There’s been a lot of talk about Michigan State’s defense over the past week and a half since Pat Fitzgerald was hired, and for good reason.
Michigan State hired a defensive-minded head coach to lead the program and he decided to retain Joe Rossi as the defensive coordinator and James Adams as the safeties coach. Defense was taking center stage under the new head coach’s direction.
On Wednesday night, news broke that Max Bullough was also joining the staff, leaving his position as Notre Dame’s linebackers coach to co-coordinate Michigan State’s defense along with Rossi and also coach the linebackers. That alone got the fanbase to buy in and the memories of those great Mark Dantonio era defenses flooded back in.
If all goes as planned, Fitzgerald’s defenses will rival the Dantonio era units. That’s a big ‘if’.
With Brady Pretzlaff announcing his return last week, the level of excitement is growing. But another young linebacker gave fans something to be excited about on Thursday.
DeJae White exudes confidence
Former four-star linebacker DeJae White (formerly known as Charles) took to social media the morning after hearing about the hiring of his position coach, and made a confident statement.
I will be an issue this coming season mark my words
— DeJae (DJ) white 4⭐️LB 2025 (@Dejae_white) December 11, 2025
No games no pain all glory to allah
DeJae white will be great!!
First of all, I kind of love when my players speak in third person. It shows a confidence and it’s that kind of crazy that can make a defense special. Second, this is quite a statement from a redshirt freshman who will be coming off an injury in 2026, but he must have liked what he heard in his personal meeting with Fitzgerald.
Sure, there’s still a chance that he could transfer, but I just don’t see him doing that after not having a fully healthy season in East Lansing. He’s about to learn from a Spartan linebacker legend for the next couple of years, so he’s right to have this kind of confidence.
If Jordan Hall returns and Brady Pretzlaff is as good as we think he can be and White becomes “an issue” in 2026, Michigan State might have one of the best linebacking units in the Big Ten.
DeJae White: buy stock now.