The Toledo vs. Michigan State football opener wasn’t as stress-free as fans were hoping, especially after facing a 20-19 deficit in the fourth quarter, but a few guys really stood out and took some pressure off the stars of the team like Kenny Soares Jr., Jordan Hall, Cam Edwards, and Alessio Milivojevic.
Some guys who have had pretty modest careers up to this point really stood out in Week 1 and they look poised to take that next step as breakout stars for Michigan State.
Three guys are on the verge of big seasons.
1. Rod Bullard Jr.
There wasn’t a more impressive season-opening performance outside of Soares, Liam Boyd, and Milivojevic than newly-reinstated wideout Rod Bullard Jr. who had been fighting all offseason for another year of eligibility. Now that he has it, he’s not taking anything for granted.
We saw that firsthand in the opening win over Toledo.
Bullard was the Spartans’ top receiver, catching seven passes for 90 yards and the game-winning touchdown with just over 10 minutes to play on a fourth-and-1 by the goal line. He also tacked on the huge two-point conversion that followed with one of the best catches of the year.
Michigan State OL Robert Wright Jr. PUKED — WHILE BLOCKING — during a two-point conversion.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 5, 2026
Video by @BenShockley_ and @Owen_Oszust pic.twitter.com/yXRF5bX2Tr
Bullard is going to be a critical component to Nick Sheridan’s offense this season.
2. Brady Pretzlaff
It was tough to pick one defender because guys like Devin Vaught and Tre Bell also deserve to be in this spot, but Brady Pretzlaff really surprised a lot of people. As a three-year member of the Pretzlaff bandwagon, this really doesn’t surprise me. He was a highly-regarded recruit out of high school in Michigan and was set to join Joe Rossi at Minnesota before the then-Gopher defensive coordinator left for Michigan State. He flipped his commitment and joined the Spartans.
That has turned out to be one of Rossi’s best contributions to the defense as the redshirt sophomore started alongside Jordan Hall to start the season and lived up to his recruiting hype.
Pretzlaff was seemingly all over the field making plays, finishing third on the team with five tackles. He didn’t make many mistakes and was the perfect complement to Hall when the senior was healthy and out there. Pretzlaff is a huge stock-riser.
3. Jayden Savoury
As a true freshman Jayden Savoury had just one catch for 16 yards. In the first game of his redshirt freshman season, he had four receptions for 36 yards. Talk about improvement.
Savoury was one of the most talked about standout performers during fall camp and that clearly translated to the opener where he was the top performing tight end in the pass game. Are there still issues to clean up on the run-blocking side of things? Absolutely, but Savoury’s pass-catching potential makes up for it.
To make things even more intriguing for Savoury, he’s developed a strong rapport with Milivojevic which has proven to benefit several guys over the court of Alessio’s five career starts.
First Chrishon McCray, then Bullard, and now Savoury. Who’ll be next?
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