Grading Michigan State Football After First Quarter of Season Action

Pencils down, Spartans. The first quarter of Michigan State football is over, with the Spartans following the projections around college football. Pat Fitzgerald won his first two games with Michigan State before falling to a top five Notre Dame team in South Bend.

However, the methodology for the Spartans to achieve their wins is different than the expected script. With conference play around the corner, it is time to grade the position groups. These will be re-visited after the Illinois game that marks the end of the first half of the season.

Quarterbacks

Grade: B

Alessio Milivojevic has shown solid play throughout his first three games of the season. The quarterback has made some amazing window throws, the prime examples being to Fredrick Moore for a touchdown against Eastern Michigan and to Rod Bullard Jr. last week to set up a score.

That said, he has also had self-admitted struggles with staring down a receiver and staying planted in the pocket too long. It is the usual struggles for a young quarterback that only had made four career starts prior to the year beginning. There is a period to be patient, but time is ticking. The grades will still count, too.

Cam Fancher has turned quite a few heads since his arrival on campus. The journeyman quarterback had over 30 career starts between his three other stops prior to MSU, but bought in to being a backup. He has become a redzone specialist for the Spartans, and his role in the last two games has been superb.

Running Backs

Grade: B+

Cam Edwards has been the bell cow back for the Spartans, and the overreaction through the first quarter for Spartan football is that he is the best back since Kenneth Walker III five years ago. Frankly, that is a fair assessment.

The Spartans aggressively attacked the portal this year, acquiring Marvis Parrish, Jaziun Patterson, and Kenneth Williams alongside Edwards. The portal trio have all had their moments, and Brandon Tullis added some strong carries in mop up duty against Eastern Michigan.

The run game has not seen a breakaway explosive play yet this season, which in part falls on the offensive line. However, Edwards’s yardage is great, but his carry count is extremely high to put him in that spot.

Patterson’s role decreased against Notre Dame, where the back did not record a carry. However, he did have a touchdown against the Eagles. Parrish is facing the growing pains when moving up from the Group of Six and has under 50 yards on 14 carries.

It may be the deepest group on the roster, but Edwards’s production bolsters this grade to a B+.

Tight Ends

Grade: B-

The tight end position has offered solid moments, and Jayden Savoury is having the exact season that people projected this summer. The in-state recruit is turning heads and making plays every week, and has solidified himself as the alpha receiving threat in the tight end room.

That said, his blocking still can be improved, as he is, at best, the third-best blocker behind Brennan Parachek and Kai Rios.

Parachek and Rios do not offer much in the receiving game, and it has led to a reduced snap count for Parachek in recent weeks and only specific package usage for Rios. As far as transfer addition Carson Gulker, the senior is missing in action. He’s recorded a few snaps but has yet to be targeted or add much to the Spartans.

Wide Receiver

Grade: C-

Harsh grade, I know. The Spartan receiver room by committee has not panned out well thus far. Rod Bullard has been better than advertised, making impact plays against Toledo and Notre Dame.

Chrishon McCray appeared destined for a major role this season, but has seen only three catches since an eight-catch flood against Toledo. McCray has yet to record 100 receiving yards on the season.

Fredrick Moore’s biggest impact this season was a single touchdown against Eastern Michigan, and averages two catches per game as the third wide receiver for the Spartans.

KK Smith and Samson Gash have each dealt with injuries, and have had not much of a noticeable impact when on field.

Charles Taplin and Braylon Collier each turned heads in limited snaps against Eastern Michigan, but the Eagles are not a team expected to even compete in the Mid American Conference for a reason.

Bryson Williams has seen a solid share of snaps on the year, but it yet to record a catch in 2026. Worse yet, the receiver had a bad drop against the Eagles during a two-minute drill that would have set MSU up for a Liam Boyd field goal headed to half.

Offensive Line

Grade: C

The Spartans bulked up their line in the transfer portal this offseason, and results are mixed. The top three acquisitions, that being Ben Murawski, Trent Fraley, and Nick Sharpe, have been as good as advertised. However, returning linemen Rakeem Johnson and Conner Moore each have had struggles in the first quarter of the year.

Robert Wright Jr. has also had a solid start to the season, with his viral “puke and rally” making the news. However, outside of the memes, he has been a strong addition, but did have a struggle against Notre Dame.

Antonio Johnson has added value as the jumbo tight end and has been a strong surprise since the season started.

The line has had solid moments, but pass protection breakdowns and a lack of running space continue to plague this team the same way it has for most of the last decade. It is a continuous struggle for the Spartans. That said, it is improved over last season.

Defensive Line

Grade: B

The defensive line has been a pleasant surprise thus far in 2026. The top three defensive tackles (Ben Roberts, Eli Coenen, and Mikeshun Beeler) have all had standout performances during at least one of the first three games. Coenen’s three sacks already beat the total anyone put up in 2025 for Michigan State football, with the team lead in sacks being 2.5 in the entire season.

At the defensive end position, Keanhist Thompson has taken the mantle of doing his job to keep gaps sound. Isaac Smith has added a sack of his own in a chase down of CJ Carr last week.

The EDGE spot has seen Kenny Soares Jr. meet his expectations thus far, with a sack, an interception, and nearly one more of each last week against Notre Dame. Soares has only been back at defensive line for three games and is making a tremendous impact.

Anelu Lafaele contributed to a sack in the Eastern Michigan matchup and is seeing a longer leash in year two with MSU. That said, his struggles against the run still hold him back. He does contribute pass rushing force, which was a question after a lower body injury held him out of the final seven games of 2025.

Linebackers

Grade: A

The sole “A” of the group, the linebackers, led by Jordan Hall and Brady Pretzlaff, have been having a strong start to the season. Hall missed the Eastern Michigan contest, and returned with a vengeance, recording 13 tackles against Notre Dame, including all four of Notre Dame’s initial four handoffs.

Pretzlaff will miss this weekend’s contest against Nebraska, but has came into his own and polished up his weakness in coverage during his time away from the field after an injury in 2025.

Dion Crawford, Cam Stodghill, and Caleb Wheatland all have added solid value plays as well during their playing time to give Hall and Pretzlaff breaks. It is the deepest side of the ball on defense without a doubt. Max Bullough’s group is no joke this season.

Cornerbacks

Grade: D

The corner room this year has not been strong, to say the least. Chuck Brantley has not had to successful return to East Lansing that fans were hoping for, being beaten and whistled during big plays so far this season. His redeeming play is a strong forced fumble and recovery against Eastern Michigan thus far.

Tre Bell has been solid, but has given up big plays and had bad drives an unacceptable times, putting the Spartans behind the eight ball. That said, he’s had solid coverage at other points and picked up a sack against Toledo.

Tyran Chappell has been another pleasant surprise so far and is making his impact felt. Unfortunately, he was sick on the sidelines in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame and is marked questionable for Saturday’s Nebraska contest.

Michael Richard and NiJhay Burt have split times at the nickel role, with differing returns. Richard did not meet his own standard against Toledo, leading to Burt receiving a longer run against EMU. Richard slid back ahead prior to the Notre Dame game, as Burt was held to seven defensive snaps.

Safeties

Grade: C+

Devin Vaught has been a very strong addition to the room, with his natural instincts enabling him to rocket to the ball on any down. He is the best defensive back in the room for MSU thus far, and there is no close competition.

Nikai Martinez returned for another year in East Lansing, but has yet to have much of a strong impact as expected heading into the year. It is early, so there is plenty of time for Martinez to make an impact play.

Aveon Grose has seen limited reps due to the strength of the starting duo thus far.

Special Teams

Grade: A

To be fair, Liam Boyd’s kicking is an A+. Rhys Dakin’s punting game until the Notre Dame contest was A+. The return game, in limited reps, have flipped the field with a McCray 31-yard punt return and a Kenneth Williams 51-yard kick return.

Dakin’s nightmarish game against the Fighting Irish drag the unit down. In defense of the punter, the severe rush forced him to short kick and not maximize his booming leg.

In reality, this only avoids an A+ due to a few errors in each game. Boyd had a field goal blocked in week one, Dakin had his own punt blocked last week, and there was also a false start on punt coverage vs. Eastern Michigan.

Coaching

Grade: B

There is a lot to like so far for the Spartans, but the mixed returns and an inability to finish drives in week one and execute a two-minute drill in the Eastern Michigan game hurt the offensive side.

Meanwhile, the defensive side has let up multiple chunk plays and surrendered momentum and yardage on multiple occasions this young season. The creativity is there on offense, but the defense is not at the same level of functioning it is during their max.

LeVar Woods’s special teams has been good, but the small cracks are likely driving the coach nuts.

Overall, it has been a strong start to the campaign, but much improvement can still be added. Pick those pencils back up, Spartans, the second quarter grades start at 5:01 p.m. EST on Saturday.