Why MSU's Chrishon McCray Massive X-Factor in 2026
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The ball must find its way to the slot a lot in 2026.
One thing that is clear after the spring is that Michigan State's wide receiver room is a bit thin, especially out wide. The best receiver MSU has coming back is slot receiver Chrishon McCray, who had 24 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns in a 2025 season where it often felt like he didn't get the ball enough.
X and Z Issues
The Spartans didn't do enough to immediately replace Nick Marsh (transferred to Indiana) and Omari Kelly (exhausted his eligibility) this offseason. MSU went and got Michigan transfer Fredrick Moore and Notre Dame transfer KK Smith from the portal, but both were backups at their last schools.
MSU actually felt it needed another portal post-spring, grabbing Jackson State transfer Jameel Gardner Jr. on Saturday. Gardner was actually McCray's teammate at Kent State for a couple of years. Gardner isn't a proven Big Ten starter, though. Nobody on the Spartans' roster has proven themselves in that way out on the boundary or field side.
Connection With Milivojevic
The shift to Alessio Milivojevic can also do McCray some good. McCray's best game last season, the game at Iowa, came while Milivojevic was taking the snaps. That night in Iowa City featured season-highs of six catches, 75 yards, and two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns went for 45 yards, and the other was a pretty impressive contested back-shoulder catch on a crucial third-and-goal.
McCray also looked like one of Milivojevic's favorite targets during Saturday's "Spring Showcase." His five catches were unofficially tied for the most on the team during the scrimmage, tied with Rodney Bullard Jr., who still doesn't know if he's eligible for the 2026 season or not.
A player like four-star freshman Samson Gash or Smith -- who was hurt for most of the spring -- can emerge during fall camp, but McCray is still the most "known" product that the wide receiver room has. He has the potential to serve a relatively similar role to what Amon-Ra St. Brown has with the Detroit Lions: a smaller receiver who can reliably be turned to in key situations for a shorter, but big enough gain through the air.
Another reason to be optimistic is the job offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan has done with another slot receiver recently. When he arrived at Alabama in 2024 and gained play-calling abilities, slot receiver Germie Bernard jumped up from 419 yards in 2024 to 794 yards in 2025.
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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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