3 under-the-radar Michigan State football seniors who will break out in 2025

There are several under-the-radar seniors who have yet to reach their potential, but these three could break out for Michigan State football.

Keeping with the countdown to kickoff, it is time to highlight three seniors looking to show out in their final campaign in the green and white. While all seniors are looking to leave their mark on the program, I chose to find three seniors whose storylines for their final campaign with Michigan State football have flown under the radar, so to speak.

Armorion Smith, DB

Armorion Smith enters his final campaign looking to leave a mark on the field. Smith’s 2023 season was cut short by an injury two weeks after Mel Tucker was dismissed. In 2024, the River Rouge High School product dealt with personal matters that no college junior should have to, and football took an understandable back seat.

Smith has a chance to recapture the magic that he was showing in his four games in 2023 this season. With Nikai Martinez’s status in doubt for the opener, Smith stands to benefit. He is competing with stout sophomore Justin Denson Jr. for a starting role in the secondary, but the “loser” of this battle is still likely to be on field for 40 or more snaps per game.

The fact that Smith is in this conversation a year after sidelining football to take care of his family is a testament to his talent level. He was named to the Comeback Player of the Year watchlist, and it is not because of his story. His skills are that good.

Khalil Majeed, DB

Khalil Majeed is another player that has dealt with his fair share of adversity. The former walk-on missed his final two seasons of high school football from a lacrosse injury and the COVID-19 pandemic, but was able to earn a spot with the Spartans.

After less than 10 snaps on defense as a redshirt freshman, Majeed announced his presence to the world in 2023, with 19 tackles, a sack, and an interception in less than 225 combined snaps of defense and special teams. The sky was the limit for Majeed on his 2024 campaign. Then, all of the sudden, it was not. A lower body injury ended his season after 10 snaps.

This year, he likely comes off the bench for the Spartans, but he will play a factor. Coming off the bench is nowhere near the longest odds the 5-foot-11 defensive back has faced.

Cam Williams, EDGE

Williams is a 6-foot-5 edge rusher who is on his fourth college, coming off of his most productive stop yet, with the Georgia State Panthers. While Williams only started three games, the pass rusher recorded 12 quarterback pressures on 260 defensive snaps.

He has drawn praise during fall camp, as Jonathan Smith and Chad Wilt’s revamped edge rusher role looks to create a spark in 2025. The biggest challenge Joe Rossi faced when heading to Michigan State was the lack of natural “EDGE” players for his scheme, and he believes that Williams is one of the multiple players that fit that role. Expect Williams’s final campaign to be his best one yet.