What LeVar Woods Brings to Michigan State

Michigan State made a major hire on Thursday afternoon, bringing on Iowa’s LeVar Woods to be its new associate head coach and special teams coordinator.

Woods is heralded as one of the best special teams coaches in college football, helping Iowa be one of the most dangerous return units in the country, no matter the returner. He has also developed NFL talent, including star Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke highly of Woods when he announced he would be taking the MSU job at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Iowa special teams coach LeVar Woods to leave for Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/Qr8B6B2UnD
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) December 18, 2025

“First and foremost, I want to congratulate [Woods] on that,” Ferentz said. “He was on the team when I got here in December of ‘98. He was a veteran player, one of the good veteran players that we had. He was really a big part of helping to build this thing when we got started.”

“Obviously, a good player, but more importantly, a good leader and a guy who helped set tempo and was really responsive to the way we were doing things. That goes back 27 years ago.”

What LeVar Woods brings to MSU

Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods is pictured during the final spring football practice, Friday, April 26, 2019, at the University of Iowa outdoor practice facility in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One area that Woods will help the Spartans tremendously is cleaning up special teams. MSU has had far too many special teams errors in the last few years that have cost the team games.

That includes this season against Woods’ former team, the Hawkeyes. MSU continued to punt the ball to Hawkeye returner Kaden Wetjen, arguably the best returner in college football in 2025.

Wetjen made the Spartans pay, setting Iowa up in MSU territory as the Hawkeyes kicked the game-winning field goal. Now, Woods is on the Spartans’ sideline, and Pat Fitzgerald hopes he will bring some juice to MSU’s special teams.

Michigan State's new football coach Pat Fitzgerald pats his heart at the crowd in attendance for the Spartans basketball game against Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another area Woods will help improve for the Spartans is recruiting. Taking the associate head coach title, he will have a lot of responsibility on the trail.

Woods has done a good job recruiting talent to Iowa. A young, energetic former player, he will be a bright presence on official visits.

He can also use MSU’s major financial gift as a recruiting tool. Woods, an already good recruiter, will help the Spartans land top talent in several ways.

Experts are lauding this hire for Fitzgerald and Michigan State, calling it a major move for a Spartan special teams unit that has been quite poor in the last few years.

Cleaning up small details and improving in football’s third phase, while also picking up recruiting victories, will be Woods’ objective in East Lansing.

Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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