Fitzgerald's New Energy Sparking MSU Resurgence
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- One of the biggest complaints from the Jonathan Smith era will be no more going forward.
Michigan State football is seeing an energy shift. The Spartans, now led by Pat Fitzgerald, are consciously looking to bring more juice to the table moving forward. Despite practices starting pretty early, Fitzgerald and other coaches have been anything but groggy and sleepy.
Players React
Nikai Martinez
"We've got practice at 6:30 in the morning, and Coach Fitz is screaming," safety Nikai Martinez said on March 24. "All the coaches are screaming, yelling, jumping. I feel like in that area, we just took a shift, and everybody is buying in, even the transfers coming in and the freshmen.
"We set the standard early, and everybody's abiding to it, and if you're not, you stick out like a sore thumb. You either have got to get with it -- you have to get with it, there's no other option, actually."
Ben Roberts
The energy also doesn't seem artificial or forced. Defensive lineman Ben Roberts spoke quite frankly about where the team stands right now.
"People want to be here," Roberts said on March 31 when asked about one of the differences from now and the past. "I've been a part of a lot of teams. We actually have guys on this team who want to be here and actually want to put Michigan State on top where it belongs. It should be on top, right? And this is the year we've got to do it. We've got no choice."
Coaches Reacting to Fitz
WR Coach Courtney Hawkins
One of the holdovers from last year's staff is wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins, who is now actually under a third head coach's employ since returning to his alma mater with Mel Tucker in 2020.
"I want to be part of the solution of getting our program back to dominance," Hawkins said on Tuesday while talking about why he stayed. "We're not far away, not far away at all. We've got the right guy [Fitzgerald] with great energy, holding the building accountable, holding the guys accountable, practicing like pros, practicing like every day is a game, meetings, the intensity."
"The energy he brings at 5 a.m. in the morning is incredible. I mean, whatever he is putting in his coffee, I need a little bit of that. It's been phenomenal."
DC Joe Rossi
The biggest retention Fitzgerald made was defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. Energy might've been a factor in that. After Rossi moved down to the sideline in the middle of last fall, there were points where it almost looked like he was the head coach. Now, Rossi has a head guy alongside him who will undoubtedly match that energy.
"He brings an intensity and an energy, but he does a really good job of being balanced in terms of he's bringing energy to the offense, he's bringing energy to the defense," Rossi said Tuesday. "He's a head coach, you know?
"Yeah, his background was on defense. Yeah, he's always gonna err on physicality and toughness, and we love all that. But I think he does a really good job of splitting his time between both the offense and the defense."
Having linebackers coach Max Bullough, safeties coach James Adams, and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III will also feed the growing energy. Rossi described them as a "juice squad" and hypothesized that they'll need a "get-back coach" to prevent them from lingering on the field too long.
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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