The Big Ten Network stopped by Michigan State’s practice on Thursday, continuing their annual camp tour before the season and they were just in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. Studio host Dave Revsine got to take in a new era and give some thoughts on the 2026 team.
And it was mostly positive.
Revsine caught up with Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo who were at practice on Thursday, spoke highly of the offensive line, and he even shared what he thought was the team’s biggest concern for 2026 (depth on defense).
Then he gave his final takeaway after spending the day in East Lansing: Michigan State is “more ready to compete” right now than people are anticipating.
Overall takeaway - MSU more ready to compete than some might be anticipating. Not a finished product, but a solid group. Blueprint is obvious - play great D, run the ball, get smart QB play and win in the margins. Excited to see how it comes together in years to come pic.twitter.com/0T7NV5XNCm
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 13, 2026
Revsine did say it wasn’t a finished product but he sees the blueprint. That’s something that he didn’t say when Jonathan Smith was still around. There was never talk of a direction or blueprint for the future and that probably should have been a sign for Spartan fans. Smith just didn’t create an identity for the program and under Pat Fitzgerald, it’s clear. He’s bringing back a culture of toughness and accountability.
Fitzgerald often says “toughness was born in East Lansing” and it feels like he truly means that.
Dantonio help rebuild that culture of toughness after a couple of coaching staffs let it slip away a little and now Fitzgerald is trying to do the exact same thing.
Why Michigan State is, in fact, more ready to compete
It all starts up front and Michigan State seems to improved in that area which goes a long way in the win-loss column. Michigan State’s offensive line is going to be the most improved unit on the team.
That alone will account for a couple extra wins this season compared to the last 4-5 years when the offensive line was the main weakness other than the defense as a whole. On top of that, the Spartans return a quarterback with a ton of promise in Alessio Milivojevic who ripped the job away from Aidan Chiles.
The receiving corps will be improved (yes, even with Nick Marsh gone), the run game is going to take a massive step forward, and the defense should be slightly improved with Joe Rossi and Max Bullough combining brilliant defensive minds.
Cam Edwards is an improvement at running back, the quarterback situation is better, the offensive line is pretty obviously going to take a step, and the defense will be better.
That’s a clear recipe for “more ready to compete”, if you ask me.
Add us as a preferred source on Google