3 Things To Like About MSU Football's New-Look Offense

Michigan State's offense has struggled a lot in recent years.

The Spartans finished ranked 97th in the FBS in total offense and 13th in the Big Ten last season. New head coach Pat Fitzgerald swapped out Brian Lindgren (now QBs coach at Stanford) for Nick Sheridan as part of his inaugural staff.

Michigan State's offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, right, talks with Charles Taplin during spring football practice on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sheridan previously served as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama. He was the Crimson Tide's primary playcaller during the 2024 season and also gained experience as an OC at Indiana (2020-21).

Ironically enough, Sheridan is also a former Michigan quarterback. Here are a couple of things about his first offense in East Lansing that fans can like:

QB Development Experience

Sheridan has helped develop and recruit several quarterbacks who have reached the NFL during his coaching career. That's nice news if you're Alessio Milivojevic. Just recently, he worked with Alabama's Ty Simpson as his position coach for two seasons --- Simpson went 13th overall to the Los Angeles Rams during this year's NFL Draft.

Also on the list is Michael Penix Jr., who became a great quarterback at Indiana and a Heisman finalist at Washington. Before that, Sheridan was a graduate assistant at Tennessee, where he worked with Joshua Dobbs, who became a fourth-round draft pick in 2017. Sheridan also worked with future fifth-round pick Mike White for a season at South Florida.

Proof McCray Can Explode

Slot receiver Chrishon McCray is set to be the Spartans' top wideout next season. Most teams want their WR1 to be out wide at X or Z, but slot guys can work just fine. Sheridan's season as Alabama's playcaller is proof that it can work.

Ironically, it involves former MSU receiver, Germie Bernard. It was a pretty crowded wide receiver room at Washington in 2023, when Sheridan was the tight ends coach, but Bernard still caught 34 passes for 419 yards and two scores. The next season at Alabama, though, with Sheridan calling the shots, Bernard rose to 50 catches, 794 yards, but still two touchdowns through the air. He just went in the second round to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Deep RB Room

Michigan State should also be able to run the ball pretty well. The Spartans' offensive line seems improved from last year on paper, but MSU also has a ton of good-to-great options in the backfield.

The best one is UConn transfer Cam Edwards, who ranked 15th in the FBS with 1,240 rushing yards last season. There's also Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson, Western Kentucky transfer Marvis Parrish, Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams (who is more of a kick return specialist), and then returnees Brandon Tullis, Jace Clarizio, and Zion Gist. There's only one ball, but whoever is carrying it should have some pretty fresh legs.

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