Based solely off recruiting, there are several obvious rising stars on Pat Fitzgerald’s first Michigan State coaching staff.
There’s Courtney Hawkins who has been an obvious diamond in the coaching rough that has been the past 5-6 years. Then you have Nick Tabacca who has been recruiting well along the offensive line and he got some key guys to return for 2026. After that, there are guys like Nick Sheridan, Brian Wozniak, and Winston DeLattiboudere III.
A fan favorite who has also stood out after returning home to coach at his alma mater is Max Bullough. The captain of that 2013 Rose Bowl team and former All-American is back to coach the position that he mastered for four years in East Lansing.
And recruiting is already seeing the positive results.
Bullough has been able to land guys like Kenny Soares Jr., Dion Crawford, and Caleb Wheatland from the transfer portal all while retaining Brady Pretzlaff, Jordan Hall, and several other really good linebackers from that room. Now he’s trying to flip a three-star SEC linebacker commit.
Michigan State has just offered three-star Missouri linebacker commit Caleb Green and the Spartans are already moving up his “interest” ladder on 247Sports.
Green also holds Power Four offers from Iowa State and UCF. He’s ranked the No. 726 recruit in the 2027 class as well as the 60th-best linebacker. Gut feeling says an official visit will soon follow.
The future is bright at LB for Michigan State
There are several positions that I feel great about when it comes to the future of Michigan State football, and linebacker is right up there at the top of the list.
I’ve wanted Bullough back in East Lansing in some capacity for years and now that he’s returning as a linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator, it feels like we’re about to enter another golden era of Spartan linebackers. Toughness is returning and these guys are learning from one of the smartest football minds to ever play for Mark Dantonio.
The recruiting results haven’t quite blown up just yet, but potential flips like this one with an SEC contender’s commit show that he’s capable of recruiting at a high level.
We’ll learn a lot about his development this year with Pretzlaff, Hall, DeJae White, DiMari Malone, Leonard Ah You, Adam Shaw, and the group of incoming linebacker transfers. A bowl berth will also do wonders for his recruiting pitch.
Add us as a preferred source on Google