5 Impactful Offensive Transfers To Know for MSU
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It's been a very eventful transfer portal season in East Lansing.
Michigan State football hired Pat Fitzgerald as its new head coach, and as most coaching changes go, that meant many changes across coaching and personnel. The Spartans brought in 31 transfers this cycle and saw even more than that walk away. Of the newcomers to the portal, 13 are offensive players. In no particular order, these are the five main ones fans need to know about:
LT Ben Murawski
MSU's top-ranked transfer portal addition, according to Rivals, was its very first. UConn left tackle transfer Ben Murawski was the very first player to commit to Michigan State from the portal on Jan. 4. He was ranked 203rd overall in the transfer portal on Rivals' rankings, also coming in at 15th among offensive tackles.
Murawski is going to be the ever-critical blindside blocker for starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. He's known as an elite run-blocker, though. His 86.4 run-blocking grade on PFF ranked fifth in the FBS among offensive tackles with at least 100 run-blocking snaps.
His size helps explain that. Murawski is the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-7 and the second-heaviest at 340 pounds. He has 28 extra pounds on what outgoing left tackle Stanton Ramil (now at Auburn) was listed at last fall, while being the same listed height.
Murawski has one year of eligibility remaining. Last season was his first season getting snaps at left tackle, mostly playing left guard before that. PFF says he allowed three sacks and 24 pressures over 459 pass-blocking snaps last season. He also got penalized four times.
RB Cam Edwards
Sticking with the UConn theme, running back Cam Edwards was one of my favorite additions this offseason. He was one of the most proven and productive commodities in the portal this cycle, rushing for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns last season for the Huskies.
UConn is independent and plays mostly Group of Six teams, but it faced three ACC teams last season. Edwards averaged 94 scrimmage yards during those games, which included a win over eventual ACC champion Duke. UConn also won at Boston College and lost in overtime at Syracuse. Fully expect to see Edwards as the RB1 next season.
C Trent Fraley
In the middle of it all is North Dakota State transfer, Trent Fraley. Despite being just 6-foot-1 (pretty short for a Division I offensive lineman), Fraley won the FCS's Rimington Award last year, which goes to the subdivision's best center.
Fraley brings in 1,743 total snaps of experience at center with him to East Lansing from his time at Marshall and NDSU. He's only allowed one sack in his last two seasons, getting pass-blocking grades above 80 from PFF during both 2024 and 2025.
Winning has also become the expectation for Fraley. The Bison went 26-3 overall (one loss being by five at a 9-4 Colorado team) during his two seasons there. North Dakota State beat Montana State and now-MSU offensive lineman Conner Moore during the 2024 National Championship game, in fact.
WR KK Smith
Wide receiver is also a big unknown for the Spartans right now. How Notre Dame transfer KK Smith does will be a critical part of Michigan State's offense. Like several other receivers in MSU's room, he is unproven. Smith has 11 career receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
We also didn't really get to see Smith during the spring, as he missed the "Spring Showcase" due to an injury. Wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins has done enough to earn people's trust, but it is entirely fair to be slightly nervous about taking chances on guys who will be jumping from backup roles to potential starting roles.
TE/ATH Carson Gulker
One of the most unique figures on Michigan State's offense is Ferris State transfer Carson Gulker. He's listed as a tight end, but the 2025 season was the first time Gulker has actually played that position. Gulker has played quarterback and running back at other points during his career with the Bulldogs.
That means Gulker can perhaps be MSU's metaphorical Swiss army knife. The fact that Gulker can line up at tight end or in the backfield, with the threat of both running and passing, will give opposing defenses a lot to think about. Gulker also didn't play in the Spartans' spring finale, so there weren't any public hints yet about how he'll be used.
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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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