Predicting MSU's Major Statistical Leaders for 2026 Season
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A coaching change and another reset for Michigan State football has brought in another fresh roster.
The Spartans have an interesting group this year. I wouldn't bank on them making a bowl game in Year 1 of the Pat Fitzgerald era, but I am still very intrigued to see how this group does. These players are well positioned to lead the team in key categories.
Passing Yards: Milivojevic
There hasn't been a quarterback competition whatsoever this offseason, despite previous two-year starter Aidan Chiles' transfer to Northwestern. It's been third-year quarterback Alessio Milivojevic the whole way. Milivojevic averaged nearly 250 yards per game across his four starts to end the 2025 season.
If you took his 986 passing yards as a starter and stretched it out over a 12-game season, he was on a 2,958-yard pace. A Michigan State quarterback hasn't hit that mark since Peyton Thorne had 3,232 yards during the 2021 season. Milivojevic's 7-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a starter will also certainly play a role.
Rushing Yards: Edwards
MSU's go-to running back this season will be UConn transfer Cam Edwards. He'll have to share the carries a little bit with a deep room behind him, but his 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns last year with the Huskies both ranked in the top 15 in the FBS. The hope is that he'll be the Spartans' best running back since Kenneth Walker III.
If you want to compare Edwards to Nate Carter (another UConn transfer), Carter had fewer than 1,000 career rushing yards when he joined the Spartans. There is a reason I had Edwards as the second-best player on the team entering fall camp and as the top incoming transfer.
His numbers against the three ACC teams he faced last year weren't great, but the Spartans' rebuilt offensive line, featuring another UConn transfer, Ben Murawski, gives me reason to be optimistic that Edwards can figure it out.
Receiving Yards: McCray
Slot receiver Chrishon McCray is the team's WR1 right now. He looked like Milivojevic's favorite target back in April during the open scrimmage, and I think that'll be the case once the season officially begins. One thing worth noting is that McCray's best game of 2025, a two-touchdown performance against Iowa, came while Milivojevic was the one delivering the passes.
Michigan State was also fortunate to keep McCray. He originally entered the transfer portal, at the time making MSU's leading returning receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. (five catches, 119 yards), but the coaching staff was able to convince McCray to reverse course and come back. One has to guess that the vision of him as the team's WR1 was part of that pitch, given his underutilization in the Spartans' previous offense.
Tackles: Hall
If somebody other than Jordan Hall leads this team in tackles, it's probably because of a very unexpected, meteoric rise somewhere else, or Hall got hurt at some point in the season. Hall gritted out turf toe and a torn oblique at the end of last season, though, so he's tough to take off the field. He finished last year with 88 total tackles, 15 more than second place (Wayne Matthews III). EDGE rusher Isaac Smith has the second-most tackles among returning players at just 26.
I think Hall, with good health, could easily get around that 100-tackle mark this season. He's got two other solid options next to him in Caleb Wheatland and Dion Crawford, but I don't see any of them keeping pace with Hall over a 12-game season.
Sacks: Lafaele
Former Wisconsin transfer Anelu Lafaele was Michigan State's best pass rusher last year. There was a three-way tie for the most sacks on the team last year at just 2.5, but Lafaele had already gotten to 2.0 in four games. He would've probably cruised past that mark had he not suffered a foot injury against Nebraska in the fifth game of the season.
Lafaele is a big breakout candidate for me. The staff seems to really like what it's seen from Kenny Soares Jr. at rush end, but I'm still calling my shot on Lafaele to become the team's leading sack-getter.
Interceptions: Brantley/Martinez
Interceptions are tough to guess. It relies on opposing quarterbacks making a mistake, but some defensive backs have a better nose for the football than others. I'm guessing there will be a tie between Charles Brantley and Nikai Martinez in this category.
Brantley had three interceptions, and Martinez had two back in 2024. Nobody on the Spartans had more than one last year while Brantley was in Miami and Martinez was hurt for most of the year. This go-around, Michigan State will be looking to the two of them again for some takeaways.
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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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