It was yet another tough season for Michigan State’s offensive line as the Spartans proved to have one of the worst units in the Big Ten for what felt like a 10th straight season.
Chris Kapilovic and Jim Michalczik just weren’t able to improve the unit after the Mark Dantonio era, and both saw their lines struggle from 2020-2025. There have, however, been solid players on the offensive lines over the years, and one of the best happened to transfer to Michigan State for the 2025 season.
Unfortunately, he’s moving on as he’s out of eligibility.
That lineman is Matt Gulbin, an interior offensive lineman transfer from Wake Forest. He’s had an incredible season with Michigan State, and he’s going to be sorely missed in 2026, but he’s been graded as the No. 1 center in the Big Ten, according to Cam Mellor of PFSN College.
Our @PFSNcollege highest-graded regular-season Big Ten Centers:
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) December 10, 2025
Matt Gulbin, Michigan State: 92.3
Gus Zilinskas, Rutgers: 90.1
Logan Jones, Iowa: 89.3
Jackson Carsello, Northwestern: 88.2
Justin Evans, Nebraska: 84.9
Pat Coogan, Indiana: 84.8
Iapani Laloulu, Oregon: 84.7
Nick… pic.twitter.com/tp34uRVx67
Seeing him atop this list is impressive not only because the line was so bad, but also because he had to shoulder the load in the middle. When the rest of the group was struggling or changing personnel, Gulbin was there to make sure everything ran smoothly. Obviously, he can’t do everything, so the line struggled a lot.
Matt Gulbin will be remembered fondly at MSU
Although he played on a bad team, Gulbin is going to be remembered for keeping the unit together up front and coming in and taking on that leadership role immediately. Not many transfers can come in and immediately get voted as a team captain by his teammates.
Unfortunately, he never really got to be celebrated to the extent that he deserved, and playing for a 4-8 team probably was the sole reason he was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection instead of a first or second-team pick.
According to his MSU profile, he was ranked the No. 1 center in the FBS in run-blocking situations by Pro Football Focus, and was also graded as PFF’s No. 2 overall center.
There wasn’t a ton to like about Jonathan Smith’s last team at Michigan State, but Gulbin was one of the lone bright spots, and he’ll be remembered fondly in East Lansing when he’s playing on Sundays.