3 Best Moves of the Pat Fitzgerald Era at MSU So Far
In this story:
The mood in East Lansing is that the Pat Fitzgerald era has gotten off to a good start.
His hires to his staff have seemed to make sense, and the feeling is that Fitzgerald will have the resources necessary to compete in the as-competitive-as-ever Big Ten. That's especially so after a $401 million donation from Greg and Dawn Williams, though that donation is not meant for the NIL war chest.
Still, Fitzgerald has done a good job at finding qualified, experienced candidates underneath him, and also at retaining most of the talent he had to retain. The next step will be getting the right players out of the transfer portal.
These are the three best things he has done thus far.
1) Hire LeVar Woods as Special Teams Coordinator
MSU's hiring of LeVar Woods away from Iowa has been the biggest stunner so far, and in a good way. Woods has been at Iowa forever; he grew up there, went there, and has coached there. He's also very, very good at his job.
According to an article by CBS's Tom Fornelli, Iowa has, by far, had the best special teams units in the country, in terms of EPA (expected points added). Since 2016, when this data first began getting tracked, Michigan State has been 101st nationally and 14th in the Big Ten since 2016 on special teams.
2) Bring Back Max Bullough
Bringing back a program legend and somebody who is regarded as a highly intelligent person is another huge move from Fitzgerald. Max Bullough is one of the greatest linebackers in program history, and cares for MSU enough that he's leaving Notre Dame behind, a place he also has some past connections to, to come back to his alma mater.
If things work out, there is a chance Bullough could be in East Lansing for a fair amount of time again. He had spent a fair amount of time as a graduate assistant, but only needed two years as a positional coach to earn a co-DC label, if that's any indication how fast of a riser he is.
3) Retain Alessio Milivojevic, Jordan Hall
This is kind of two different things, but it's the same action and both players are important enough that they warrant the mention.
Michigan State may have its quarterback of the future in Alessio Milivojevic, who looked sharp after earning the starting role over the final four games of this past season. Keeping Jordan Hall around is also huge, as he was the heartbeat of the defense this year, a team captain, and became the guy MSU turned to to speak for the team during that turbulent 4-8 campaign.
Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Don't forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.
Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Spartans when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
Follow jacobcotsonika