3 Glaring Flaws MSU Football Must Fix for 2026 Season
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Rebuilding a rebuild is never ideal, but that's sort of what's happening at Michigan State now.
The Spartans are a little more than 100 days away from their season opener against Toledo on Friday, Sept. 4. That game will officially begin the Pat Fitzgerald era at MSU. Roster, recruiting, portal, and coaching chaos have consumed Michigan State's offseason following a coaching change. A few things still stand out as concerns, now that the dust has settled.
Lack of Outside WR Experience
Wide receiver has been counted on to be a strength for MSU ever since Courtney Hawkins returned to his alma mater in 2020. Hawkins has helped guide several receivers to the NFL, including Jayden Reed, Jalen Nailor, and Keon Coleman.
Receiver stands as one of the biggest questions about the 2027 roster, though. The Spartans are replacing both Nick Marsh (transferred to Indiana) and Omari Kelly (out of eligibility) from last season's roster. What has emerged doesn't replace the production 1-for-1, at least on paper. Slot receiver Chrishon McCray is back, which does help.
Michigan State added three portal prospects this offseason: Fredrick Moore (Michigan), KK Smith (Notre Dame), and Jameel Gardner Jr. (Jackson State). Moore and Smith come from Power Four programs, but the two of them have one combined career start, 321 career receiving yards, and three touchdowns. Gardner was Jackson State's WR3 last year.
You're banking on somebody making a huge jump. It could be one of those three transfers. Maybe it's Rodney Bullard Jr. (if the NCAA approves his waiver). Perhaps it's redshirt freshmen Bryson Williams, Braylon Collier, or Charles Taplin. Perhaps it's true freshman and former 4-star recruit Samson Gash.
Just meeting expectations would make this one of Hawkins' weaker rooms. Guys like Gash or Williams seem especially poised to be future difference-makers, but it's not certain whether they're ready to become that this coming fall.
Interior DL Depth
The middle of Michigan State's defensive line makes me a bit nervous, too. MSU has a top two of Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen, which I think people can feel relatively good about. Roberts was effective when healthy last season, and Coenen has made progress year after year during his collegiate career after beginning at Division II Bemidji State.
Defensive lines need to rotate a lot, though, just because of the inherent physicality of the position. You don't get to play your top defensive tackles every single snap. That means the second unit and the guys after that need to be effective, too.
Derrick Simmons and Toledo transfer Carlos Hazelwood seem to be the next guys in line. I think Simmons, a former 4-star recruit, will eventually have a very good college career, but he's still a young redshirt freshman who has 17 live defensive snaps against Power Four competition from last season.
Hazelwood got just 83 total defensive snaps with a MAC team last season. He graded out quite well on PFF with a 78.1 grade, but the small-ish sample size could be a contributing factor in that. Between Simmons being a redshirt freshman and Hazelwood being a redshirt sophomore, there is just a lot of inexperience there.
Who Steps Up at Tight End?
Sort of like wide receiver, tight end just has a lot of unproven players filling its depth chart. The Spartans' top two guys at the position from last season are gone — Jack Velling ran out of eligibility and went pro, while Michael Masunas went to Texas.
Also, sort of like the wide receiver room, Michigan State and tight ends coach Brian Wozniak seemed to express confidence in some of the returners. MSU went and got all-around athlete Carson Gulker, a D-II Ferris State convert, from the portal, but that was it.
Gulker had 548 receiving yards and 541 rushing yards last season and can also throw the ball. He's probably not getting used like a traditional tight end. Redshirt junior Brennan Parachek and redshirt freshman Jayden Savoury seem to fit that mold a bit more. Kai Rios, a redshirt senior who played at Indiana State, is also part of the puzzle. True freshman Eddie Whiting got some good reviews during the spring, too.
Parachek and Savoury probably lead the way, though. Parachek actually redshirted last year, though he does have 14 career catches for 118 yards. Savoury made a catch against Boston College for 16 yards during his true freshman season.
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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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