Why Doubt Levels for MSU's Milivojevic Have Been Too High

Michigan State's new starting quarterback is not exactly getting praised a ton by the national media.

On Tuesday, ESPN's David Hale tiered every FBS team's quarterback situation. MSU, along with starter Alessio Milivojevic, was all the way down at Tier 18 out of 25. The Spartans shared the tier with four other Power Conference programs. No other Big Ten, SEC, ACC, or Big 12 team was at Tier 19 or below.

Michigan State Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic drops back during MSU's "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. — April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (11) drops back during MSU's "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Back in March, CBS's Tom Fornelli ranked him 17th out of 18 projected starters in the Big Ten. Only Iowa's Jeremy Hecklinski, who has thrown two passes in his entire career, was ranked below him.

Milivojevic is one of the least-experienced quarterbacks in the Big Ten right now, which is probably a big reason why he's so low on these rankings. Everyone has gotten the chance to see him play, though, and it doesn't look like a bottom-tier Big Ten quarterback.

Evidence in Four Games

Nov 29, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (11) prepares to take a snap in the first quarter against Maryland at Ford Field. | Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

Those four games that Milivojevic started last season should be enough to get him higher in the rankings. Milivojevic totaled 986 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and just two interceptions in those contests against Big Ten opponents.

When stretched out over a 12-game pace (which includes two games against non-P4 teams), that's a season with 2,958 yards and 21 touchdowns. That would have ranked ninth in the Big Ten in yards, and the number of touchdowns would have placed seventh. Milivojevic's 7.3 yards per attempt also ranked 10th in the conference among those with at least 150 pass attempts.

Michigan State Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (11) rolls out and looks to throw during a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

These numbers don't indicate somebody who will be at the bottom of the conference.

Fornelli at CBS even admitted that Milivojevic could very well prove him wrong, writing that he "won't be shocked if he proves to be much closer to the middle of the league than the bottom by season's end."

Nick Sheridan Factor

Milivojevic also has a few experienced coaches around him. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan has worked with and coached several QBs who have reached the NFL. Sheridan was just coaching Ty Simpson at Alabama, and he ended up going 13th overall in the NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams.

Sheridan also worked with NFL picks Michael Penix Jr. at Indiana, Joshua Dobbs at Tennessee, and Mike White at South Florida. He's helped a quarterback reach the league at every stop he's been the QBs coach or a graduate assistant at since 2013. Sheridan isn't the QBs coach at MSU -- left to former NFL quarterbacks coach John McNulty instead -- but one can only imagine he'll still be involved a fair bit with those at the position.

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