How Dorm Connected OL Sharpe to MSU From Beginning

The Spartans' new lineman stayed in the same suite as this former Spartan.

Michigan State offensive lineman Nick Sharpe speaks following a spring practice on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Life in college football for Kenneth Walker III and Nick Sharpe began in the same spot: room 206 in the dormitories at Wake Forest. Ironically, both eventually wound up at Michigan State.

"I actually lived in the suite that Kenneth Walker was in before he ended up here," Sharpe, MSU's projected starting left guard, said on Tuesday. "A few guys actually lived with him, like [future Liberty star LB] Quinton Cooley. We would always talk about Kenneth Walker in the suite."

Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III looks on during the second quarter in the game against Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sharpe and Walker didn't overlap at Wake Forest or in room 206. Walker transferred to MSU for the 2021 season, which was Sharpe's true freshman season there. Word of what the former Demon Deacon was doing in a green and white uniform certainly spread.

"I was just like, 'Dang, man. I wish Kenneth would have stayed,'" Sharpe said. "He came here and had a great year. But I learned a lot about him at my time at Wake with Quinton, so that was cool."

More Future Connections to MSU

Sep 9, 2023; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons offensive lineman Nick Sharpe (70) lifts up running back Tate Carney (30) after his score against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second quarter at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Walker isn't the only person who became a future Michigan State connection for Sharpe. During all four seasons at Wake Forest, Sharpe played under offensive line coach Nick Tabacca. When MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald was building his staff, he tabbed Tabacca for the position.

Sharpe had transferred to South Carolina for this past season. He started five of the eight games he played in for the Gamecocks, accumulating a PFF grade of 65.9 on the offensive end. Tabacca certainly played a role in getting Sharpe to Michigan State for his sixth year of college football.

Sep 17, 2022; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons offensive lineman Nick Sharpe (70) and offensive lineman Derrell Johnson II (75) come out onto the field against the Liberty Flames before the game at Truist Field. | James Guillory-Imagn Images

"I really didn't have to be sold on Coach Tabacca," Sharpe said. "I know him, I know the type of coach he is, I know how he pushes players, and I trust him with that wholeheartedly. So, whenever it comes to Coach Tabacca, I don't have to worry about that. It was just more about where's the program headed whenever I took my visit, and I was sold on that quick."

The coaching style that Sharpe describes is the type of thing you want from an offensive line coach: hard-nosed and someone who can develop players.

"I think the easiest way I can put it is he treats men like men," Sharpe answered when asked what Tabacca is like. "Like freshmen to older guys, he's going to treat you like a man, and he's going to expect you to be a man and handle your business like a man."

"He's not really huge into babysitting. He's a great developing coach, though. That is probably the biggest thing I'll say. He works well with young guys that need to be developed and stuff like that. That helped me out a lot [at Wake Forest], being younger and being around older guys as well."

More from Sharpe