The 2026 season has been an outright disaster for Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan State football. The Spartans are 2-6 following a six-game losing streak and they should probably be closer to 4-4 with two losses that could have — and should have — gone the other way.
There haven’t been a ton of bright spots through the first eight games, but injuries have led to a lot of the struggles. Michigan State’s defense has been lacking and the offense has been asleep for most of the season outside of the Northwestern and Illinois games.
Ex-Spartans have been finding success all year, though. Nothing like twisting the knife a little bit when Michigan State’s season has been a nightmare.
One of those ex-Spartans who has found success has been Armorion Smith. The now-Toledo defensive back started at safety for Michigan State and was one of the best stories in college football as he played Division 1 football while raising his siblings after his mother passed away. He spent three years at Michigan State and finished with 41 tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups.
Smith opted to transfer in the offseason and play one final season in the MAC with Toledo. He saw the Spartans in the first game of the season and didn’t play too poorly despite the loss. Since then, he’s been lockdown.
In fact, Smith has been graded as the third-best safety in the MAC this season.
Our @PFN365 highest-graded MAC safeties this season:
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 29, 2026
Justin Taylor, Central Michigan: 88.7
DJ James-Hamilton, Ohio: 87.3
Armorion Smith, Toledo: 82.9
Daeh McCullough, Western Michigan: 82.8
Nicholas Thompson, Toledo: 81.9
Miles Greer, Buffalo: 81.1
Coen Ali, Central Michigan:… pic.twitter.com/h99SMXRzn2
The senior safety is having a career year in Toledo, notching 60 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and six pass breakups. He’s posted more tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, and pass breakups in eight weeks with Toledo than he did in his previous four college football seasons combined.
Joe Rossi could have used him this year.
Michigan State’s secondary has been battered and bruised
The secondary definitely could have used Smith this season with several defensive backs missing time with injuries. Nikai Martinez and Devin Vaught have been nice at safety, but having a third option at the position like Smith would’ve been nice, especially if he played at this high of a level.
Safety hasn’t been the problem on defense, however, it’s been the cornerback spot. While Jeremiah Favorite has been a nice surprise, the Spartans have been stacking injuries every week.
Tre Bell, Charles Brantley, and Tyran Chappell have all missed several weeks and the cornerback room has been trimmed down to just a few guys.
Fortunately, Michigan State’s pass defense hasn’t been as bad as expected given the circumstances, ranking 11th in the Big Ten in pass yards allowed per game (201.4).
Smith would have been nice to retain — clearly — but he’s finding success after getting a fresh start in Toledo. He’s one of the easiest players to root for and maybe he’ll be one of the best stories in the 2027 NFL Draft if he continues to play at a high level.
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