With Michigan State’s coaching staff essentially finished, barring some last-minute changes of heart from some unofficially announced hires, we’re going to hear news regarding returning players for the next few weeks.
The transfer portal is about to open, and that means that several Spartans have some key decisions to make.
Michigan State has already gotten Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff, Alessio Milivojevic, Derrick Simmons, Evan Boyd, Ben Roberts, Braylon Collier, and Aydan West back, but there are more names that fans want to see return in 2026 under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff.
One of those names made his return official on Tuesday afternoon.
Ready for year 3! Go Green pic.twitter.com/HXDI2HadFx
— AJ Dennis (@andrewdennis_08) December 30, 2025
Andrew Dennis, a former four-star offensive lineman from Mount Pleasant, has announced his return for a third season, and he could be battling for a starting job as a redshirt sophomore. It wouldn’t shock me if he cracked the starting rotation given all the uncertainties in the trenches.
The former Illinois commit played two games as a true freshman under Jonathan Smith, preserving his redshirt. He then only saw action against Michigan this season.
Dennis has appeared in three games during his college career, and two of them those were against quality opponents. He faced Michigan in 2025 and Ohio State in 2024. He’s been tested enough, and now he needs to prove that he can play every down.
Nick Tabacca has his work cut out for him
Michigan State’s new offensive line coach, Nick Tabacca, faces quite the task: improve an offensive line that has been the team’s biggest weakness for about five years now.
Dennis could help with that.
Tabacca is likely meeting with all of his guys before the transfer window opens, and it’s clear that his talk with Dennis went well. Now he needs to focus on bringing back guys like Conner Moore, Kristian Phillips, Luka Vincic, Stanton Ramil, and Rustin Young, among others. Four-star incoming tackle Collin Campbell has already signed, so it looks like he has a good, young core.
Looking good on paper and playing at a high level are two different things, as we’ve all found out regarding the offensive line since 2020.