3 More Emerging Names from MSU's 'Spring Showcase'

Here are a few more players who stuck around during the Spartans' spring finale.

Michigan State's Cal Thrush, center, lines up before a play during the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first spring under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald has concluded.

Michigan State held its "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With all the new players and coaches, it was one of the first times we got any real hint of where each player might stand right now. Three players who saw their stock increase were listed on Sunday, but there are some other names worth mentioning.

KR/RB Kenneth Williams

Michigan State's Kenneth Williams, left, celebrates a touchdown run with Nick Sharpe during the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kick return specialist Kenneth Williams only got to touch the ball once during the scrimmage, but he made the opportunity count. He ran off with it for a 67-yard touchdown, using some nice speed to get away from some potential tackles. The left side of the offensive line gave him a nice hole to help spur the long run.

Williams' role on this team is bound to be interesting. He's definitely the one who MSU wants returning its kickoffs, as he was an all-Big Ten player at that while at Nebraska last season, but he's also probably fifth, at best, on the running back depth chart. We'll have to see whether that explosive run helped his case.

EDGE Cal Thrush

Oct 1, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Upper Arlington defensive end Cal Thrush, a Michigan State commit, during practices at the high school. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another standout performance came from pass rusher Cal Thrush, who is a redshirt freshman who didn't play at all last season. He got involved for half of a sack and had a few (unofficial) quarterback pressures.

Thrush has gotten a lot bigger in the offseason. His weight has jumped from 247 pounds to 263 pounds on the spring roster. Michigan State really needs to have an improved pass rush in 2026 -- perhaps Thrush can be a bit of a surprise contributor this coming fall.

LB Adam Shaw

Pascack Valley football hosts River Dell, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, Hillsdale, New Jersey. PV #10 Adam Shaw. | Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another surprise is the number of reps true freshman linebacker Adam Shaw was getting. He was mostly running with the second-teamers, but he and quarterback Kayd Coffman were probably the freshmen who stuck out the most during Saturday's exhibition. Shaw -- again, unofficially -- recorded two tackles for loss.

What's also interesting is how quickly Shaw seems to be rising at linebacker. He played quarterback for much of his high school career and suffered an injury that shortened his senior season. Already earning that many reps is a pretty good sign for Michigan State's future at the linebacker position, especially with Shaw being the son of Scott Shaw, a former Spartan, All-American, and NFL draft pick.

Michigan State's head coach Pat Fitzgerald addresses the team at the end of the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images