Why Wide Receiver is MSU's Biggest Question Mark Right Now
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The biggest question mark for Michigan State football in this current stage is wide receiver.
MSU’s passing game is going to look different next year. The Spartans are losing their top two outside receivers. Top wideout Nick Marsh is transferring to Indiana, while WR2 Omari Kelly is out of eligibility.
Michigan State has not exactly replaced those two to the max, just in terms of production level. The new additions during transfer portal season have included Michigan transfer Fredrick Moore and Notre Dame transfer KK Smith. Both of them were backups at their respective schools. Moore has 15 career catches, 160 yards, and one touchdown. Smith has 11 career catches, 161 yards, and two touchdowns. Moore and Smith have two years of eligibility left apiece.
Chrishon McCray is the Spartans’ top returning receiver. He mostly operated out of the slot in 2025, hauling in 24 catches for 330 yards and three scores after transferring in from Kent State. McCray also entered the portal at one point, but withdrew a few days later.
Question Marks
When scouting the portal, it can be tough to gauge who will be the most impactful. Sure, there were likely several productive options for Michigan State from the Group of Five or FCS levels — it did host a few on visits — but how would that player fit into a Big Ten depth chart? That player might burn those DBs down there, but it’s a bit different against the corners up here, who are usually faster, stronger, and better.
Moore is the biggest apples-to-apples comparison one can get, which is why it’ll be interesting to see how productive he can be in an MSU uniform. Michigan’s wide receiving corps was a weakness, not a strength, of the Wolverines this year and last, and yet Moore has remained in the role of a backup who sees a handful of snaps per game. Coaches don’t always get the order of the depth chart right, but it’s still something to go off of.
Smith is slightly different, as Notre Dame has better receivers in front of him than Michigan did for Moore. Alas, the unknown is a serious factor when one is set to take on a bigger role at a new school.
Perhaps offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan or wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins see something on tape with Moore and Smith that make them think they’d thrive in Michigan State’s new system. But there is a lot of lost production to be made up here. MSU almost certainly wasn’t getting a Marsh-level receiver from the portal, but it didn’t get anyone who has proven to be a Kelly-level replacement, either.
On McCray
This also makes the discussion on McCray a little interesting. Sheridan’s offense has proven that it can cater to somebody who works out of the slot before. When Sheridan was calling plays at Alabama in 2024, Germie Bernard (former MSU wide receiver, of course) had 50 catches for 794 yards and two touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Bernard lined up a little more often in the slot (364 snaps) than out wide (354 snaps).
That doesn’t necessarily mean everything, because, well, Bernard is really, really good. He was just as productive this season, with Ryan Grubb calling plays, while lining up out wide more often.
McCray still felt like an asset that was not utilized enough by the Spartans this past season. He has the ability to go up and make the contested catch and is now easily the most experienced receiver Michigan State has.
It felt too often last year that MSU was trying to find that big, explosive play to Marsh or Kelly. There just wasn’t enough usage of McCray in the short-to-intermediate game to pick up those solid gains of seven or eight yards on early downs. If you flip on a Detroit Lions game, it feels like that happens every other play with Amon-Ra St. Brown, which is a big reason the Lions’ offense was one of the best in the league. They used plays like that to set up those big shots downfield.
Other Possible Contributors
Another possible contributor is four-star recruit Samson Gash. He’s still verbally committed to Michigan State, but the Spartans are fighting off Penn State for his services after Gash opted not to sign in December in the midst of MSU’s coaching change. Gash reportedly now has official visits set up with the Nittany Lions and the Spartans later this month. He’ll sign in February.
It can be tough for true freshmen to see the field, but Gash would likely be one of them. Michigan State can use that as a selling point, as well as that he’d be playing with his brother, Caleb. His speed alone gives him sky-high potential: he’s ran a 10.41-second 100-meter dash before.
Another current unknown is the status of Rodney Bullard Jr., who is seeking another year of NCAA eligibility. Bullard has technically only appeared in three seasons of college football, two of which were at Division II Valdosta State, so he should have a good case. Bullard had five catches, 119 yards, and a score this season. Nearly all of that came during the Minnesota game, when Bullard had a 71-yard touchdown and finished with four catches and 102 yards.
Also waiting their turn are a couple of young guys. MSU is still holding onto hybrid RB/WR Bryson Williams, along with true wideouts Charles Taplin and Braylon Collier. Hawkins and the previous coaching staff seemed to think highly of each of them last fall, though all three of them redshirted in 2025. Michigan State also has Zachary Washington and Rai'shawn Elmore as part of its 2026 recruiting class.
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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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