Michigan State Football 2026 Top 30 Players: No. 27
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The theme today is going to be about special teams.
It’s a spot where Michigan State fell short last year. An injury to Alante Brown that sidelined him for most of the 2025 season did not help with that. Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams is now at MSU to fill Brown’s spot as the primary kick returner. That’s an exciting possibility.
Past Special Teams Woes
A look at the previous special teams units for the Spartans is necessary to fully understand the impact Williams will have with his new team. Previous head coach Jonathan Smith did not have a dedicated special teams coordinator. The duties were split between former running backs coach Keith Bhonapha and rush ends coach Chad Wilt.
With respect to Bhonapha and Wilt, the product looked like something run by two people whose main job was something else. Michigan State’s special teams ranked 103rd in the FBS out of 136 teams on ESPN’s SP+ metric. It would have probably been worse if MSU didn’t have the luxury of having Ryan Eckley at punter.
Special teams errors played important roles during the Spartans’ losses at Nebraska and at Iowa last season. The Cornhuskers blocked a punt for a touchdown, and MSU flubbed a short kickoff later in the game for a turnover. All-American Iowa punt returner Kaden Wetjen made Michigan State look completely foolish for giving him chances to return it — his three punt returns went for 45 yards, 62 yards (for a touchdown), and 40 yards that day.
New MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald was actually at that game between the Spartans and the Hawkeyes, which Iowa won 20-17 after a fourth-quarter comeback with a game-winning field goal. He’s using a much different philosophy than Smith when it comes to coaching up special teams.
Bringing in LeVar Woods
Fitzgerald likely looked over on that sideline during that day in Iowa City and observed the job LeVar Woods did. Fitzgerald was hired the day after the 2025 season concluded. Maybe he talked with MSU and J Batt that weekend; maybe he didn’t. Either way, he was more than ready to get back into coaching at this point.
Those in Fitzgerald’s shoes might go for people they might go for if they were starting a new coaching staff. Fitzgerald being out of the game put him at a disadvantage, as he couldn’t just move a coaching staff from one place to the next, but the completely blank slate also has its perks. He could basically go for whoever he wanted.
Woods would be some people’s “dream team” pick at special teams coordinator. Iowa’s special teams units are consistently among the best in the Big Ten and the country. It just didn’t seem super plausible. He used to play for Kirk Ferentz back in the day, and Woods had been on Ferentz’s staff for eons.
Fitzgerald was able to woo Woods away from his alma mater, though. An addition of an assistant head coach and a raise to an average of $1.2 million salary over the next three years will help with that.
How Williams Fits In
OK, finally back to Williams. He’s one of several new specialists that Woods brought in through the transfer portal this offseason. There’s a new kicker (Charlotte transfer Liam Boyd), punter (Iowa transfer Rhys Dakin), long snapper (Oregon transfer Nick Duzansky), and kick returner (Williams).
Williams was previously Woods’ rival at Nebraska. If there’s any sign about how Woods feels about Williams’ abilities when he’s an opponent, Iowa never gave Williams a chance to return a kickoff during their regular-season finale last season.
KENNETH WILLIAMS 95-YARD KICKOFF RETURN TD!! 😱 @HuskerFootball pic.twitter.com/bgjHuHttSS
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 25, 2025
That’s just because Williams was one of the best people at his job in the conference. He got 12 opportunities to return a kick last season. During those returns, he totaled 395 yards, good for an average of 32.9. That includes a 95-yard return for a score against Northwestern. He had another return of 85 yards (no touchdown) against Maryland.
Those 395 kick return yards were the most by a Cornhusker since 2017. That earned him Second Team All-Big Ten honors from the media and Third Team recognition from the coaches. Williams was also named a preseason Second Team All-Big Ten honoree by Phil Steele recently.
Electricity on Special Teams
Williams will have very few touches. He can play running back, but he only totaled six carries for 27 yards and one reception for 20 yards during his three total seasons at Nebraska. Opportunities on offense are very limited, with Williams’ height being just 5’9”, tied for the shortest on the team’s spring roster. He did have a long touchdown run during the “Spring Showcase” in April, though.
Brown, ironically, also a former Nebraska transfer, also provided electricity for Michigan State in the kick return game. He had some big returns against Boston College last season, and he scored his first career touchdown in the season finale against Maryland. Brown has often been injured throughout his collegiate career. He’ll be playing at Memphis next season as a seventh-year senior.
MSU was mostly content to take touchbacks while Brown was sidelined for most of the ‘25 campaign. It was normally running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver and wide receiver Chrishon McCray back there, two guys not quite as gifted as returners as Brown or Williams. They combined for just 109 return yards on eight opportunities (13.6 yards on average).
That’s why getting Williams is important. Every time a team makes the mistake of kicking it in his direction, he’s a threat to take it into opposing territory or better. Field positioning is often an overlooked aspect of football.
Just taking a kickoff to the 30 instead of the 25 is a boost for your offense. Even if it’s a three-and-out, you’re basically pinning the other team’s offense five yards further back than you would be otherwise. It can trigger a bit of a butterfly effect, leading to a field goal or a score a few possessions later.
Previous Michigan State squads just didn’t seem to do those “little things” right enough. Special teams will be one of the ways that MSU tries to steal a bowl bid out of the 2026 season — it really might’ve cost the Spartans a 13th game last year. Adding Williams is a huge step in the right direction there, and that’s why he’s on this list.
Other MSU Top 30 Stories
No. 30, WR Samson Gash | No. 29, WR Charles Taplin | No. 28, S Devin Vaught
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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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