Michigan State Football 2026 Top 30 Players Countdown: No. 16
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Michigan State’s fifth defensive back will be a key part of the Spartans’ next defense.
Whenever the Spartans opt to put five defensive backs out on the field, it’s going to include Louisiana Tech transfer Michael Richard. He’s an experienced player who had three productive seasons at his last stop and is No. 16 on my top 30 players list for the coming fall.
The Instant Outlook for Richard in 2026
One piece of good news for Richard is that this fall no longer has to be his last playing college football. He originally transferred to MSU as a true senior and had one season of eligibility left. The NCAA’s recent “5-in-5” rule change will grant Richard eligibility for the 2027 season as well.
Richard will be a difference-maker in 2026, though. He’s been working a lot with Michigan State’s safeties, but nickel was the more precise fit for him during spring ball. That’s a spot he thrived in at LA Tech, and it’s a role that the Spartans are hoping will translate well to Big Ten competition.
Richard’s Career Up to This Point
Richard has been regularly playing all three years he’s been in college football. He’s appeared in 34 total games during his career so far, with 22 of those being starts. Richard has a total of 1,523 defensive snaps of experience that he’s bringing to MSU, with 603 of those snaps happening last year.
The 2025 season is probably what opened the door for Richard to leap up to the Power Four level. He had done fine in 2023 and 2024 (more on that below), but he didn’t force any takeaways during his first two years at Louisiana Tech. Richard had to prove that he could get his hand on the football, and that’s what he did.
Richard wound up with three interceptions last season, tied for second on the Bulldogs. That came at the expense of 377 yards and four touchdowns being allowed, per PFF. Most would consider that a worthwhile trade. One of his interceptions also came against LSU — the others were against UTEP and Liberty. Richard also bumped up his number of tackles to 39, and he also made five tackles for loss.
Penalties have also not been a big problem during Richard’s career, which is sometimes the case for defensive backs. He’s been flagged four times during his career so far, with two of them happening last season.
Another big key is that Richard has done well against the run. He received a pretty good 78.0 grade there in 2025, which was much improved from his 44.7 mark in ‘24 and a 62.9 mark in ‘23.
Richard’s true freshman season in 2023 was also a big one. He was Conference USA’s Freshman of the Year. Richard only allowed 16 catches on 38 targets that season with just one touchdown allowed and seven pass breakups, according to PFF. He received an overall defensive grade of 75.5 that season, which remains his career best. Richard had a 67.4 overall grade last season and a 53.1 grade in 2024 as a sophomore.
Changes at Nickel From Last Year
The player Richard is most directly replacing is Ade Willie. He started Michigan State’s first four games in 2025 at nickel, but then didn’t play in MSU’s final eight contests to presumably stay right at the redshirt limit and preserve his last season of eligibility. Willie transferred to North Carolina this offseason.
When Willie was no longer playing, Dontavius Nash took his place. Malcolm Bell also got some occasional playing time as a slot corner later on in the year. Both were also one-year transfer portal additions, with Nash coming in from East Carolina and Bell transferring from UConn.
Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and safeties coach James Adams are probably hoping for a little less movement at this spot than last year. This is also with the hope that people remain healthy. MSU has gotten the injury bug aplenty recently, and it’s going to need its secondary to be great this year, especially with there being a lack of depth on the defensive line.
What should also help is that the NCAA’s new, age-based rules should prevent situations like Willie's, where coaches or players hover around the four-game limit to game the system, given that every athlete's eligibility will now progress toward the five-year limit, whether they play or not.
Why Richard, Secondary Can Be Strength
There is plenty of reason to view the secondary as a strength of Michigan State’s this coming fall. Richard was down at 1,149th overall in On3’s transfer portal rankings, but he can be part of a turnaround in the defensive backfield this fall. MSU allowed 231.3 passing yards last season (92nd in the FBS), but the starting group should basically be entirely new.
Again, everybody who was really playing nickel for the Spartans last year either ran out of eligibility or transferred out. Michigan State’s two starting corners and two safeties will both be different, too.
Back at safety, which is still technically Richard’s position group, there are Nikai Martinez and Devin Vaught. Martinez isn’t new to MSU, but he only appeared in four games last year as well. Vaught is another incoming transfer from Maine, where he was a Second Team All-CAA honoree last season with three interceptions. Vaught could also face some competition from Aveon Grose, who started last season’s season finale against Maryland and intercepted a pass.
Michigan State’s corners will be Charles Brantley and Tre Bell. Brantley starred for the Spartans in 2024, but transferred to Miami (FL) last offseason. Last fall was supposed to be his last collegiate season, but, for whatever reason, Brantley never found regular playing time and only appeared in three games for the Hurricanes. This preserved his final season of eligibility and gave him the opportunity to return to MSU.
Other Top 30 Articles
No. 30, WR Samson Gash | No. 29, WR Charles Taplin | No. 28, S Devin Vaught | No. 27, KR Kenneth Williams | No. 26, OL Luka Vincic | No. 25, OL Rakeem Johnson | No. 24, CB Tyran Chappell | No. 23, DL Derrick Simmons | No. 22, TE Carson Gulker | No. 21, WR KK Smith
No. 20, DL Eli Coenen | No. 19, OL Nick Sharpe | No. 18, LB Caleb Wheatland | No. 17, RB Marvis Parrish
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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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