What Rodney Bullard Jr.'s Waiver Approval Means for MSU
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- An eight-month-long battle came to a sudden end on Monday morning.
Michigan State was going through stretches ahead of its 16th fall camp practice. News came down at that specific moment that the NCAA was granting wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr.'s request for a waiver and giving him eligibility for the 2026 season.
"They were happy," Bullard said when asked about his teammates' reactions. "Kenny Soares, he knocked my helmet off in excitement. It was cool; everybody was happy."
The news comes just three days before Bullard was set to take the NCAA to court. He said that his waiver was actually initially denied by the NCAA early in the summer, but that it was eventually "reopened" and that it was a "back-and-forth" process.
Overall Timeline of Bullard's Fight for Eligibility
Bullard's case really should not have stretched out this long. He says he first applied for a waiver back in January, and it seemed a little difficult to see why Bullard needed a waiver in the first place.
"We felt from day one that this was a no-brainer," Pat Fitzgerald said. "We were asking for his fourth year. This wasn't like we were asking for his seventh [season] or like some of these people are coming back from the NFL. Like, are you kidding me? We're literally asking for him to get his fourth year of eligibility and to look at what happened to him as he matriculated to college. And it seemed like this should have been done from day one. It wasn't."
The conflict at hand with Bullard's eligibility spans back to his very first year at college at Valdosta State. Bullard initially was just a regular student there and not a member of the football team. What should have made this an open-and-shut case was the fact that Bullard was only a part-time student. Somebody's eligibility clock doesn't begin until they enroll somewhere as a full-time student.
Bullard was discovered by the coaches at Valdosta State while working out in the spring of 2022. He was brought into the program at that point, but he had to redshirt during the fall of '22 because he still wasn't taking enough hours to be a full-time hours at that point. Bullard then played the '23 and '24 seasons at Valdosta State before transferring to MSU in '25. He's only actually played three seasons of college football.
What Having Bullard Means for MSU's Offense
The Spartans are going to need all the bodies they can get at receiver. Michigan State has a lot of unproven players at the position, including Bullard. This would've been good news for MSU no matter where he stood on the depth chart, but Bullard is currently getting starter-level reps, at least from what I've been able to watch during practices so far (the other two projected starters currently are Charles Taplin and Chrishon McCray).
There won't be as big a gap between the starters and the rest this year, though. Fitzgerald seems to anticipate the Spartans utilizing a rotation at receiver this season, which would differ a lot from what Michigan State has done in the past with Courtney Hawkins. Still, Bullard seems primed to be much more involved this year than last.
Bullard got a total of 132 offensive snaps last year, appearing in all 12 of MSU's games. He got one start against Minnesota while filling in for an injured McCray. Bullard had four catches for 102 yards and one touchdown that day, with it notably coinciding during Alessio Milivojevic's first start.
"It's awesome," Milivojevic said about Bullard's eligibility ruling. "Rod is an amazing player. He's made a lot of great plays throughout spring, throughout fall and the summer. It's awesome to see a guy who's really worked --- he's worked so hard throughout the year without knowing he was certainly going to play. It's just awesome to see. I'm proud of him, happy for him, and excited to play with him this year.
Getting Bullard for the 2026 season should give Michigan State another big-play threat. He averaged 19.3 yards per catch across the two years he saw the field at Valdosta State, one of the best programs out there at the Division II level. His one receiving touchdown last year for MSU was 71 yards long.
We'll see just how productive the receivers can be this season, but there shouldn't be any shortage of speed. Bullard has plenty of it, as do Taplin and true freshman Samson Gash. They'll be valuable both in open space and as deep threats.
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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.
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