Multiple former Michigan State football players return to EL, showing elite culture

A couple of former Michigan State football players returned to East Lansing this past week to show support for former teammates.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think the culture at Michigan State is one of the best in the country. There are so many examples of it, from large fan support no matter how good or bad our teams are to the high remarks former Michigan State football and basketball players dish out to their coaches.

Even more examples of the elite culture at Michigan State have been on full display recently as a couple former Spartans have returned to East Lansing to support their teammates.

Keon Coleman and Rocky Lombardi return to East Lansing

The first example of this was Keon Coleman, who was at the Breslin Center for the Spartans’ win over Northwestern. Keon is a standout wide receiver who is heading to the NFL Draft later this spring. He spent two years at MSU, and quickly became a star on the football field and was on the basketball team for a season as well.

Keon however wasn’t the only former Spartan to return to campus.

On Wednesday, MSU hosted their Pro Day where the team was able to show off their skills to NFL scouts. However, there was one problem. There was no quarterback to throw to the receivers. Enter, Rocky Lombardi.

Lombardi, who played for Michigan State from 2018-2020, came to Michigan State’s Pro Day not only to show off his skills to NFL scouts, but to help his teammates. As I mentioned, the Spartans needed a quarterback for the event, and Tre Mosley reached out to Lombardi last second to see if he’d be interested. Clearly Rocky was as he immediately made the trip to help out.

Here’s a quick highlight of Rocky throwing to Tre on Wednesday.

Rocky Lombardi to Tre Mosley. Time is a flat circle. pic.twitter.com/1XyYRLG16x

— Matt Wenzel (@mwenzel2) March 13, 2024

Why is this significant?

Former players return to their college campuses all the time, so why is this any different? I think it’s completely different simply because both Keon and Rocky transferred away from the program. Coleman left for Florida State and Lombardi left for Northern Illinois. You just typically don’t see players who left the program come back and show love to their former school.

That’s why the culture at Michigan State is so great. Both players felt welcome enough to come back and support their former teammates and the fans and current players were ecstatic to have them back. That’s what makes MSU so special, because once you’re a Spartan you’re always a Spartan.