Fitzgerald Expands on Special Teams for Spartans
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Special teams usually doesn't get talked enough about how important it is.
Lots of talk is about how good the offense or defense is or will be. Football's third phase doesn't get talked about as much. New Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald is going to be sure to place lots of importance on it.
"Special teams are going to be integral for our program," Fitzgerald said at a press conference Wednesday. "It was a huge point of emphasis, going back to when I was a player. In my first job, I was a linebacker coach and special teams coordinator at Idaho. I'll be heavily involved in that area."
Fitzgerald has shown it with his actions as head coach, too. MSU's new special teams coordinator is LeVar Woods, who had previously been running the special teams operation at Iowa. The Hawkeyes were as good at special teams as anybody, which is why Fitzgerald made Woods one of the highest-paid special teams coaches in the country. Woods' contract pays him an average of $1.2 million over the next three seasons.
More on Woods, MSU's Special Teams
Fitzgerald has seen Woods' work up close. Quite recently, in fact. He attended Michigan State's game at Iowa this past fall, where the Hawkeyes' Kaden Wetjen had multiple big punt returns, including one going for a 62-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
"I would've punted it out of bounds, but that's just me," Fitzgerald joked.
There had been plenty of other experiences against each other as coaches, too. Fitzgerald faced Iowa many times while he was the head coach at Northwestern. The two programs were both in the Big Ten West together and played every single season Fitzgerald was at the helm at NU.
Woods' stint on the Iowa coaching staff didn't begin quite as early as Fitzgerald's did at Northwestern, but it's comparable. After playing for the Hawkeyes from 1998-00, Woods joined his alma mater's coaching staff in 2008 as an admistrative assistant. He worked his way up from there, helping out with special teams while coaching linebackers and tight ends at different points. Woods became the full-time special teams coordinator for the Hawkeyes for the 2018 season.
"The relationship, I think, first of all, started by playing against him and then coaching against him," Fitzgerald said. "There was a high level of respect for our program and their program at my previous institution. Then, to go through the recruiting process with my son, Ryan, in the same class as Coach Woods' son, Stacy and I got to know he and Megan a little bit deeper than just coaching.
"And then, as this role happened for me, and I identified kind of where I wanted to go, I wanted to go after the best special teams coordinator in the country. I believe Coach Woods is that."
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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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