Michigan State football took to the Spartan Stadium field for the second time in the spring, and fans were allowed to witness the final practice in the first spring under Pat Fitzgerald. The Spartans had an intersquad scrimmage that spanned nearly 100 plays, with a halftime break. Here are some observations and stars from a game that did not feature true tackling.
Wide Receiver One Is Evident
Based on targets, it appears that Michigan State has decided their top wide receiver for 2026. Chrishon McCray was the Spartan getting the ball on more than his fair share of opportunities.
McCray had five catches on at least seven targets on Saturday, tying him with Rod Bullard Jr. for the most. However, Bullard dealt some of his damages with the two’s and three’s, while McCray saw most of his targets with the one’s. The Milivojevic-McCray connection combined for a touchdown against Iowa last season, and this spring game saw them connect for 35 yards.
It is worth noting that KK Smith missed the spring game with injury.
Plain Offense, No Tackling
This was a spring “game,” but there was not a ton of variety in the playbook as Michigan State continues to both install the playbook along with keeping any wrinkles and varieties under wraps.
In addition, citing team health, the Spartans did not tackle during their scrimmage, playing at “thud” speeds, a form of two-hand touch and wrap up football. This makes it hard to put a lot of stock in what was observed, but makes sense from the coaching standpoint.
After the scrimmage, Pat Fitzgerald said that he was the happiest person in the locker room when they emerged fully healthy from the team scrimmage.
One Corner Making A Name For Himself
Despite the lack of tackling, the corners were effectively full speed on Saturday. As a result, those became some of the most intriguing matchups to watch during the showcase. Tyran Chappell was the standout among that group.
Chappell lurked with sticky, handsy coverage. He was starting in place of Chuck Brantley, who was also out injured. At times, Chappell was a little too handsy, and could be in position to draw flags in a game situation. For Saturday, however, the corner had two pass breakups, along with tight coverage on another throw that forced an incompletion.
Final Stats from Saturday’s Scrimmage
There was no stat keeping at the Spring Showcase, but I took detailed notes during the first 12 periods of the practice for total stats. Here is my rough estimation for stats during the scrimmage.
Passing
Alessio Milivojevic: 15-of-23 for 79 yards, 1 INT
Cam Fancher: 1-for-5 for 4 yards, 1 INT
Kayd Coffman: 4-of-7 for 45 yards
Leo Hannan: 4-of-5 for 50 yards
Rushing
Kenneth Williams: 1 carry for 67 yards, 1 TD
Jaziun Patterson: 5 carries for 19 yards
Kayd Coffman: 3 carries for 16 yards
Cam Edwards: 3 carries for 14 yards
Leo Hannan: 1 carry for 8 yards
Marvis Parrish: 3 carries for 5 yards
Alessio Milivojevic: 1 carry for 5 yards
Zion Gist: 3 carries for 3 yards
Darrin Jones Jr.: 2 carries for 2 yards
Cam Fancher: 1 carry for 0 yards
Jace Clarizio: 3 carries for -4 yards
Receiving
Bryson Williams: 3 catches for 51 yards
Chrishon McCray: 5 catches for 35 yards, 1 drop
Rod Bullard Jr.: 5 catches for 25 yards
Jayden Savoury: 1 catch for 8 yards
Rai’Shawn Elmore: 1 catch for 7 yards
Kai Rios: 2 catches for 6 yards
Jaziun Patterson: 1 catch for 6 yards
Zach Washington: 1 catch for 4 yards
Darrin Jones Jr.: 1 catch for 4 yards
Brennan Parachek: 1 catch for 1 yard
Charlie Baker: 1 catch for 1 yard
Jace Clarizio: 1 catch for -1 yard
Defensive
Adam Shaw: 2 TFL
Carlos Hazelwood: 1 sack
Cal Thrush: 0.5 sacks, 2 QB Pressures
Kenny Soares Jr.: 0.5 TFL, 2 QB Pressures
Dion Crawford: 0.5 TFL
Tyran Chappell: 2 PBU
DeJae White: 1 PBU
Chris Piwowarczyk: 1 PBU
Michael Richard: 1 TFL
Devin Vaught: 1 TFL
Jaxson Wilson: 1 TFL
Aveon Grose: 1 INT
NiJhay Burt: 1 INT
Trey Lisle: 1 Pressure
Luke DeJager: Pass Deflection* (Ball tipped it to RaiShawn Elmore, so technically not counted)
Kicking:
Liam Boyd: 2-of-4, long of 44. (Makes: 35, 44, Misses: 45, 46)
Tarik Ahmetbasic: 0-of-2
Injury Report
Two Spartans (Soares, Parachek) left the contest shaken up, but remained on the sidelines with teammates in good spirits and participated in the end of practice festivities.
Also out today for the Spartans were:
- WR KK Smith
- TE Carson Gulker
- EDGE Isaac Smith
- CB Andrew Brinson IV
- S Caleb Gash
- CB Charles Brantley
- RB Jaxon McCaig
- LB Leonard Ah You
- OL Antonio Johnson
- OL Luka Vincic
- TE Joe Caudill
What is next for Michigan State football?
The Spartans return to fall camp in 110 days, before their season opener on September 5 against Toledo.
FOOTBALL2 weeks ago
FOOTBALL1 week ago
BASKETBALL1 week ago