Risers, Fallers From Michigan State Football Fall Camp So Far
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A lot is at stake this year during fall camp at Michigan State ahead of the start of the 2026 season.
More than half of the Spartans' roster (62 out of 111 players) are new to the team this year. Competition is pretty wide open with a new coaching staff led by Pat Fitzgerald as well. Here are a few players who I think have risen and fallen in the depth chart thus far:
Risers/Winners
TE Jayden Savoury
Second-year tight end Jayden Savoury quickly caught my attention during the first day of practice last Thursday. He and Brennan Parachek seemed to be the top two tight ends in the room at the moment, giving a glimpse into where things may stand within the tight end room. Savoury has a pretty built frame for a redshirt freshman at 6'5" and 253 pounds already; he's got some decent hands, and it looks easy for him to get athletic.
I'm looking toward the Canton, Mich., native to perhaps be MSU's starting tight end right now. His ceiling for this season appears to be the highest, and with his four years of remaining eligibility, it's definitely worth the coaching staff's investment.
LB Adam Shaw
True freshman linebacker Adam Shaw's presence on the defense only seems to be growing. He had a great spring, and he's appeared to carry that into fall camp. Fitzgerald said that he put on around 15 pounds during the offseason. The number of snaps there for Shaw this year may be limited with the large amount of experience in the Spartans' linebacker room, but it still seems like Michigan State might've found something here.
"As is the case when freshmen linebackers get here, they're usually 210 pounds, and they don't look like linebackers," DC Joe Rossi said of Shaw. "And then all of a sudden they start eating and lifting and training, and then they start to fill out, and he's starting to fill out."
"I would say he's a really good athlete, he's a physical kid, and he's got a high aptitude. So you get guys that are athletic, who are smart, and can run, those [traits] are the great foundation to be a really, really good linebacker, and he has it."
OL Rakeem Johnson
Offensive lineman Rakeem Johnson may also be in position for a starting role. Michigan State had, at one point during practice on Monday, a five-man unit that certainly looked like a possible starting offensive line combo. Johnson was there at right tackle, whereas Conner Moore, last year's starter, had moved on to left guard.
Moore moving to guard and Johnson moving over to tackle would be a very interesting development, especially since it might be Johnson, who has just 90 career snaps at right tackle, currently beating out Robert Wright Jr. for the right tackle job. Wright was the starting RT at Georgia Southern last year and went the whole season without getting a penalty.
EDGE Kenny Soares Jr.
NC State transfer Kenny Soares Jr. earning enough votes from his teammates to get the No. 1 jersey number felt like a minor surprise. He looked like he had taken on a leadership role during the spring, but his being "The Spartan" this year made me raise my eyebrow a bit (in a good way).
Soares was already set to be the team's starting rush end, but that honor probably doesn't come along without some impressive feats during practice. Rossi raved about Soares' competitiveness on Monday, and MSU is hoping Soares can help solve its recent pass-rushing woes.
Fallers/Losers
Transfer WRs
It seemed during the winter, when Michigan State picked up KK Smith and Fredrick Moore from the transfer portal, that they might be the team's two starting outside wide receivers. Now that camp has started, though, it doesn't seem to be the case. When Courtney Hawkins called for "starters" to go up for a drill on Monday, up went Chrishon McCray, Charles Taplin, and then Rodney Bullard Jr.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the wide receiver battle is over. Part of the final result depends on the NCAA approving Bullard's waiver, so it's not even entirely within MSU's or the players' hands.
EDGE Isaac Smith
Isaac Smith is an interesting part of this year's defense. He started all 12 of Michigan State's games last year, but only had one sack and 26 total tackles. Smith doesn't seem to be anywhere better than third on the depth chart among the Spartans' rush ends this year, though.
He certainly seems behind Soares and Anelu Lafaele. They were getting the first two reps, in that order, during one drill I watched on Monday. Third-year PWO Chris Piwowarczyk actually went third, followed by Smith.
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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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