster, and his listed height also moved from 6'4" to 6'5". He was named a Third Team Scout Team Player of the Week, too.
A low-to-mid-tier three-star recruit from Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Ohio, Thrush had only one other Power Four offer, from Cincinnati. He was ranked 1,419th overall in the class of 2025, fourth-lowest among MSU’s high school signees.
Michigan State still needs someone to emerge among its pass rushers, and Thrush looks like a candidate to take that step.
Then there’s Edward Whiting, a freshman tight end who could be in the mix sooner than expected. Tight end remains one of the more interesting spots on the roster, with a fairly large group of players in play but nobody firmly established.
Brian Wozniak had good things to say about Whiting during the spring, and that kind of early praise can matter. Whiting was ranked 1,064th overall in the class of 2026, but his offer sheet suggests why people around the game paid attention.
Iowa, Alabama, Colorado, Auburn, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, and Wisconsin were among the schools that offered him, a list that points to real long-term upside.
In Other News...
Latest Michigan Lawsuit Puts Rivalry Double Standard Back In Focus
Michigans football program is back in the spotlight for reasons that reach well beyond the field, with a new wrongful termination lawsuit adding another layer to a scandal that already brought NCAA fines, suspensions and probation. For Michigan State fans, the latest filing is another reminder of how quickly college footballs discipline can look different depending on the school and the moment, especially when a high-profile rivalry is part of the backdrop.
The case has revived the old double-standard conversation because the Wolverines punishment history now sits alongside fresh allegations about what university leadership knew and when they knew it. Michigan State supporters have seen their own program absorb the consequences of NCAA enforcement before, so every new development in Ann Arbor tends to invite comparison, and this one does so with a few unresolved questions still hanging over the story. [Read more 🡒]
One Incoming Spartan Faces A Different Path In Izzos Class
Michigan States incoming group is built with purpose, and the fit is easy to see in most of the class. Ethan Taylor and Anton Bonke give the Spartans the center help they needed, while Jasiah Jervis and Julius Avent bring a wing combination that should balance inside pressure with perimeter spacing. Even with four freshmen and a transfer coming in, this is a class designed less around star power than around pieces that can help each other settle in quickly.
Carlos Medlock Jr., though, comes with a different kind of path. He does not arrive with an obvious recruiting twin in the class, which makes his development feel a little more individual than the rest of the group, but that also opens the door for him to learn from established guards already in the program. Jeremy Fears Jr. looms as the natural veteran model in that regard, and how Medlock grows into that role will be one of the quieter storylines to watch once the newcomers get to East Lansing. [Read more 🡒]