The final week of fall camp is coming to an end which means it’s the perfect time to project the starting lineup for Pat Fitzgerald’s first Michigan State football team.
There are a handful of obvious starters like Alessio Milivojevic, Trent Fraley, Chrishon McCray, and Cam Edwards, but most of the remainder of the offensive lineup is going to be somewhat of a surprise.
Let’s take a stab at who could be the starters on offense against Toledo next Friday and their backups.
Quarterback
Starter: Alessio Milivojevic
Backup: Cam Fancher
The starter here is obvious and barring an injury, Alessio Milivojevic is the team’s starting quarterback for the 2026 season. He was pretty solid near the end of 2025 after taking over for Aidan Chiles and now he has to prove that wasn’t a fluke. Experts aren’t super high on him, but that’s kind of where Michigan State quarterbacks like to be.
As for his backup, I recently made a prediction that Kayd Coffman would take over as the team’s QB2 at some point, but that’s not going to be immediate. FAU transfer Cam Fancher is a veteran who could sub in if the Spartans need him in a pinch. Coffman and Leo Hannan will be battling for that third-string role early on.
Running Back
Starter: Cam Edwards
Backup: Marvis Parrish
The backfield got a facelift this offseason and that starts with Cam Edwards, a 1,000-yard rusher from UConn. He’s coming in as one of the prized additions from the transfer portal and Fitzgerald has even said that he expects the UConn transfer to have a huge season. There’s a decent chance he’s an All-Big Ten performer in 2026.
Behind him, Marvis Parrish comes over from Western Kentucky where he averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a freshman. He had 779 total yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns last season so it’s clear that he’s electric with the ball in his hands. Expect him to be a pass-catching option.
Wide Receiver
Starters: Chrishon McCray, Rod Bullard Jr., Charles Taplin
Backups: Fredrick Moore, Bryson Williams, KK Smith, Braylon Collier
After Rod Bullard Jr. was granted another year of eligibility, he immediately slid into one of those projected starter roles along with Chrishon McCray. The third starter is still a bit of a mystery and Bryson Williams is my sleeper pick to start at some point, but Charles Taplin has been receiving a ton of praise during fall camp so that’s my pick.
It was tough to pick just three backup options when KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, Braylon Collier, and Williams are all capable of starting, so I chose all four to appear on the two-deep.
Moore comes over from Michigan, Smith is from Notre Dame, and both Collier and Williams are highly-touted redshirt freshmen. This group is (fairly) young and exciting.
Tight End
Starter: Jayden Savoury
Backup: Carson Gulker OR Brennan Parachek
The safe pick here is obviously Brennan Parachek because he’s the veteran who’s waited his turn and has stuck around through two different coaching changes and three different staffs. But I’m buying all the stock in Jayden Savoury who still needs to work on his blocking but he can be a real downfield threat for Milivojevic and the offense. Both will be interchangeable, though.
Don’t sleep on Carson Gulker who is going to assume more of a Connor Heyward-type H-back role where he does a little of everything offensively.
Offensive Line
Starters: Ben Murawski (LT), Conner Moore (LG), Trent Fraley (C), Nick Sharpe (RG), Rakeem Johnson (RT)
Backups: Rustin Young, Luka Vincic, Drew Nichols, AJ Dennis, Robert Wright Jr.
Ben Murawski is a mountain of a man, Conner Moore is one of the top returning linemen from last year who can also play tackle, Trent Fraley was the top center in the FCS last year, Nick Sharpe is a big-bodied transfer from South Carolina, and Rakeem Johnson is looking to build on a decent start to his Michigan State career. The offensive line is going to be vastly improved, especially the starters.
There is some decent depth, too.
Rustin Young, Luka Vincic, and Robert Wright Jr. are all guys who could probably start, but judging by Fitzgerald’s previous statements about almost a dozen guys competing for starting jobs, all five of those backups are capable. It’s been a while since the team has had this type of depth up front.
The starting lineup for Michigan State is pretty intriguing, even if the wins aren’t projected to be plentiful.
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