Commanders’ front office was ‘praying’ to land Michigan State’s Matt Gulbin

It’s not often that a player transfers in to a program and becomes a team captain right away, especially if they’re not playing a position like quarterback. Matt Gulbin, however, was not like most transfers at Michigan State. He transferred in from Wake Forest in 2025, won his teammates over immediately be being voted team captain, and earned a starting job in the process.

Gulbin went from under-the-radar transfer to captain to day one starter to All-Big Ten performer to the Rimington Trophy watch list in the span of a calendar year.

Now, just five months after his college career ended with his lone season at Michigan State, Gulbin is a Washington Commander after hearing his name called in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Working hard enough to go from barely seeing any action in his first two seasons at Wake Forest to becoming a two-year starter at guard to becoming Michigan State’s starting center and a legit national center of the year contender is proof that Gulbin is capable of making a name for himself in the NFL. Gulbin is the type of player who loves the grind.

And I have a feeling that his teammates in Washington are going to love him.

Washington’s front office was “praying” on Matt Gulbin drop

Every year, NFL teams share phone calls with the players they just drafted to give fans some behind-the-scenes looks at what it’s like when these guys have their dreams come true.

Really cool moments every year.

This year, the Commanders decided to share their phone calls with the sixth-round pick out of Michigan State. They had members of the front office and head coach Dan Quinn speak with the new pick and then majority owner Josh Harris took the phone to tell him that they were “praying” that Gulbin would drop to them.

It has to be such a long and stressful process for these players and while it’s exciting, too, it can drains these guys mentally. You could tell that Gulbin was a little worn down when he answered the phone, but immediately perked up when he realized that his dream was coming true.

Also, hearing from your future head coach that you’re a savage and you “stand for all the stuff we love about football” and that you’re going to “kick a lot of a**” together has to do something for a player.

Gulbin has to feel pretty pumped right now that he’s going to be staying close to home (he’s from Connecticut) to play in the NFL and potentially compete for a starting spot as a rookie.

Gulbin and the Commanders both had their prayers answered.

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