Grading Michigan State Football, Mid-Season Edition

Well, what a difference three weeks make. Michigan State football ended their out of conference slate at 2-1, with a loss to Notre Dame that had provided some hope. Now, the Spartans have seen their losing streak expand to four games, dropping the first three conference game of Pat Fitzgerald’s tenure.

Last week, the Spartans took Illinois to overtime, but it was the first sign of life for the entire quarter for Michigan State football. It has not been an easy 21 days since the last report card came out, and the grades will reflect that.

Without further ado, here are the mid-season grades for MSU.

Offense

Quarterbacks

Grade: D+

The Spartans have struggled this quarter, with Alessio Milivojevic and Cam Fancher each having a bad outing against Nebraska, before an outright dreadful outing against Wisconsin. Milivojevic and Fancher combined for three turnovers against the Cornhuskers, with a badly telegraphed ball by Fancher being one of the turning points of the game.

Against Wisconsin, Milivojevic and the Spartans got the ball to the Wisconsin 40-yard-line with ease, but stalled out there. Cam Fancher went down injured, and Kayd Coffman made his career debut in the fourth quarter in a forgettable day where the Spartans went under 50 percent passing and just barely crept over the 100-yard mark on the day passing. Fancher has yet to return to the lineup, being ruled out for last week’s Illinois contest and this week’s Northwestern matchup.

As far as Coffman’s debut? On his only two drop backs, he was forced to scramble and then got sacked in his second attempt.

The Illinois game had this grade teetering onto a C-, but the strength of the Illini has not been great this season. The Spartans had a slow start and were forced to rally from being down 17 points in the first half. Some of that slow start came from bad quarterback play. However, it was Alessio Milivojevic’s best performance of the season, and potentially his career this far. I’d give that game alone a B+ for the third-year player.

Running Backs

Grade: C

This is a complicated grade to hand out. Cam Edwards suffered a season-ending lower body injury less than two drives into the fourth game of the season against Nebraska. With Edwards as the bell cow back, this is an injury that could dismantle the season. It certainly hurt the game plan against Nebraska and Wisconsin, with the run game not seeing much traction.

Against Illinois, Jaziun Patterson had a massive game, with over 100 total yards and four touchdowns on Homecoming. The “Jazmanian Devil” has shown that he was able to live up to the hype in the sixth game of the year, but the verdict is out on if this was a new leaf or just a one-game monstrous performance.

Brandon Tullis and Marvis Parrish have each taken spot carries in Edwards’s absence, with varying levels of success. Another presumed option at running back, Darrin Jones Jr., has suffered an undisclosed injury and was ruled out for last week’s contest against Illinois.

Wide Receivers

Grade: F

There is not much to say about the receiver play this year. The Spartans are struggling in the pass game, and there are breakdowns at every level, from play call, to quarterback play, to offensive line play, to receiver play. The receivers are struggling to create separation, and it is hurting Spartan football.

In each of the last two weeks, the Spartans have had their leading receiver be tight end Jayden Savoury with less than 50 yards on the day.

The Spartans have identified this issue, too, with Bryson Williams, Charles Taplin, Samson Gash, and Braylon Collier each rotating in more than what is typically seen from a Courtney Hawkins-led receiver room.

The most frustrating part about this room for the fans is that this room has not been impacted by injury this season. The room is just that off.

Tight Ends

Grade: B

The tight end position has seen a solid jump in play since Big Ten competition begin. The Spartans had Brennan Parachek record 40 receiving yards against Nebraska and Jayden Savoury lead the team in receiving yards in each of the last two weeks.

In fact, heading into week seven of action, Savoury is the leading tight end in the Big Ten for receiving yards. Not bad for a second-year player. That is also without the helmet-catch that did not count against Nebraska.

The reason the grade is dragged down to a B is that the blocking has not been a strong suit for the Spartan tight ends, and it has impacted performance when they are relied upon. Carson Gulker has recently seen an uptick in playing time as a gadget player, and that included a scoring toss that was called back for a block in the back.

Kai Rios has also provided solid snaps for the Spartans, rotating in for a few packages per game. The room has been the best offensive group in the last three weeks for Michigan State football.

Offensive Line

Grade: C

The offensive line play has been solid for Michigan State football. While not the man-eating unit that fans were hoping for heading into the season, it is no longer a bottom three offensive line in the Big Ten.

The Spartans have seen Trent Fraley added to the Midseason Rimington Award watch list, which is handed out to the top center in college football. Rakeem Johnson is starting to take steps towards being an impact player on the line.

Ben Murawski has had struggles against the pass, but has provided solid play. However, Murawski is out for the Northwestern contest this week, so it will be interesting to see how the line is affected.

Robert Wright Jr. and Luka Vincic have each provided solid series for the Spartans, alternating with Nick Sharpe. All three are players that I have graded in the average-to-above average list. Antonio Johnson has seen the occasional offensive line snap mixed in with his tight end “jumbo” package snaps, and he has the energy and play that has me excited to see him in the 2027 lineup.

Conner Moore’s play in 2026 has been shaky, to say the least. The once-highly touted transfer portal player has not provided the impact play promised, even with the advantage of being kicked in to guard. While it is worth monitoring how the second half of the season will go as he develops a comfort level at his new spot, the returns are not strong early.

Defense

Defensive Line

Grade: F

Well, after a first three games that showed hope, the Spartans have spent the next quarter of the season without a sack. Michigan State football has regressed to their 2024 form, where the Spartans spent six full games without a single sack.

The run defense is the only saving grace, and even that has been suspect in recent weeks. Illinois ran at will and kept on pace, but the only reason the Illini abandoned that was due to the lack of pressure when passing the ball.

On the interior of the defensive line, Ben Roberts has been a strong anchoring force, with run stuffs and tackles for loss almost every week. However, he is the only player making a massive impact on the game from the front four so far. Kenny Soares Jr. has not had a strong three weeks, with one of his most notable plays being an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a batted ball.

That batted down ball came from Mikeshun Beeler, who has had multiple impactful plays in each of the last two weeks. The Illinois native is making his presence felt in his snaps, as he also recorded a pressure on Devin Vaught’s interception last week.

The edge and strong defensive end spots have seen little to write about, with one or two run stuffs and long periods of being absent during the season.

The easiest way to sum up the defensive line play lies in the Wisconsin game. The key point of the game was to not get too deep in pass rush to give quarterback Colton Joseph a rushing lane. Joseph recorded over 140 rushing yards that day.

Linebacker

Grade: C

This unit is being marked with a C, and that is mostly due to factors that are not on the linebacker unit. The Spartans have suffered a rash of injuries at the spot. Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff, Caleb Wheatland, and Dion Crawford all were unable to suit up for the fourth quarter against Illinois, and Crawford is the only one returning to the lineup this week.

That has forced Cam Stodghill and DiMari Malone into primary linebacker roles, and they have performed solidly, if not spectacular. The two have each shown signs of promise, but also have had their own share of whiffs and missed tackles.

The linebacker unit is strong, the coaching on it is solid, but the best ability is availability at the end of the day, and there are not many bodies left at the position currently.

Cornerbacks and Nickel

Grade: D

Much like linebacker, this unit is completely battered with injury. NiJhay Burt and Tyran Chappell each missed this entire quarter with injury, and Keshawn Williams suffered an injury against Nebraska and has yet to return. That has left the unit scrambling in “next man up.”

Additionally, Tre Bell has exited the last two games at halftime with injury, and Charles Brantley also exited the third quarter with his own injury. At the end of the game, the Spartans were rotating true freshmen KJ Deriso and Jeremiah Favorite with Andrew Brinson IV, who missed the entire 2025 season with injury.

Favorite and Deriso have put up solid reps so far, but also had some reps with teaching tape. Brinson IV has had strong coverage, but his tackling has not been the strongest.

What drags this group down is that even prior to the injuries, there was not many strong seasons going. Bell and Brantley each had been picked on and exposed during the Nebraska and Illinois games.

The nickel group with Michael Richard has not been the strongest, but also was grading out better than the outside corners of Bell and Brantley prior to their injuries. In recent weeks, they’ve sent out Aveon Grose to try to take some reps there and help the unit.

Safeties

Grade: C-

The Spartan safety unit has better than the corners, but still lacking. Nikai Martinez was expected to be the impact senior this season, and that has not been the case. There is not a ton to write about for Martinez this year so far.

Devin Vaught has been a welcome addition to the safety unit, recording 38 tackles, including multiple runs stuffs. He is a violent safety and has the power needed to create a big hit. However, Vaught has had the occasional issue in coverage, with play action still tricking him occasionally. That said, the bump from FCS competition to the Big Ten has not proven to be too much for the junior from Charlotte, N.C.

Special Teams

Grade: A-

So far, so good for the Spartans. They’ve drawn up game-changing plays in the Nebraska and Illinois games, but controversial calls have blown dead a blocked punt and an onside kick recovery.

LeVar Woods is proving to be worth every dollar sent at him. Liam Boyd is having a strong final season, while Rhys Dakin just booted a 74-yard punt, the ninth-longest in program history, last week. Nick Duzansky continues to execute his long snaps at a high level.

The kickoff return unit has seen Kenneth Williams kicked at less often, but some of his lackluster returns drag the grades on the unit down. Last week, a decision to run a kick out stuck the Spartans with the ball inside their own 15-yard line.

Punt return has not had many impactful plays, but that also comes from the defense not forcing many punts in recent weeks.

Coaching

Grade: C-

This grade takes plenty of factors into it. The clock management has been solid this year, fairing in the A-to-B range. The playcalling on offense, especially in the Illinois game until the final play, was strong as well.

However, the fourth-quarter decisions and calls against Wisconsin were not great, to say the least. The aforementioned two-point call against Illinois was too “razzle dazzle” for an offense that was humming against the Illini the entire half.

The defense, even when fully healthy, has not been strong. There are strong individual efforts, particularly from Ben Roberts, Jordan Hall, and Brady Pretzlaff. But the unit is too battered and lacks in execution at critical points to make an impact. A fully healthy cornerback unit has not been seen since the first quarter against Notre Dame. The linebacker room is now out three players.

Joe Rossi had the head scratching decision to only blitz true freshman Michael Clayton II once during the Illinois game after a Katin Houser injury. That only blitz was a telegraphed nickel blitz where the true freshman found his hot receiver for a walk-in touchdown on a slant to the emptied space.

Offensively, Nick Sheridan’s multiple offense offers a lot to like, if the fans elect to look past the sting of the two-point call. Joe Rossi’s defense is offering the same frustrations that the beginning of 2025 offered, and time might be running out for him to get the same grace he got headed into this year.

LeVar Woods and the special teams unit have been strong, as mentioned above.

As far as individual coaches go, there is some strong early returns for bringing back Brian Wozniak, but surprisingly Courtney Hawkins is seeing his stock trend down. Max Bullough and Winston DeLattiboudere III had strong reviews upon their initial hire, but Bullough’s unit is battered and DeBo’s unit has some flashes but is suffering from the talent gap.

That brings me to my final point, a talent gap. Love it, hate it, but you have to admit it: this season and the first three games have made it clear that there is a talent gap issue facing Michigan State football. The Spartans have a few strong pieces, but there are plenty of positions and pieces that would trend towards the bottom third when compared to the rest of the Big Ten, or even Power Four competition.

It will be hard to advocate for any coaches to be on the hot seat or moved where there is a talent gap that reflects the NIL spending amount that has Michigan State football firmly under many of their Big Ten peers. With the recently announced commitment to NIL by new Athletic Director Dan Bartholomae, the hope is bright in the future, although the rest of the year does have to play out.