How MSU Football Developed Its 2026 NFL Draft Class

Here's how the Spartans helped push Matt Gulbin and Ryan Eckley to the league.

Michigan State's Ryan Eckley mimics a golf swing after a deep punt against Boston College during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Developing draft picks is important in college football.

The NFL is the ultimate dream, and programs need to be able to sell a vision and pathway towards the pros to pitch to recruits. For Michigan State in 2026, the two most likely picks are interior offensive lineman Matt Gulbin and punter Ryan Eckley. Here's how the Spartans helped get each of them there:

Matt Gulbin

Michigan State center Matt Gulbin gets ready to throw a block during the Spartans' game against the USC Trojans on Sept. 20, 2025. | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Gulbin is a bit of a fun story, because Michigan State did and didn't do a lot of the work at the same time. He only spent his final season playing for the Spartans, but spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Wake Forest. Was his offensive line coach his whole time with the Demon Deacons? Nick Tabacca, who was hired by Pat Fitzgerald as MSU's new offensive line coach this offseason.

That additional year at Michigan State was still very valuable to Gulbin's draft stock. He started at both left and right guard for Wake Forest at different points, but he played center for MSU. After grading out on PFF (82.6) as the Spartans' best offensive lineman, it proved that Gulbin can play multiple different positions and be a versatile asset.

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State offensive lineman Matt Gulbin (OL25) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Tabacca, as a major influence, is a boost to recruiting. With the coaching change, it wouldn't normally make sense for Michigan State's new staff to take any real credit for a player who played under the previous staff. Tabacca has every right to take credit.

That's something Tabacca can sell to players he's recruiting. There are other NFL players Tabacca has developed from Wake Forest, most notably Green Bay Packers starter Zach Tom, but having someone who has donned the Spartan helmet makes the visualization for that player a little more effective.

Ryan Eckley

Michigan State senior Ryan Eckley is recognized during a ceremony before the game against Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Eckley didn't play for anyone else. One of the big early influences for him was fellow punter Bryce Baringer, who overlapped with Eckley in 2022 and became a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft. Baringer just helped get New England to the Super Bowl this season.

After that 2022 redshirt season, Eckley became Michigan State's starting punter. Across his total career, Eckley averaged 47.7 yards per punt and led the nation at 48.5 yards per punt this past season. That was enough to make him the Big Ten Punter of the Year and an AFCA second-team All-American.

New special teams coordinator LeVar Woods won't be able to take credit for Eckley, but there are plenty of specialists that he has developed in the past. One of his best pieces of work is punter Tory Taylor at Iowa, who went in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears. That's an extremely high pick to use on a punter.

Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images