A week ago, Michigan State football found out that it had two representatives on the Biletnikoff Award watch list -- the award is given annually to the nation's top receiver. Neither of those guys, however, was arguably the best receiver on the team, Nick Marsh.
It was a shocking omission, but it proved that the Spartans had an elite receiving corps.
But also, have we all misread the situation in the receiver room? Were Kent State transfer Chrishon McCray and Middle Tennessee transfer Omari Kelly really better than Marsh?
Jonathan Smith cleared the air on Monday, revealing who the Spartans' top two receivers are at this point in fall camp, admitting that there's still a battle for that third spot.
Smith says Nick Marsh and Omari Kelly are the No. 1 and No. 2 in the receiver room. Says there’s been a good position battle for the No. 3 spot.
— SpartanMag.com (@TheSpartanMag) August 11, 2025
Smith told us what we all expected to hear, and that was that Nick Marsh is one of the top two wideouts on the team (likely No. 1), but Kelly is right there, too. This was slightly surprising to me because I would have guessed that McCray was in that top two with Marsh, but it sounds like it'll go Marsh, Kelly, and McCray, in that order.
While Smith did say that there's a battle for No. 3, I think it's McCray's spot to lose, although Evan Boyd and Rodney Bullard have been playing well and could snag it, along with Alante Brown.
I think we're still a year away from Braylon Collier being a legitimate starting option, but you could probably throw him into the mix as well.
So for all those worried that Marsh had fallen that far behind after his Biletnikoff watch list snub, worry no longer. Smith has Marsh as his likely No. 1 receiver with Kelly in that top two and a healthy battle for the No. 3 spot that I expect McCray to win.
This receiver room is darn good.