What To Know Before MSU's B1G Football Media Days Appearance
In this story:
Big Ten Football Media Days are officially underway in Chicago.
Tuesday is the first day of three during the annual event. Six teams are featured each day in the Windy City. Michigan State will be there on Wednesday. Here are some things to know ahead of MSU's appearance:
Who Will Be There
HC Pat Fitzgerald
Like every other head coach in the Big Ten, Pat Fitzgerald will be there. He's entering his first season as the head coach at Michigan State. Chicago is home to Fitzgerald, who is from the area. He also played at Northwestern and served as the Wildcats' head coach for 17 seasons, compiling a 110-101 overall record and a 65-76 mark in Big Ten play.
Fitzgerald is replacing Jonathan Smith as MSU's head coach. Smith went 9-15 overall during his two seasons with the Spartans, including a mere 4-14 mark against Big Ten teams. Michigan State hasn't made a bowl game in four consecutive seasons now, and the fanbase is only growing more restless.
Questions at these big, national-scale events tend to be a little broader. That bowl drought will likely be a topic at some point, but another big thing will be Fitzgerald's firing from Northwestern, especially with the event's proximity to Fitzgerald's alma mater. The Wildcats fired him in the wake of a hazing scandal, but Fitzgerald sued the school for wrongful termination.
Both parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, but the result was clearly pro-Fitzgerald, as NU said in a statement that "the evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing."
QB Alessio Milivojevic
Starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic will also be there. He's another person from the Chicago area and one of MSU's key retentions through the Fitzgerald hiring. Milivojevic is one of 12 quarterbacks being brought along to the three-day event.
Milivojevic started the 2025 season as the primary backup, but he led some consecutive scoring drives during mop-up duty and eventually got the starting nod with four games to go in the season. Milivojevic basically got his audition there, and he made the most of it. He threw for 986 yards across those starts, with seven passing touchdowns to just two interceptions.
LB Jordan Hall
Michigan State holding onto linebacker Jordan Hall was also a big deal. Hall was perhaps the Spartans' best player overall last year, making 88 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, intercepting a pass, and also forcing three fumbles.
Fitzgerald will be the third head coach Hall will have played for in four years in East Lansing. This was originally set to be Hall's final collegiate season, no matter what, but the NCAA's new "5-in-5" system will give Hall the option to return to college again in 2027.
S Nikai Martinez
Michigan State is also bringing along free safety Nikai Martinez. He's another key retention for Fitzgerald this offseason, and it doesn't feel like a coincidence that all three athletes MSU is bringing were members of the 2025 team. Martinez was supposed to run out of eligibility last year, but injuries held him to only four appearances last fall. That allowed him to redshirt and return to the Spartans for another year.
Martinez was one of Michigan State's most reliable defenders during the 2024 season, though. He led the team with 724 defensive snaps. Martinez, who began his career at UCF, finished that year with 51 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a pair of interceptions. MSU's secondary struggled without him last year, so keeping Martinez was a big victory for Joe Rossi's defense.
Other Storylines Entering Media Days
One unique storyline entering the fall is the fact that the Spartans will face three of their former quarterbacks this season. Noah Kim will be the starter for Eastern Michigan, Katin Houser is now at Illinois, and Aidan Chiles is now at Northwestern. LSU isn't on the schedule, but Sam Leavitt is going to be a "what if?" scenario for Michigan State for some time as well.
This isn't necessarily MSU-centric, but there will likely be some talk about College Football Playoff expansion and perhaps conference realignment on Tuesday. Conference commissioner Tony Pettiti will speak Tuesday morning, and he's bound to be asked about his thoughts on possible expansion to a 16- or 24-team system.
Pettiti and the Big Ten have leaned toward a 24-team bracket with many automatic bids, whereas the SEC favors a 16-team bracket with fewer automatic bids and more "wild cards."
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow jacobcotsonika