Michigan State’s 30-20 win over Toledo wasn’t just about the scoreboard. It also gave a lot of younger Spartans a chance to get on the field, with 54 players officially appearing in some capacity, according to the box score.
Among the first- and second-year players, one of the clearest early roles belonged to Western Kentucky transfer Marvis Parrish. He looked like the RB3 behind Cam Edwards and Jaziun Patterson on Friday night, and he finished his Spartan debut with six carries for 28 rushing yards on 16 offensive snaps.
Parrish is only a true sophomore, which makes his background even more intriguing. He was WKU’s top running back last year as a true freshman and put up 779 scrimmage yards.
With Edwards and Patterson both in their final college seasons this fall, Parrish could be MSU’s lead back as soon as next year.
Tight end Jayden Savoury also made a strong first impression in the opener. One of the biggest risers this offseason, he looked like Michigan State’s top tight end and came away with four catches for 36 yards.
That put him third on the team in both receptions and receiving yards, behind Rodney Bullard Jr. (seven catches, 90 yards) and Chrishon McCray (eight catches, 69 yards). Brennan Parachek added the only other tight end catch, a 10-yard gain.
Savoury is in his redshirt freshman and/or sophomore season, and after one catch for 16 yards in his first year with the program, he now appears ready for a much bigger job after adding weight and improving as a blocker.
Bryson Williams, another young offensive piece, got onto the field as well. He came to Michigan State last year as a hybrid wide receiver and running back and had two carries for 20 yards and one catch for eight yards during the 2025 season.
On Friday, he didn’t post any official stats, but he still logged 15 offensive snaps. That wasn’t a setup likely to produce much as a receiver, either, since 10 of those snaps came on run plays.
Even so, he ended up with the most snaps at receiver outside of the starting trio of Fredrick Moore, McCray, and Bullard.
Defensively, the only first- or second-year player to register snaps was defensive tackle Derrick Simmons. He played 13 snaps, which would actually make him Michigan State’s fourth defensive tackle at the moment.
That’s a little surprising given the expectations around him heading into the season, where he had been projected as a second or third option at the position. Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen both saw the kind of usage many expected, and the more unexpected development was redshirt sophomore Mikeshun Beeler playing 18 snaps, more than Simmons, after barely seeing the field through his first two years.
A few other young Spartans got into the game through special teams. PFF didn’t credit them with offensive or defensive snaps, but the box score shows they entered the game, which suggests special-teams work.
Defensive end Cal Thrush was one of them, and it marked the first action of his college career. Thrush also carried the American flag when the team officially took the field.
He shouldn’t be far from a defensive role, either, after a solid spring game in which he mostly worked with the second-stringers.
Linebacker DiMari Malone also made his collegiate debut after not appearing in game action last season. He did earn Scout Team Player of the Week honors twice from Jonathan Smith’s staff, but a crowded linebacker room means his path to defensive snaps remains a long one.
The only true freshman to see the field was safety Jonathan Granby, a somewhat unexpected name to crack the lineup. The staff had praised his intelligence as a former quarterback, but he entered college as the lowest-ranked scholarship recruit in Michigan State’s 2026 class, checking in at No. 2,474 overall on the 247Sports Composite. Pat Fitzgerald flipped him from Georgia Southern shortly after taking the job in East Lansing.
In Other News...
Michigan State Found A New Edge Fans Noticed Against Toledo
Michigan State did not need a perfect offensive afternoon to handle Toledo, and that was a big part of the appeal in the 30-20 win. The Spartans leaned on special teams in a way fans could feel, with transfer kicker Liam Boyd stepping into his debut and immediately becoming a difference-maker. His five field goals gave the game a steadier rhythm and added points whenever drives stalled, while the rest of the kicking operation helped turn a close opener into a more controlled result.
Boyds impact stood out even more because it came with a personal best and a program mark in his first game, capped by a 51-yard kick that showed plenty of range. Michigan State also got useful work from other special teams pieces, and coach Pat Fitzgerald pointed to the groups aggressive mindset afterward. For a team still sorting out its identity, the Spartans found an edge in a phase of the game that does not always decide headlines, but can shape them just the same. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Women Have A Real Chance To Climb This Week
Michigan States womens golf team gave itself a workable starting point at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, opening at American Dunes Golf Club with a round that left the Spartans in the middle of the pack and within striking distance. Kansas set the early pace at 4-under par, but the first round did not produce separation across much of the leaderboard, which keeps plenty of teams in play as the event moves on.
The Spartans were steadied by sophomore Sarisa Pojanalai and senior Keeley Marx, who matched rounds of 1-over par 73 to give Michigan State a pair of reliable scores. In a tournament where one clean round can change the picture quickly, that kind of balanced start gives the Spartans a chance to keep climbing if the rest of the lineup can follow suit. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State May Have Found New Difference-Makers In Week 1
Michigan States 30-20 win over Toledo in its season opener offered more than a clean start in the standings. It also hinted at a few new names who could matter in bigger moments, with Rodney Bullard Jr. giving the passing game a real lift, Jayden Savoury adding steady production at tight end and Tre Bell flashing on the back end for a defense that had to answer some questions early in the year.
The deeper appeal for the Spartans was how many different players showed up around the ball. Kenny Soares Jr. made a major imprint from linebacker with an interception and pressure on the quarterback, while Eli Coenen chipped in three tackles and a sack from the interior. If Michigan State is going to keep building on a Week 1 win, this was the kind of spread-out impact that suggests the roster may have more usable pieces than it did a year ago. [Read more 🡒]