Michigan State Football Top 30 Players Countdown: No. 7

One of the few returning starters in Michigan State’s offense will be one of the team’s most important players in 2026.

Chrishon McCray appeared in 11 games with five starts for MSU during the 2025 season. He’s the Spartans’ leading returning wideout, having caught 24 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns last fall during his first season with the program after transferring in from Kent State.

Why McCray is X-Factor in Offense

Wide receiver is going to be one of the biggest question marks entering the fall. Pretty much all the rest of last year’s production is gone. Top receivers Nick Marsh and Omari Kelly have left the program; Marsh transferred to Indiana and Kelly ran out of eligibility. Each of Michigan State’s top tight ends also left, with Jack Velling also exhausting his NCAA eligibility and Michael Masunas transferring to Texas.

McCray can certainly be penciled as the team’s starting slot wide receiver right now. He looked like Alessio Milivojevic’s favorite target during April’s spring game and would be my guess to be MSU’s leading receiver this season, which is why he’s No. 7 on my ongoing “top 30 players” list.

The group of other receivers are all very unproven, though. All of Charles Taplin, KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, Rodney Bullard Jr., and Samson Gash feel like they could realistically earn a starting spot at either the X or Z position. Michigan State rotating players in that group also wouldn’t be a surprise. Jameel Gardner Jr., Braylon Collier, and Bryson Williams are some other names in the room worth knowing for 2026.

Smith and Moore were both previously backups at Notre Dame and Michigan and have 161 and 160 career receiving yards, respectively. Bullard had had 119 yards with the Spartans last year, though he flashed some real potential with a 102-yard day against Minnesota. Taplin had one catch for eight yards in 2025. Gash is a four-star recruit who will have the most speed on the team, but he’s still a true freshman.

Michigan State wide receiver Chrishon McCray (13) tries to run through a tackle from Michigan defensive back Jyaire Hill (20) during a game on Oct. 25, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

McCray is the only member of the wide receiving corps really accustomed to regular playing time at the Power Four level. This means there is going to be some serious pressure on him to produce this season, both because he’ll be a focal point of MSU’s offense and other teams’ defensive game plans.

This makes McCray’s performance this season one of the biggest determining factors for the Spartans’ offense this fall. He came back to Michigan State after originally entering the transfer portal last winter, probably for that very reason. There are a few reasons to believe that McCray can take the leap the Spartans need.

Blend with OC Nick Sheridan

One thing that will certainly matter to McCray is the hiring of offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. He was previously the co-OC and quarterbacks coach at Alabama and also served as the Crimson Tide’s playcaller during the 2024 season.

Ironically enough, former MSU player Germie Bernard is the example I’m going to cite here. Bernard had his breakout season in 2024 while Sheridan was calling the plays. Bernard went from averaging 29.9 yards per game at Washington in ‘23 in an admittedly loaded wide receiver room to 61.1 yards per game at Alabama the following season after following Kalen DeBoer and Sheridan.

Bernard pretty much split his time at ‘Bama that fall between the slot and out wide right down the middle. Pro Football Focus says he played 367 snaps in the slot that year and 354 out wide. He was also mostly a slot receiver at Washington in 2023 and at Michigan State in 2022.

Sheridan’s own history with developing and identifying quarterbacks is another thing that will bode well for McCray. He’s worked with first-round picks Michael Penix Jr. and Ty Simpson at different points in his career, as well as future NFL draft picks Jalen Milroe, Joshua Dobbs, and Mike White. Quarterbacks coach John McNulty also has tons of NFL experience.

The last MSU quarterback to get drafted is Connor Cook in 2016, and the hope is that Sheridan can help stop that drought. Milivojevic’s timeline as a redshirt sophomore is a little longer than McCray’s as a fifth-year senior, but those four starts Milivojevic had last year also provide a glimpse.

More on McCray’s Potential Role This Season

What’s worth noting is McCray’s biggest game last season happened while Milivojevic was the one delivering the passes. That was the season’s penultimate game against Iowa, where McCray caught a season-high six passes for another season-high of 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Both of those scores happened in the third quarter of that game. The first was a deep ball from 45 yards out. McCray’s second one felt more impressive, though, making a contested catch in the corner of the endzone for a 6-yard score.

McCray’s first touchdown of the season, and the only one with Aidan Chiles at quarterback, came against USC. That was during the first quarter of the game and was from 42 yards out. Most slot receivers are utilized most in the short and intermediate game, but McCray has that ability to get behind defenses once in a while and make explosive plays happen.

That WR1 role is also something McCray has been accustomed to as well. He was the leading receiver during both the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Kent State. He had 41 catches, 610 receiving yards, and four touchdowns during the ‘23 season. McCray then had then had 40 catches, 705 yards, and nine touchdowns the following year.

Why McCray is X-Factor in Offense

Blend with OC Nick Sheridan

More on McCray’s Potential Role This Season

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