3 Under-the-Radar Spartans That Can Contribute This Year

Here are three MSU players that could contribute this season that not enough people are talking about.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith talks the media on the first national signing day for college football recruits Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Season 2 of the Jonathan Smith era is about to begin, and a retooled Michigan State roster is ready to try and get off to a 1-0 start against Western Michigan on Friday night.

As any football offseason goes, there has been plenty of theorizing for months about how MSU will look, about all the transfers that have come in and out, and about how returning players from last season can improve in 2025 (see anything about Aidan Chiles or Nick Marsh).

But with all the hubbub, there could be a couple players that will surprise fans with their play this season, like what Marsh did in 2024. These three players are ones that I think could catch many others off-guard this season:

RB Makhi Frazier (So.)

Makhi Frazier | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans On SI

After only carrying the ball seven times for 21 yards as a true freshman, sophomore running back Makhi Frazier is primed to have a prominent role in this offense, as it appears that he and fellow sophomore Brandon Tullis might be the top two on MSU's depth chart at the RB position.

"I think with Makhi Frazier, he's getting close to being a complete back," Smith said on Monday. "He can put his foot in the ground, (he's) physical, (he can) make you miss. Catching the ball out of the backfield, he showed some of that during fall camp, and I think that's grown to be a weapon for him."

DL Grady Kelly (R-Sr.)

Michigan State DL Grady Kelly | Aidan Champion, Michigan State Spartans On SI

A transfer portal addition from Florida State, redshirt senior defensive lineman Grady Kelly brings a lot of experience to East Lansing and will likely get a lot of playing time in the interior of the trenches for the Spartans.

Kelly was more of a rotational guy in Tallahassee last fall, but he was a force at the first stop of his career, Colorado State. In 2023, he started all 12 games for the Rams, received second-team All-Mountain West from Phil Steele, and also was the second-highest graded interior defensive lineman in the conference on PFF (72.2).

Now at MSU for his final season of college football, Kelly will get the chance to be a real contributor and help fill out the team's front seven.

WR Braylon Collier (Fr.)

Michigan State's Braylon Collier (17) pulls down a pass in the second week of practice Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. | Robert Killips/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It may be tough for true freshman Braylon Collier to get a ton of playing time in a wide receiver room that already features Marsh and several talented transfer additions, but Collier has been able to turn heads during camp.

"He's a really good route runner for as young as he is," said wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins last week. "He's got a good approach to the game, he's got a really good quickness, can take the top off. And the deal is -- his name has floated around some -- he's made some plays. Through the spring and this fall, he's made some really tough contested catches. And he's going to be a good player, man."

MSU saw a true freshman wideout breakout last season. Why can't it happen again this year?

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