5 Players Who Will Define Season for Michigan State Football
In this story:
We are 100 days away from the official return of Michigan State football.
A lot has happened since the Spartans last played. MSU hired Pat Fitzgerald; there have been many staffing changes, and many players have come in and out of the program. With all of those changes, these five players seem to be the ones who will define how next fall goes the most:
QB Alessio Milivojevic
A new coach is coming with a new (permanent) QB1. Alessio Milivojevic got some starting experience at the end of last season and played well, but now he has the real responsibilities of a true leader and starting quarterback. That wasn't really a factor last season when Milivojevic first earned the starting job. The season had been mostly lost at that point, and there wasn't a giant weight of expectations.
On the plus side, Milivojevic will now start with a clean slate. Instead of learning, he's now the starter with a 3-5 record by his team's name; he's going to be 0-0 like everybody else. The beauty of a blank slate that a team gets at the beginning of the season doesn't last long, though.
Opponents will study Milivojevic's tendencies more closely and adjust their defenses accordingly. How Milivojevic adjusts to those adjustments will be one of the biggest storylines of the season during his first year at the top of the depth chart.
RB Cam Edwards
The flashiest transfer portal pickup this cycle was UConn transfer running back Cam Edwards. He ran for 1,240 yards on the ground last season with 15 touchdowns for the Huskies. Both of those statistics were in the top 15 in the FBS.
How Edwards adjusts from an independent schedule that featured mostly Group of Five schools and a few ACC programs to a Big Ten schedule will be the question. The Spartans' backfield is pretty crowded, featuring Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson, Western Kentucky transfer Marvis Parrish, returnee Brandon Tullis, and Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams. Edwards is still the clear-cut RB1.
WR Chrishon McCray
Chrishon McCray should also have a much larger role in the offense than last year. He felt underutilized a lot during the 2025 season; his 24 catches, 330 yards, and three touchdowns probably don't reflect what he can really bring to the table.
McCray did have his best game last season with Milivojevic under center -- going for six receptions, 75 yards, and a pair of touchdowns at Iowa. He also looked like Milivojevic's favorite target from the slot during last month's "Spring Showcase."
His larger role will also partially be out of necessity. Michigan State has a lot of unproven players who will be getting real snaps at receiver, too. Michigan transfer Fredrick Moore and Notre Dame transfer KK Smith were both backups at their last stops. There is a trio of redshirt freshmen looking for playing time. Four-star true freshman speedster Samson Gash will also have a shot.
There are a lot of names in Courtney Hawkins' room this year. McCray is the only one who has really put up numbers at the Power Four level before this fall. MSU should be very glad it got him back after he initially entered the portal in January.
LB Jordan Hall
Everything defensively is going to run through Jordan Hall. He was the heart of MSU's defense last year, pretty much literally as a middle linebacker, and Fitzgerald and defensive coordinator Joe Rossi were able to keep him around for his senior season.
Hall will end up playing for his third "permanent" head coach in four seasons with Michigan State. He and tight end Brennan Parachek are the only members of the Spartans' 2023 high school recruiting class still with the program.
S Nikai Martinez
Michigan State missed free safety Nikai Martinez a lot last season. The 2025 campaign was supposed to be Martinez's final season in college as a true senior, but he was limited to four games due to injury. He ended up deciding to stick around at MSU, too.
Martinez is the guy who will help keep the lid on top of the Spartans' defense. Things never really looked entirely right last season on the back end when Martinez was sidelined. Getting another healthy season from him, like in 2024, would be huge for Michigan State's defense.
Honorable Mentions: CB Charles Brantley, EDGE Kenny Soares Jr., OT Ben Murawski
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow jacobcotsonika