MSU Football Players Who Rose, Fell Most During Offseason
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A lot has changed in East Lansing since the end of the 2025 season.
The day after Michigan State's 4-8 campaign wrapped up last year, Jonathan Smith was out, and Pat Fitzgerald was in. MSU lost 45 players to the transfer portal and then brought in 32 portal prospects and 30 freshmen. These are the players on the roster whose stock has improved and dropped the most over the offseason:
Risers/Winners
WR Charles Taplin (R-Fr./2)
No player has seemed to have shot up the depth chart more than Charles Taplin. Wide receiver is one of the biggest question marks for the Spartans entering the 2026 season. It's not necessarily because there are huge concerns over the level of production -- WRs coach Courtney Hawkins has earned some benefit of the doubt there -- but it's hardly clear who will emerge in that unit.
Taplin is near the top of the candidate list. He started during Michigan State's spring scrimmage back in April, though I wondered if that was because Notre Dame transfer KK Smith was unavailable. Taplin appears to have held onto that starting role through fall camp, based on the order of players going through drills I've witnessed during practices. He only made one catch for eight yards as a true freshman and was one of the lowest-ranked recruits in MSU's 2025 recruiting class.
TE Jayden Savoury (R-Fr./2)
Another young player stepping into a much bigger role is Jayden Savoury. He appeared in four early-season games for Michigan State last year, making one catch for 16 yards against Boston College, but then didn't appear in the Spartans' final seven games to preserve his redshirt.
Savoury stood out a fair bit to me during training camp. His large frame, up 13 pounds from last year, was already one of his best attributes, but his catch radius is a plus, and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said that he's been pleased with Savoury's growth as a blocker. He and Brennan Parachek will likely be MSU's top two traditional tight ends, with Carson Gulker also holding a significant role as the fun, do-it-all option.
CB Tyran Chappell (R-So./3)
One transfer portal player who I think will surprise some people is Tyran Chappell. He was one of the first players to commit to the Spartans out of the portal this offseason after a four-interception year at Houston Christian. Chappell wasn't rated highly at all by 247Sports or On3 this portal cycle, but his ball-hawking abilities and overall numbers indicate that Michigan State landed one of the best young cornerbacks at the FCS level last season.
Chappell will probably be in a CB3 role for now. He'll rotate in plenty at corner, but I wouldn't be stunned if MSU gave him some snaps at nickel as well. Safeties coach James Adams said a few corners were cross-training there, and Chappell seems like a sensible player to do that with.
Fallers/Losers
RB Brandon Tullis
I was a little bit surprised that Brandon Tullis was on the list of players who decided to stick around this offseason. MSU hit the portal hard for running backs this offseason.
UConn transfer Cam Edwards is my top addition of the entire offseason after he ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. Western Kentucky transfer Marvis Parrish totaled 779 yards as a true freshman and the Hilltoppers' RB1 in 2025. Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson had 296 yards as the Hawkeyes' RB2 last year.
Tullis could be as far down as RB4 this year after being Michigan State's second option in the backfield for much of the 2025 season. He'll still get playing time and carries, probably mostly during short-yardage situations, but probably not as much as last year.
New Transfer Portal WRs
None of the Spartans' new wide receivers from the transfer portal appear to be starters right now. We brought up Taplin as a starter earlier here, but the other two starters for now seem to be Chrishon McCray and Rodney Bullard Jr. MSU is likely going to use a rotation at wideout this year, but this still puts Michigan State's newest receivers in an interesting position.
The two main additions this offseason were Fredrick Moore from Michigan and KK Smith from Notre Dame. There is also Jackson State transfer Jameel Gardner Jr., but he was a late pickup in April. You'll definitely see Moore and Smith plenty this year, but the fact that neither seems to be in Michigan State's top three right now is a bit of a concern to me.
EDGE Isaac Smith
Isaac Smith is another player in a tough spot. He started every single game last year, but I don't think he's better than second on the depth chart at both rush end and defensive end right now. Kenny Soares Jr. and Anelu Lafaele are ahead at the former. Keahnist Thompson seems to be the starter at defensive end, and I have Smith on a similar tier as Cal Thrush and/or Kekai Burnett at the latter.
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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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