5 Biggest Standouts for Michigan State During Fall Camp
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Michigan State football officially kicks off in two weeks.
The Spartans have an interesting group they've put together. More than half of the players on the roster are new to the program. These five players (whether they're new or not) have stood out the most during fall camp thus far:
TE Jayden Savoury
One player to expect a big jump from is redshirt freshman/second-year player Jayden Savoury. He redshirted last year, appearing in four games and making one catch for 16 yards against Boston College. Savoury looks like he could be the starter this year, though.
He's got the hands and wide catch radius to be a real weapon in the pass game, plus he's a good enough blocker to help out in the run game. Savoury is up 13 pounds from last year (now 253 pounds), and he's also grown an inch (now 6'5"). MSU will probably play 3-4 tight ends regularly this year, but Savoury seems best positioned to be the every-down guy.
DL Eli Coenen
Illinois transfer Eli Coenen will be a big X-factor on this season's defense. He's continuously gotten better throughout his college career, which is always a good sign and/or green flag when evaluating a transfer. Coenen went from redshirting at Division II Bemidji State in 2023 to being a regular part of Illinois' defensive rotation in 2025.
Coenen will probably be Michigan State's No. 2 defensive tackle this coming season. He'll be the speedier guy for the Spartans at that position. Coenen looked like the speediest and most violent defensive tackle during one drill that I observed last Monday. If everyone can remain healthy, MSU's top three on the interior of its defensive line, Ben Roberts, Coenen, and Derrick Simmons, can be a pretty effective group.
EDGE Anelu Lafaele
Rush end Anelu Lafaele is also primed for a breakout season. I spent a fair amount of time watching a 1-on-1 drill between the rush ends and the tight ends. Lafaele was pretty consistently winning his reps from my view (Kai Rios looked like the best blocking tight end, if you're wondering).
Seeing Lafaele succeed on the practice field wasn't a huge surprise, but I was still curious to see how he looked after recovering from a foot injury that sidelined him for the final seven games of the 2025 season. Lafaele had 2.0 sacks up to that point, and he almost certainly would've finished as the team's leading sack-getter had he remained available.
The snap count for Lafaele this season will be interesting. He's a great pure pass rusher, but Lafaele basically only came into games last year when Michigan State thought a pass was coming. The next big step for Lafaele is becoming more effective against the run.
NC State transfer Kenny Soares Jr. will also get the majority of the rush-end snaps. He's quickly made himself a leader in the locker room. The team voted Soares as "The Spartan" this year and to wear the No. 1 uniform, a new tradition that Pat Fitzgerald brought over from his time at Northwestern.
RB Cam Edwards
I've been pretty excited to see Cam Edwards in this coming offense, though there have been a few reservations. The main concern is Edwards' 3.8 yards per carry in three games against ACC teams last year. It does stretch to 4.6 yards per rush across Edwards' career versus Power Conference opponents, though.
What is helping me change my mind a tiny bit is simply that Fitzgerald's expectations for Edwards this year are sky-high.
"I expect him to be the best running back in the country," Fitzgerald said on Monday. "I mean, that's his goal, and we expect to push him to be that. He has shown just unbelievable ability here in camp. There was a play the other day where he ran through it; Devon Spalding and I made eye contact, and I go, 'I'm good. I don't need to see him 'til the opener.'"
Edwards ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns at UConn last year. He also averaged 8.0 yards per carry when running to either gap adjacent to left tackle Ben Murawski, who will again be teammates with Edwards at Michigan State.
CB Tyran Chappell
MSU's best-kept secret could be cornerback Tyran Chappell. He still seems to be the third cornerback on the depth chart right now behind Charles Brantley and Tre Bell, but he should get some serious burn with the Spartans this coming season. Chappell was starting at corner during the spring game while Brantley was out.
Chappell could be a serious ball-hawk for the Spartans for the next few years. He had four interceptions at Houston Christian last season, earning First Team All-Southland honors. Even after that type of season as a redshirt freshman, Chappell was outside the top 1,500 in On3's portal rankings and outside the top 2,000 in 247Sports' rankings.
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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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