If you walked through East Lansing right now, you’d feel it. That weird, jittery energy. It’s the sound of a billion-dollar "For Sparta" construction project clanging in the distance mixed with the stunned silence of a fan base that just watched their head coach get fired after only two seasons.
Honestly, it’s a lot.
Jonathan Smith is gone. Pat Fitzgerald is in. And Michigan State football is currently a chaotic laboratory of "what if" scenarios. Most people looking from the outside think the program is in a free-fall because 30-plus players hit the transfer portal. They see the 4-8 record from 2025 and assume the Spartans are destined for the Big Ten basement.
They’re wrong. Sorta.
It’s not a collapse; it’s a gut-renovation. When Fitzgerald stood at the podium in December 2025, he didn’t talk about "building on the foundation." He talked about a "rebirth." You don't say that unless you're planning to tear the old house down to the studs.
The Jonathan Smith Experiment: Why It Failed So Fast
We have to be real about why we’re even here. Jonathan Smith was supposed to be the "adult in the room" after the Mel Tucker era ended in a legal and PR nightmare. Smith brought a blue-collar, Oregon State vibe that felt like a safe bet.
It wasn't.
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He went 9-15 over two years. The 2025 season started with a 3-0 tease, including a wild 42-40 double-overtime win over Boston College. But then? The wheels didn't just fall off; they melted. Eight straight losses. A 1-8 Big Ten record. Smith’s calm, almost stoic sideline presence—which fans initially liked—started to look like indifference as the Spartans got bullied in the trenches.
By the time they beat Maryland in the season finale, the decision was already made. AD Alan Haller and the MSU leadership realized that "safe" wasn't going to cut it in a 18-team Big Ten where Oregon and Ohio State are playing a different sport entirely.
The Great 2026 Roster Purge
The transfer portal numbers are staggering. If you tried to draw a depth chart today, it would look like a game of Sudoku where half the numbers are missing.
- The Big Losses: Star wideout Nick Marsh (who committed to Indiana, which hurts), defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren, and safety Chance Rucker.
- The "Stayed Put" Crew: Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic—the guy who took the job from Aidan Chiles late in 2025—is staying. That’s huge.
- The Returners: Linebacker Jordan Hall and RB Zion Gist are back, providing some much-needed DNA for the new regime.
Why Pat Fitzgerald is the Ultimate Wildcard
The hire of Pat Fitzgerald sent shockwaves through the sport. You’ve got the baggage from his Northwestern exit, sure, but you also have the guy who took Northwestern to two Big Ten Championship games.
Think about that for a second.
If he could win in Evanston with those academic restrictions and facilities that (until recently) were basically a high school gym, imagine what he does with the Tom Izzo Football Building. We’re talking about a $67 million palace with a 19,000-square-foot weight room and "recovery modalities" that sound like they belong in a NASA lab.
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Fitzgerald isn't trying to out-recruit Georgia. He's trying to out-culture the Big Ten. He’s already brought back Max Bullough—a name that carries actual weight in East Lansing—to coach linebackers and serve as co-defensive coordinator. It's a move straight out of the "Spartan Dawg" playbook.
Michigan State Football and the Recruiting Puzzle
The 2026 recruiting class is actually better than the 2025 record suggests. It’s currently headlined by guys like Collin Campbell, a four-star offensive tackle from Arizona. You don’t get 6-foot-7, 295-pound dudes to move from the desert to the Midwest if they think the program is dying.
Then there’s Kayd Coffman. He’s a local Grand Rapids kid, a four-star QB who chose to stay home despite the coaching chaos.
But the real drama? It’s Samson Gash. He’s the top-ranked receiver in Michigan and he hasn't signed his Letter of Intent yet. He’s been lighting it up at the Polynesian Bowl, and Bama is sniffing around. If Fitzgerald can keep Gash in the fold, it's a massive statement. If he loses him, it’s a sign that the "in-state fence" still has some pretty big holes in it.
The Transfer Portal Inflow
Fitzgerald isn't just sitting on his hands. He’s been aggressive in the January 2026 window. He grabbed Cam Fancher, a dual-threat QB from UCF, and Devin Vaught, a DB from Maine. It’s a "patchwork quilt" approach to the 2026 roster.
Is it risky? Absolutely.
Is it better than the status quo? Probably.
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The "For Sparta" Factor: $1 Billion is Not a Typo
While the fans are arguing about who starts at right guard, the university is playing a much longer game. The "For Sparta" initiative is a $1 billion capital campaign. They’re talking about a "re-imagined" Spartan Stadium with an East Tower and premium seating that actually functions year-round.
They aren't spending a billion dollars to be a 5-7 team.
The pressure on Fitzgerald is immense because the financial investment is unprecedented. Michigan State is trying to prove it belongs in the Big Ten's "Upper Class" alongside the Michigans and Penn States of the world.
What to Watch for Next
If you’re a fan or just a degenerate gambler looking at 2026 futures, here is the reality: the floor for Michigan State football is another 4-win season where the team looks like a bunch of strangers in the same jersey.
The ceiling? It’s a 1999-style turnaround where a new coach with a chip on his shoulder instills a "us against the world" mentality that wins 8 games on grit and defensive stops alone.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Season:
- Watch the Spring Game: Keep an eye on the offensive line rotation. If Campbell or the transfer Ben Murawski (from UConn) aren't starting-ready, Milivojevic is going to spend a lot of time on his back.
- The Samson Gash Watch: If he flips to Alabama, expect a late-cycle scramble for a portal receiver.
- The Defensive Identity: Max Bullough’s linebackers need to be the heartbeat of this team. If Jordan Hall takes the "next step" to All-Big Ten levels, the defense might actually be top-30 in the country.
Forget the "process." This is a reset. Whether it’s a successful one depends entirely on if Fitzgerald’s "toughness" translates to a roster that has seen three coaches in four years.
Keep your eyes on the late January signing period. That will tell you everything you need to know about the momentum in East Lansing. Either the "rebirth" is real, or it’s just another expensive renovation that stalled out.