Biggest Questions Facing MSU Football Ahead of Fall Camp
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Michigan State football has some questions to answer in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the 2026 season.
Practices should start around the first week of August. The Spartans haven't made a bowl game in four years, but the hope is that Pat Fitzgerald can engineer a quick turnaround. Before everyone can worry about wins and losses come Friday, Sept. 4, these are the questions that must be answered once practices begin.
Who Steps Up at WR?
Wide receiver is a serious question mark ahead of Week 1. MSU is bringing back starting slot receiver Chrishon McCray, but the competition for the team's starting X and Z spots is very open. The list of candidates is certainly lengthy: Charles Taplin, KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, Rodney Bullard Jr., and Samson Gash could all get a starting nod against Toledo, and it wouldn't feel that stunning.
What makes the competition hard to figure out is that nobody in the room is truly proven. Smith and Moore are incoming transfers who were backups at their previous schools. Bullard had five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown last season -- four catches, 102 yards, and the touchdown all came in one game at Minnesota. Taplin had one catch for eight yards last season. Gash will have to earn his stripes as a true freshman quickly.
Right now, I have the projected starters as Taplin and Smith. Taplin was getting first-team reps during the spring game in April, and while Smith didn't participate that day, I think he's the most promising of the rest of the group competing for those X and Z spots.
This may not be a year where wide receiver is a clear strength for Michigan State like it normally is, but position coach Courtney Hawkins has earned some benefit of the doubt. There probably won't be a receiver of Nick Marsh's caliber this season, but the odds of somebody somewhere making that needed step up should be high with Hawkins' overall track record.
Who Starts at TE?
The tight end group has a similar problem. Michigan State has to look for one of Carson Gulker, Kai Rios, Jayden Savoury, and Brennan Parachek to emerge at the position.
That list of options is, again, long, but not full of proven players. Gulker is transferring from Division II. Rios and Savoury both made one catch each last season. Parachek didn't catch any passes last fall, though he does have 14 career receptions for 118 yards during his time with MSU.
How Does the Right Side of OL Shake Out?
One of the interesting notes from the spring game in April was Conner Moore getting reps at right guard and Rakeem Johnson getting snaps at right tackle. This was certainly an unusual combination for Michigan State to use. Moore has been a tackle his entire career, and most of Johnson's snaps in 2025 were at right guard. The "normal" thing to do would be to switch the two of them around.
A potential reason for this was the ongoing recovery of Luka Vincic. He could've been the Spartans' starting right guard last year, but he suffered a season-ending injury against Youngstown State in Week 3. Vincic had recovered enough by April to wear a helmet and shoulder pads, but he was still in shorts and wasn't doing any drills involving contact.
Does Defense Have Enough Depth?
The starting 11 for MSU's defense actually feels relatively solid right now. There is the chance for some real star power there with Jordan Hall at linebacker, Charles Brantley at corner, and Nikai Martinez at safety.
What's more of a question is what will happen once some players get hurt. The amount of depth, particularly on the defensive line and at safety, is a pretty real cause for concern. If and/or when there are injuries at those spots, it's a certainty that Michigan State will be turning to either a young player, an inexperienced one, or both.
Seeing which players rise on the depth chart and position themselves in a better spot to eventually play will be a big part of camp for Joe Rossi's defense. I keep going back to the defensive line, which only has two players with real experience at defensive tackle and nobody at rush end or defensive end who has proven they can be a go-to pass rusher at this level.
Linebacker is probably the deepest part of the defense. Hall, Dion Crawford, and Caleb Wheatland will probably get most of the snaps there, giving the Spartans already a backup built into the regular playing group.
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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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