Why Wide Receiver Is Msu's Biggest Question Mark Right Now

The biggest mobility people for Michigan State shot successful this existent shape is wide receiver.

MSU’s passing crippled is going to look different adjacent year. The Spartans are losing their apical 2 extracurricular receivers. Top wideout Nick Marsh is transferring to Indiana, while WR2 Omari Kelly is retired of eligibility. 

Michigan State has not precisely replaced those 2 to nan max, conscionable successful position of accumulation level. The caller additions during transportation portal play person included Michigan transportation Fredrick Moore and Notre Dame transportation KK Smith. Both of them were backups astatine their respective schools. Moore has 15 profession catches, 160 yards, and 1 touchdown. Smith has 11 profession catches, 161 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Moore and Smith person 2 years of eligibility near apiece.

Chrishon McCray is nan Spartans’ apical returning receiver. He mostly operated retired of nan slot successful 2025, hauling successful 24 catches for 330 yards and 3 scores aft transferring successful from Kent State. McCray besides entered nan portal astatine 1 point, but withdrew a fewer days later.

Question Marks

When scouting nan portal, it tin beryllium reliable to gauge who will beryllium nan astir impactful. Sure, location were apt respective productive options for Michigan State from nan Group of Five aliases FCS levels — it did big a fewer connected visits — but really would that subordinate fresh into a Big Ten extent chart? That subordinate mightiness pain those DBs down there, but it’s a spot different against nan corners up here, who are usually faster, stronger, and better.

Moore is nan biggest apples-to-apples comparison 1 tin get, which is why it’ll beryllium absorbing to spot really productive he tin beryllium successful an MSU uniform. Michigan’s wide receiving corps was a weakness, not a strength, of nan Wolverines this twelvemonth and last, and yet Moore has remained successful nan domiciled of a backup who sees a fistful of snaps per game. Coaches don’t ever get nan bid of nan extent floor plan right, but it’s still thing to spell disconnected of.

Smith is somewhat different, arsenic Notre Dame has amended receivers successful beforehand of him than Michigan did for Moore. Alas, nan chartless is simply a superior facet erstwhile 1 is group to return connected a bigger domiciled astatine a caller school.

Perhaps violative coordinator Nick Sheridan aliases wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins spot thing connected portion pinch Moore and Smith that make them deliberation they’d thrive successful Michigan State’s caller system. But location is simply a batch of mislaid accumulation to beryllium made up here. MSU almost surely wasn’t getting a Marsh-level receiver from nan portal, but it didn’t get anyone who has proven to beryllium a Kelly-level replacement, either.

On McCray

This besides makes nan chat connected McCray a small interesting. Sheridan’s discourtesy has proven that it tin cater to personification who useful retired of nan slot before. When Sheridan was calling plays astatine Alabama successful 2024, Germie Bernard (former MSU wide receiver, of course) had 50 catches for 794 yards and 2 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Bernard lined up a small much often successful nan slot (364 snaps) than retired wide (354 snaps).

That doesn’t needfully mean everything, because, well, Bernard is really, really good. He was conscionable arsenic productive this season, pinch Ryan Grubb calling plays, while lining up retired wide much often.

McCray still felt for illustration an plus that was not utilized capable by nan Spartans this past season. He has nan expertise to spell up and make nan contested drawback and is now easy nan astir knowledgeable receiver Michigan State has. 

It felt excessively often past twelvemonth that MSU was trying to find that big, explosive play to Marsh aliases Kelly. There conscionable wasn’t capable usage of McCray successful nan short-to-intermediate crippled to prime up those coagulated gains of 7 aliases 8 yards connected early downs. If you flip connected a Detroit Lions game, it feels for illustration that happens each different play pinch Amon-Ra St. Brown, which is simply a large logic nan Lions’ discourtesy was 1 of nan champion successful nan league. They utilized plays for illustration that to group up those large shots downfield.

Other Possible Contributors

Another imaginable contributor is four-star enlistee Samson Gash. He’s still verbally committed to Michigan State, but nan Spartans are fighting disconnected Penn State for his services aft Gash opted not to motion successful December successful nan midst of MSU’s coaching change. Gash reportedly now has charismatic visits group up pinch nan Nittany Lions and nan Spartans later this month. He’ll motion successful February.

It tin beryllium reliable for existent freshmen to spot nan field, but Gash would apt beryllium 1 of them. Michigan State tin usage that arsenic a trading point, arsenic good arsenic that he’d beryllium playing pinch his brother, Caleb. His velocity unsocial gives him sky-high potential: he’s ran a 10.41-second 100-meter dash before. 

Another existent chartless is nan position of Rodney Bullard Jr., who is seeking different twelvemonth of NCAA eligibility. Bullard has technically only appeared successful 3 seasons of assemblage football, 2 of which were astatine Division II Valdosta State, truthful he should person a bully case. Bullard had 5 catches, 119 yards, and a people this season. Nearly each of that came during nan Minnesota game, erstwhile Bullard had a 71-yard touchdown and vanished pinch 4 catches and 102 yards.

Also waiting their move are a mates of young guys. MSU is still holding onto hybrid RB/WR Bryson Williams, on pinch existent wideouts Charles Taplin and Braylon Collier. Hawkins and nan erstwhile coaching unit seemed to deliberation highly of each of them past fall, though each 3 of them redshirted successful 2025. Michigan State besides has Zachary Washington and Rai'shawn Elmore arsenic portion of its 2026 recruiting class.

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