Ex-Badgers running back poached by Michigan State coaching staff

Earlier this winter, Michigan State poached former Wisconsin running backs coach Devon Spalding.

Now, the Spartans have added another ex-Badger to their staff, as former tailback Grover Bortolotti will join his old coach Spalding in East Lansing as an assistant running backs coach, according to a report from Ryan O'Bleness of Spartans Illustrated.

Michigan State has hired Grover Bortolotti (@CoachBortolotti) as assistant RB coach, sources tell @Spartans_Illo.

Bortolotti finished his playing career at Wisconsin after the 2025 season concluded and briefly served in a coaching role for UW.

Read: https://t.co/1oBVEjsOqU
— Ryan O'Bleness (@ryanobleness) March 12, 2026

Bortolotti, who spent his entire five-year career in Madison, was a walk-on reserve piece for the Badgers. He finished his playing career with five carries for 48 yards, all of which came in a 2021 clash with Rutgers. The majority of his snaps came on special teams, and in 2025, he made six tackles with that unit.

Still, the Whitefish Bay native was what you might call a "program guy" for Wisconsin. The very concept of the walk-on itself is in danger with the advent of revenue sharing and roster scholarship limits, and the in-state player who stays with a program for five years despite receiving next to zero playing time is increasingly a rarity.

Initially, Bortolotti was slated to coach for the Badgers. Beginning in January, he briefly served as an assistant running backs coach under new position coach Jayden Everett, who the Badgers lured from Minnesota to replace Spalding.

Bortolotti played under Spalding for three seasons, from 2023-2025, and the two evidently developed enough of a rapport for Spalding to trust him to help lead the Spartans' running back room.

Spalding won't be the only familiar face for Bortolotti in East Lansing, as his former teammate and ex-Wisconsin linebacker Jake Chaney was recently hired as Michigan State's assistant defensive line coach.

Just a week out from spring practice, the Badgers now find themselves in the market for another assistant coach. That's not exactly ideal, especially given that the running back room is chock full of new faces including three transfers (Abu Sama, Bryan Jackson and Nate Palmer), an incoming freshman (Qwantavious "Fatboy" Wiggins), and a new position coach in Everett.

Still, even with the departure of Bortolotti, Wisconsin's tailback room appears to be in good shape. There's a proven workhorse in the Iowa State transfer Sama, multiple promising young transfers in Jackson and Palmer, and some continuity with the returning Darrion Dupree.