Who Will Represent Michigan State at Big Ten Media Days? Here's Who's Heading to Chicago

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We have officially entered Big Ten Media Days week.

All 18 teams will be spread across three days, with each program sending its head coach and three student-athletes to answer questions from every angle and every media outlet.

Roundtable Sports will be there with a litany of questions for current Spartans and former Spartans alike, bringing you all the latest insights, storylines, and details throughout the week.

Michigan State will kick off Day 2 of Big Ten Media Days, held in Chicago.

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald is scheduled to take the podium on Wednesday, July 29, at 1:00 p.m. CT for a 45-minute session with the media.

Before that, Fitzgerald will participate in the opening coaches press conference alongside Minnesota's P.J. Fleck, Purdue's Barry Odom, Ohio State's Ryan Day, UCLA's Bob Chesney, and Oregon's Dan Lanning. Those six coaches will rotate through 15-minute sessions beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT before Fitzgerald returns for his individual podium appearance.

The Spartans' student-athletes will then meet with the media from 2:00-2:30 p.m. CT.

So, who will be representing Michigan State this week?

In no particular order, the first player representing the Green and White is the leader of the defense, linebacker Jordan Hall.

With Michigan State's nearly complete coaching staff turnover came former Spartan Max Bullough, who returned to East Lansing from Notre Dame to coach the linebackers.

Along with Bullough has come an intensity and passion for what it means to play at Michigan State. Rather than approaching the game with a business-first mindset, Bullough has emphasized living in the moment, appreciating the opportunity, and embracing what it means to wear the Spartan helmet.

To fully establish that culture, it's pivotal that Hall, the returning senior and one of the team's unquestioned leaders, buys into Bullough's message. That shouldn't be much of a concern, considering Hall's own passion for Michigan State. He's also widely viewed by many college football analysts as the Spartans' top NFL Draft prospect heading into the season.

If Hall continues to lead the way and fully embraces Bullough's philosophy, this defense has the potential to become one of the best units in the Big Ten.

Of course, becoming one of the conference's top defenses takes more than passion and grit. It also requires playmakers, and that's exactly what the Spartans have in the second player attending Media Days: defensive back Nakai Martinez.

The redshirt senior transferred to Michigan State from UCF ahead of the 2024 season. During his first year in East Lansing, Martinez appeared in every game and led the secondary with 51 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.

Unfortunately, expectations were dampened last season as injuries repeatedly slowed him down. In his first game back, he recorded one tackle before suffering another injury. Martinez eventually returned later in the year for a three-game stretch, highlighted by a 10-tackle performance in an overtime loss to Minnesota. However, he missed the final three games of the season, finishing with just four appearances and 24 total tackles.

Now healthy once again, Martinez will look to use both his experience and leadership to reestablish himself as one of Michigan State's top defensive backs and one of the vocal leaders of the team.

Finally, as good as a defense can be in the Big Ten, success ultimately comes down to quarterback play.

That's exactly what Spartan fans are hoping they'll get from the third player representing Michigan State: quarterback Alessio Milivojevic.

One of the most underrated quarterbacks in college football, Milivojevic earned the starting job for Michigan State over the final four games of last season. During that stretch, he helped lead the Spartans to their lone Big Ten victory while showing poise well beyond his years.

His composure under pressure was one of his biggest strengths, and with what should be an improved offensive line in front of him, the sky is the limit for the sophomore quarterback. He'll once again need to stay calm when opposing defenses bring pressure, but he'll also have to handle another challenge: the growing expectations of an eager fan base hoping he's the quarterback to lead Michigan State back into Big Ten contention.

Roundtable Sports will be on the ground in Chicago throughout Big Ten Media Days, so be sure to follow along as we bring you interviews, observations, breaking news, and everything you need to know from Michigan State's trip to the conference's biggest preseason event.

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