Nick Marsh and 4 other important MSU players Pat Fitzgerald must keep
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Pat Fitzgerald has officially been on the job since Monday, Dec. 1. That makes Saturday an important day for Michigan State football.
That’s the day when the 15-day post-coaching change transfer portal window opens for players.
The NCAA modified the rules in the fall and adopted them immediately, giving athletes a five-day window after a coach is announced by their school before they can enter the portal. Previously, they could enter immediately and would have 30 days to decide.
Coupled with the accelerated early signing period, which started Wednesday and ends Friday, Fitzgerald’s biggest and must urgent responsibility upon being hired was analyzing, assessing and protecting MSU’s future and present players.
Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic said Thursday night he will “run it back” with MSU, a vital save for now.
With No. 1 receiver Nick Marsh and No. 1 running back Makhi Frazier having already announced their intentions to enter the portal − players can stay at their school after going into the portal − here are five players Fitzgerald needs to make a priority to keep on the Spartans‘ roster for the 2026 season.
LB Jordan Hall
It will be the fourth different head coach in Hall’s four seasons in East Lansing. Fitzgerald, one of the Big Ten’s best linebackers ever from 1993-96 at Northwestern, knows the importance of the position and the leadership necessary in the middle of a defense. Hall was steady during MSU’s eight-game losing streak, producing through injury while providing a steadying voice in the locker room. He’s the type of leader Fitzgerald can use to help keep other defensive players on the team.
DT Alex VanSumeren
VanSumeren was snubbed from All-Big Ten voting. But the redshirt junior might have been the Spartans’ most valuable defensive player with 52 tackles and 1½ sacks as a pocket-collapsing presence from the interior. Rebuilding in the trenches, particularly the offensive line and defensive end, is among the chief issues Fitzgerald knows he needs to address. But retaining VanSumeren – along with a strong crop of interior lineman including freshman Derrick Simmons, redshirt freshman Mikeshun Beeler and senior-to-be Ben Roberts – would give the new coach a strong nucleus to build outward from as he remakes the defense into his vision.
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WRs Nick Marsh/Chrishon McCray
With protection issues early in the season preventing the receivers from putting up big numbers, as well as Marsh and Omari Kelly dominating the targets, McCray started slowly. But the Kent State transfer began to blossom late in the year, with 15 of his 25 catches, two of his three touchdowns and 165 of his 330 receiving yards in the final five games of the season.
Keeping Marsh and his team-leading 59 catches for 662 yards and six TDs should be a primary retention target if the money lines up, as his best football is ahead of him, but McCray showed he is an important veteran voice – especially with Kelly graduating – for the younger up-and-coming wideouts behind them. Tight end Michael Masunas, who like McCray also has one year left, also should be another pass-catching priority.
CB Aydan West
The true freshman emerged as a starter by the end of the season, a sign of the strong talent evaluation Smith and his staff showed in their first full recruiting cycle (along with the number of 2024 recruits who followed them from Oregon State, particularly on the offensive line with late-season starters Rustin Young and Rakeem Johnson showing progress as second-year players). But West is a special player at a coveted position with his coverage ability and hip-swivel, and the Spartans already will be losing a number of other key defensive backs to graduation.
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Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football’s 5 key players Pat Fitzgerald must retain
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