Michigan State University Football

Meet Coach Fitzgerald One of the winningest football coaches in Big Ten history, Pat Fitzgerald was named head football coach at Michigan State University, M...

AJ Pearson is in his first year at Michigan State in 2026 as the assistant director of player personnel and scouting. Pearson spent one season (2025) as the Director of Player Personnel at Toledo, working under General Manager Bryan Gasser, who is now the GM for the Spartans. Pearson previously was a recruiting assistant at Michigan for two seasons (2023-24). He played safety for the Wolverines from 2014-16 and earned letters his junior and senior seasons. Originally from Johns Creek, Georgia, Pearson graduated with his bachelor's degree from Michigan in 2016 in movement science. He has also earned master's degrees in kinesiology from Michigan (2019) and basic medical science from Michigan State (2024).

Alex Knisely is in her first season as Michigan State's Director of Football Operations in 2026. Knisely previously worked with Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern in the video department, spending two seasons on staff as the assistant director of video operations (2017-18) and rejoining the program as the Director of Video Operations in May 2021. She most recently served as the Director of Football Operations at Northwestern under David Braun. Between her two stints in the Wildcat video department, she led video operations at Kansas for two seasons (2019-20). Before arriving in Evanston, she was the video coordinator at FIU and Eastern Michigan. She began her career as a student video assistant while earning her undergraduate degree at Georgia in mass media arts.

Andrew Bindelglass, who joined the Michigan State football program as a defensive analyst in January 2024 and served as an assistant linebackers coach in 202...

Veteran NFL scout Antwon Murray enters his second year at Michigan State as the program's Executive Director of Player Personnel. Before arriving to MSU in June 2025, Murray had spent the previous nine years as a scout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including serving as a national scout his last three years. Prior to his promotion as a national scout in 2023, Murray was an area scout for four years, where he was responsible for scouting the Midwest. He was Tampa Bay's National Football Scouting/Combine Scout for two seasons before getting elevated to an area scout in 2018. During his time in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV and appeared in the NFL Playoffs five straight seasons, including four consecutive AFC South titles. Prior to his time with the Buccaneers, Murray worked at his alma mater, Boise State, where he was the Director of Recruiting for two seasons (2014-15). The Broncos went 21-6 during his two seasons back with the program, including a Fiesta Bowl win over Arizona. Murray's first collegiate position was at Arkansas State under Bryan Harsin as the Director of Player Personnel in 2013. A native of Lakeland, Florida, Murray played defensive back at Boise State from 2007-11, earning letters in 2010 and 2011. He was a member of the Bronco Leadership Council and recipient of the Bronco Ambassador Award. He graduated with a degree in communication in 2011 and was part of the winningest class in college football history at the time, capping his career with a

Brian Wozniak, who has 11 years of collegiate coaching experience, will be entering his third season on staff at Michigan State after arriving with former he...

An experienced coach and player personnel director with a proven eye for talent, Bryan Gasser enters his first year as Michigan State's General Manager under Pat Fitzgerald. Gasser has coached and recruited multiple NFL Draft picks, NFL players and all-conference players during his nearly 20-year career in college football. Gasser comes to Michigan State following a successful three-year run (2023-25) in the personnel department at Toledo, where he was the program's Director of Player Personnel/Recruiting Coordinator for two years before getting promoted to General Manager of Player Personnel in 2025. The Rockets earned three consecutive bowl berths and compiled a 27-13 record the past three seasons, including an 11-3 season in 2023 and a win over Pitt in the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit. Gasser helped assemble the No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC in back-to-back years (2023-24), and the 2024 class ranked No. 65 overall in the 247 Team Composite rankings (180.60), the highest ever in the MAC since 247Sports started ranking classes in 1999. He previously worked with Fitzgerald for one season (2022) at Northwestern as an offensive analyst. Before working in player personnel, Gasser was an on-field coach for 14 seasons, most recently as the offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Akron for three years from 2019-21. With the Zips, Gasser coached WR KonataMumpfield, who earned Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic in 2019 before transferring to Pitt and getti

Chris Gordon enters his fourth year on the Spartan staff in 2026, his first as an assistant linebackers coach. He spent last season (2025) as an assistant defensive backs coach and the previous two seasons (2023-24) as a defensive assistant. Gordon was a defensive graduate assistant at Idaho for the 2022 season and helped the Vandals reach the FCS playoffs for the first time in 27 years as the defense finished second in the Big Sky and 18th nationally in pass defense. During the 2021 season, Gordon was a special teams quality control coach at South Dakota, game planning for all six units on special teams. Thanks in part to strong special teams play, the Coyotes earned a berth in the FCS playoffs. Gordon helped manage a special teams unit that featured an all-conference punter and long snapper and finished No. 1 in the nation in kickoff return average and No. 10 in net punting. Gordon was a defensive graduate assistant coaching cornerbacks at Illinois Wesleyan in 2020 and coached the Titans during the shortened 2021 spring season. He previously worked with Spartan defensive coordinator Joe Rossi at Minnesota during the 2019 season as a defensive quality control intern, assisting the defensive staff in all phases of game planning. Featuring a top-10 defense, the Gophers won a school-record 11 games and beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl while finishing No. 10 in the AP Poll. Gordon was a four-year football letterwinner at Capital University from 2015-18 and graduated with a bachel

Cindy Mejorado is in her 27th year working with the Spartan football program and her 38th overall at Michigan State University. Mejorado helps with the day-to-day operations of the football office and oversees the operations student staff. She also assists with coordinating special events and is the staff liaison to the Michigan State University Former Players Association and the Spartan Football Parent Association. Born in Harlingen, Texas, Mejorado resides in Lansing with Gary Tackett and their son, Gary.

Colin Johnson is in his first year at Michigan State in 2026 as an assistant offensive line coach. Johnson, who has more than 20 years of coaching experience, spent the 2025 season at Butler as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/running backs coach for the Bulldogs. Two players earned All-Pioneer Football League honors, including first-team offensive lineman Charles Mackley. Johnson had three stints overall at Butler, coaching the offensive line in 2018 and the defensive tackles in 2011. Prior to Butler, Johnson coached for five seasons at his alma mater, Ball State, from 2019-24 as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach. He spent the last two games of the 2024 season as the interim head coach for the Cardinals. Five players on the offensive line garnered All-MAC honors under Johnson at BSU: Danny Pinter (first team, 2019), Curtis Blackwell (second team, 2020-21; third team, 2019), Ethan Crowe (second team, 2022), Corey Stewart (first team, 2023) and Damon Kaylor (third team, 2023). Ball State finished the 2020 season ranked No. 23 in the final AP Poll with a 7-1 record after winning the MAC Championship over Buffalo and beating San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl. During Johnson’s first season in Muncie, he mentored Pinter, who earned first-team All-MAC accolades and was selected in the fifth round (No. 149 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Colts. Johnson coached five seasons (2013-17) at DePauw, primarily working with the offensive line, where

Colin Ludema is in his fifth year working for Michigan State football. Ludema enters his first year in the football technology department after working the previous four years in the creative office as the director of football creative video. While in the creative department, he specialized in creating video content for the program's social media accounts and produced video highlights for internal and external use to promote the program. Before joining Michigan State, Ludema worked for seven years in the football program at Wisconsin. Ludema graduated with a degree in broadcasting from Central Michigan in 2015.

Former Spartan great and nine-year NFL veteran Courtney Hawkins has been on the Spartan staff coaching the wide receivers since 2020 and enters his seventh season in 2026. Three wide receivers he has coached at MSU are currently starting in the NFL (Jayden Reed, Packers; Jalen Nailor, Vikings; Keon Coleman, Bills). Both of MSU’s starting wide receivers in 2025 – Nick Marsh and Omari Kelly – garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten. Marsh led the team in receptions (59), receiving yards (662) and TD catches (6), while Kelly was second on the team in catches (47) and receiving yards (626). During Marsh's first season in 2024, he had the best freshman receiving season in program history with 41 receptions for 649 yards. He also had three TDs and ranked eighth in the Big Ten in yards per catch (15.8) and 13th in receiving yards per game (59.0 ypg), which also ranked second among Big Ten freshmen. Marsh also ranked fourth in the FBS among true freshmen in the regular season with 649 receiving yards and sixth with 41 catches. Hawkins coached Reed for three seasons (2020-22) in East Lansing before he embarked on his NFL career with the Packers. A 2021 first-team All-American as an all-purpose player, Reed ranks sixth in the Spartan record book in receptions (147), tied for seventh in touchdown catches (18) and 12th in receiving yards (2,069). The dynamic receiver and returner earned invitations to both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine following the 2022 season and was selected in t

FootballSkip AdBailey, DarrenAdams, JamesAllen, Matt Bailey, DarrenBequeaith, Morgan Bindelglass, AndrewBortolotti, Grover Bullough, MaxChaney , Jake DeLattiboudere III, WinstonDeRoy, MichaelDouglass, Elijah Ferry, CorbinFitzgerald, PatFlaherty, TedGordon, ChrisHawkins, CourtneyJohnson, ColinLail, JacobMcNulty, John Poteat, HankRobinson, Josh Rossi, JoeRuddy, MasonSheridan , Nick Spalding, DominicSpalding, Devon Tabacca , Nick Welsh, JoelWoods , LeVar Wozniak, Brian

Devon Spalding arrived in East Lansing as the program's running backs coach in January 2026 after spending the previous three seasons (2023-25) in the same position at Wisconsin. Spalding coached two running backs who earned All-Big Ten honors at UW, including Braelon Allen, a second-team selection in 2023 who ranked third in the conference with 984 rushing yards while averaging a Big Ten-best 5.44 yards per carry. He also tied his career high with 12 rushing touchdowns. Allen, who finished his Badger career with 3,494 rushing yards, ninth-most in program history, was a fourth-round NFL Draft pick by the Jets and has played the last two seasons in the NFL. In 2024, Tawee Walker was honorable mention All-Big Ten for the Badgers after leading the team with 864 yards and 10 touchdowns. At the onset of Spalding's first season in Madison, he was named to the 247Sports "30 Under 30" List for 2023 as one of college football's rising stars in the profession. Prior to coaching in the Big Ten at Wisconsin, Spalding spent three years (2020-22) at Youngstown State. During his time at YSU, Spalding coached record-breaking running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 after rushing for 1,588 yards. Between two seasons at Division II Notre Dame College and two seasons at Youngstown State, McLaughlin set the NCAA all-division career rushing record with 8,166 career yards. In the spring season of 2021, McLaughlin was a second-team All-MVFC pick as

Dominic Spalding is in his first year at Michigan State in 2026 as an assistant wide receivers coach. He most recently was an analyst and assistant wide receivers coach at Notre Dame in 2025. Spalding has also worked at Northwestern and Youngstown State. Spalding’s brother, Devon, is the Spartan running backs coach.

Dr. Bill Burghardt, who is in his 14th year on the full-time staff at MSU, was named the Director of Sports Science for Michigan State Athletics in July 2022. He previously was the Director of Football Sports Science for two years (2020-21). In his role, Burghardt leads the sports science department’s mission to aid sport coaches, strength & conditioning, and sports medicine to optimize athlete training, performance, and return-to-sport through the use of cutting-edge technology and exercise science. Prior to his current role in sports science, Burghardt was on the strength and conditioning staff for the Spartans and was named associate strength and conditioning coach in June 2018. He also added the duties of football analytics coordinator in 2018, a role that includes collecting, analyzing, interpreting and disseminating results of the Cataplult GPS data for the staff, and moved into that role full-time in 2020 as the Director of Football Sport Science. Burghardt, who spent two seasons (2010-11) as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Michigan State, rejoined the Spartan program in July 2012. He has been a part of two Big Ten Championship teams and eight bowl games since being appointed to the full-time staff. Burghardt came back to East Lansing following a six-month stint as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Burghardt is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the Collegiate

Dustin Smith is in his second season as the Director of Football Technology for the Michigan State football program. Smith has worked in football technology professionally for a total of 11 years, including both the college and NFL levels. Smith arrived to MSU in June 2025 after serving as the video coordinator at Eastern Michigan for the 2024 season. He previously was the video director at Indiana from February 2020 to August 2022 and at Oregon from July 2017 to February 2020. Before breaking into the college ranks, Smith was a video assistant from March 2014 to July 2017 with the Cleveland Browns. He was also a video intern for the Indianapolis Colts (2013-14) and the San Francisco 49ers (2012-13). Smith graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication from Purdue in 2012.

Dylan Gray is in his fourth year as an assistant director of football creative at Michigan State. He assists in the design of various graphic assets for the program. Gray received his bachelor's degree in creative advertising from Michigan State in 2022 with a primary focus in art direction. Gray's first stint with Michigan State football started as a creative student intern under former head coach Mark Dantonio in 2019 and continued under head coach Mel Tucker for both the 2020 and 2021 football seasons. Gray has also worked as a creative for professional athletes such as Julian Edelman and Devonta Smith.

FootballSkip AdDouglass, Elijah Adams, JamesAllen, Matt Bailey, DarrenBequeaith, Morgan Bindelglass, AndrewBortolotti, Grover Bullough, MaxChaney , Jake DeLattiboudere III, WinstonDeRoy, MichaelDouglass, Elijah Ferry, CorbinFitzgerald, PatFlaherty, TedGordon, ChrisHawkins, CourtneyJohnson, ColinLail, JacobMcNulty, John Poteat, HankRobinson, Josh Rossi, JoeRuddy, MasonSheridan , Nick Spalding, DominicSpalding, Devon Tabacca , Nick Welsh, JoelWoods , LeVar Wozniak, Brian

FootballSkip AdBortolotti, Grover Adams, JamesAllen, Matt Bailey, DarrenBequeaith, Morgan Bindelglass, AndrewBortolotti, Grover Bullough, MaxChaney , Jake DeLattiboudere III, WinstonDeRoy, MichaelDouglass, Elijah Ferry, CorbinFitzgerald, PatFlaherty, TedGordon, ChrisHawkins, CourtneyJohnson, ColinLail, JacobMcNulty, John Poteat, HankRobinson, Josh Rossi, JoeRuddy, MasonSheridan , Nick Spalding, DominicSpalding, Devon Tabacca , Nick Welsh, JoelWoods , LeVar Wozniak, Brian

A veteran coach of 15 years in college who also won a Super Bowl ring during his 10-year NFL career, Hank Poteat was named Michigan State’s cornerbacks coach in January 2026. Poteat arrives in East Lansing after spending the previous three seasons (2023-25) as the cornerbacks coach at Iowa State. During the 2024 season, Jontez Williams led the team with four interceptions and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as the Cyclones ranked No. 1 in the FBS in pass defense, allowing just 165.6 yards per game. In Poteat’s first year in Ames, the Cyclones ranked second in the Big 12 and No. 10 in the FBS with 16 interceptions. He mentored T.J. Tampa, who earned first-team All-Big 12 and third-team AP All-America accolades while being named a semifinalist for the Thorpe and Bednarik Awards; Tampa was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by Baltimore and just completed his second season in the NFL with the Ravens. Poteat has previous Big Ten experience, coaching cornerbacks at Wisconsin for two seasons (2021-22). The Badgers were second in the Big Ten and No. 7 nationally in interceptions with 17 in 2022, and in 2021, both of UW’s starting cornerbacks – Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams – picked up All-Big Ten recognition. Hicks was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Broncos. Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Poteat spent four successful seasons (2017-20) with the cornerbacks at Toledo. He tutored Ka’dar Hollman, who led the MAC with 12 pass break-ups

Jacob Lail enters his fifth season at Michigan State in 2026, his first as an assistant tight ends coach. Lail began coaching at MSU as a graduate assistant coach working with the offensive line from 2022-24; he was named assistant offensive line coach in January 2025. He enters his first season working with tight ends coach Brian Wozniak in 2026. During the 2024 season, Lail helped develop left guard Luke Newman, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft (No. 195 overall) by the Chicago Bears. Newman, an FCS transfer from Holy Cross, earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in his only year as a Spartan in 2024. Lail joined the Spartan staff in 2022 and worked under former Spartan offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic for two seasons (2022-23). Lail then worked with Jim Michalczik for two seasons (2024-25). Lail previously coached at Wayne State, joining the the Warriors’ football staff in the fall of 2020 as a graduate assistant coach working with the offensive line. He served in the same capacity in 2021 before moving to tight ends coach for spring ball in 2022. During the 2021 campaign, he helped guide first-team All-GLIAC performer Landin Mitchell, and second-team All-GLIAC honoree Lane Potter. Potter was also the GLIAC’s McAvoy Award Winner (which is presented annually to a GLIAC football player who best combines outstanding character and leadership on the field, in the classroom and in the community) and earned second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America

Jacob Schmidt is in his first year as Chief of Staff for Michigan State football under head coach Pat Fitzgerald. As Chief of Staff, Schmidt manages and coor...

Jake Chaney is in his first season at Michigan State in 2026 as an assistant defensive line coach. He will work directly under Spartan defensive line coach W...

A three-time nominee for the Broyles Award, Joe Rossi has been Michigan State's defensive coordinator since 2024. Highly respected as one of the top defensive coaches in the country, Rossi has more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience and has been on the sidelines for seven bowl games. After serving as both the Secchia Family Defensive Coordinator and linebackers coach his first two seasons (2024-25) in East Lansing, Rossi will focus solely on his defensive coordinator role in 2026. During his first season at MSU in 2024, Rossi was nominated for the Broyles Award for the third time of his career after the Spartans ranked 32nd in the FBS in rushing defense (125.1 ypg), 34th in total defense (332.0 ypg) and 46th in pass defense (206.9 ypg). Three Spartan defenders (DE Khris Bogle, CB Charles Brantley, LB Jordan Turner) earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition following the season; Turner spent his rookie season in the NFL with the Broncos. In 2025, both of MSU's starting linebackers, Jordan Hall and Wayne Matthews III, earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition as the duo ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in tackles, respectively. Before arriving to Michigan State, Rossi spent six seasons (2018-23) at Minnesota, where he helped build the Gophers into one of the best defenses in the Big Ten as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Minnesota’s defense ranked among the top 10 in the FBS in total defense three times (No. 3 in 2021, No. 8 in 2022

A veteran strength and conditioning coach of more than 15 years, Joel Welsh was named the head football strength and conditioning coach by head coach Pat Fit...

John McNulty was named Michigan State’s quarterbacks coach on Feb. 4, 2026. McNulty most recently was a senior offensive assistant at Rutgers in 2025 and worked with MSU offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan for one season at Alabama as an analyst in 2024. McNulty has over 30 years of coaching experience, including time at Boston College (offensive coordinator in 2022) and Notre Dame (tight ends coach in 2020-21), and also spent 15 years overall in the NFL with stints at Jacksonville (1998-2002), Dallas (2003), Arizona (2009-12), Tampa Bay (2013), Tennessee (2014-15) and San Diego/Los Angeles (2016-17). Before returning to Piscataway in 2025, McNulty had previously coached at Rutgers on two previous occasions. He joined Greg Schiano’s staff in 2004 as the wide receivers coach, then was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2006, and took over as offensive coordinator for two seasons (2007-08) while remaining in his role as QB coach. After his time in the NFL, McNulty came back to the college ranks at RU as the Scarlet Knights’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018-19. McNulty piloted one of the most prolific offenses in Rutgers history in 2007, with the Scarlet Knights becoming the first FBS program to have a 3,000-yard passer (Mike Teel), 2,000-yard rusher (Ray Rice) and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers (Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood) in the same season. The Scarlet Knights set school records for scoring (426), first downs (294) and tot

Kurt Richardson joined Michigan State as the Director of Player Engagement for the Spartan football program in August 2023. His role is strategically designed to help recruit and retain student-athletes by enhancing the overall player experience through comprehensive player development initiatives. Richardson coordinates and spearheads the football program's player development efforts and serves as a mentor to the current Spartan roster. His responsibilities also include alumni engagement, career networking, university outreach, and community service. In addition, Richardson has been an integral part of Michigan State's recent transfer portal recruiting success, contributing to the program securing a top-15 (No. 12) portal recruiting class in 2024 and a top-30 (No. 28) portal class in 2025. Richardson is the founder of Encore Athletix and has spent more than a decade working with NFL teams and Division I football programs to facilitate athlete development beyond the field. He has delivered unique player engagement experiences to more than 500 professional athletes and more than 1,000 NCAA student-athletes through collaborations with the NCAA Career in Sports Forum, NFL Player Engagement, and ESPN's Black Sports Symposium. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Richardson has also hosted rookie success transition programs for several NFL franchises, including the Dolphins, Giants, Jets, Ravens, Colts, Jaguars, and Rams. He has worked with multiple Pro Bowl players, including Saquon Ba

One of the most respected special teams coaches in college football, LeVar Woods was named Michigan State's assistant head coach/special teams coordinator in...

Madilyn Weigand joined Michigan State’s football staff in July 2024 as Assistant Director of Football Recruiting Operations. Within her role she helps execut...

FootballSkip AdRuddy, MasonAdams, JamesAllen, Matt Bailey, DarrenBequeaith, Morgan Bindelglass, AndrewBortolotti, Grover Bullough, MaxChaney , Jake DeLattiboudere III, WinstonDeRoy, MichaelDouglass, Elijah Ferry, CorbinFitzgerald, PatFlaherty, TedGordon, ChrisHawkins, CourtneyJohnson, ColinLail, JacobMcNulty, John Poteat, HankRobinson, Josh Rossi, JoeRuddy, MasonSheridan , Nick Spalding, DominicSpalding, Devon Tabacca , Nick Welsh, JoelWoods , LeVar Wozniak, Brian

Former Spartan Matt Allen returns to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach in 2026, working with the offensive line. A four-year letterwinner (2017-19; 2021), Allen played in 44 career games wearing the Green and White, including 30 starts at center. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades as a sixth-year senior in 2021, helping the Spartans to an 11-2 record and a No. 9 finish in the AP Poll while starting all 13 games and blocking for All-American Kenneth Walker III. Allen graduated from MSU with his bachelor's degree in food industry management in 2020 and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2017.

FootballSkip AdFlannery, Matt Adams, JamesAllen, Matt Bailey, DarrenBequeaith, Morgan Bindelglass, AndrewBortolotti, Grover Bullough, MaxChaney , Jake DeLattiboudere III, WinstonDeRoy, MichaelDouglass, Elijah Ferry, CorbinFitzgerald, PatFlaherty, TedGordon, ChrisHawkins, CourtneyJohnson, ColinLail, JacobMcNulty, John Poteat, HankRobinson, Josh Rossi, JoeRuddy, MasonSheridan , Nick Spalding, DominicSpalding, Devon Tabacca , Nick Welsh, JoelWoods , LeVar Wozniak, Brian

Former Spartan All-Big Ten linebacker Max Bullough joined Pat Fitzgerald's coaching staff in December 2025 as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. "Max Bullough embodies Spartan toughness," said Fitzgerald. "I coached against him when he led some of the best defenses in school history at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio, and he has continued to showcase his football knowledge by coaching at some of the best programs in the country after his NFL playing career. He will undoubtedly inspire our players to play with maximum effort. I'm excited to start working with Max and we welcome him back to East Lansing." Bullough helped coach one of the best defenses in the nation the past three seasons (2023-25) at Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish compiled a 34-7 record and reached the National Championship in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff against Ohio State. He arrived to South Bend as a defensive graduate assistant in 2023 and was promoted to the full-time staff as linebackers coach beginning in 2024. During Notre Dame’s run to the national title game during the 2024 season, Bullough mentored Jack Kiser, a Campbell Trophy finalist who led the team with 90 tackles and was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by Jacksonville. UND finished the 2024 season ranked No. 1 in the nation with 33 turnovers gained and also No. 4 in scoring defense (15.5 ppg) and No. 11 in total defense (307.4 ypg). In 2025, Notre Dame finished No. 11 in the FBS in rushing

Michael DeRoy enters his first year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for football at Michigan State in 2026. DeRoy previously worked for three...

Morgan Bequeaith joined the Michigan State coaching staff in 2026 as an assistant quarterbacks coach. He will work directly under Spartan quarterbacks coach John McNulty. Bequeaith spent the 2025 season working as an offensive graduate assistant at Youngstown State. The Penguins finished No. 17 in the final AFCA FCS Poll and reached the FCS Playoffs as three players on offense earned all-conference honors, including quarterback Beau Brungard, who was named the Walter Camp and Walter Payton FCS Player of the Year. Prior to working at YSU, Bequeaith was an assistant cornerbacks coach and defensive analyst at Northern Iowa in 2024. He was also an offensive assistant at UNI in 2023. Bequeaith earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Northern Iowa in December 2024.

Nick Sheridan, who spent the last two seasons at Alabama, joined Michigan State's staff as the offensive coordinator in January 2026. A coaching veteran of 15 years in the collegiate ranks, Sheridan has previous experience as an offensive coordinator at Alabama and Indiana. In his first season as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Alabama in 2024 under Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide ranked third in the SEC and No. 22 in the FBS with 33.8 points per game. Alabama also rushed for 41 touchdowns, a total that led the SEC and ranked fifth most in the nation. Starting quarterback Jalen Milroe was selected in the third round (No. 92 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Seahawks and three players on offense earned All-SEC honors (WR Ryan Williams and OL Tyler Booker, first team; OL Kadyn Proctor, second team). As co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach in 2025, Sheridan helped develop starter Ty Simpson, a second-team All-SEC selection who guided Alabama to 11 wins and a berth in the CFP Quarterfinals (Rose Bowl Game). Simpson threw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, figures that rank No. 2 in the SEC and top 10 in the FBS. Sheridan also coached with DeBoer at Washington for two seasons as the tight ends coach, helping the Huskies go 25-3 in 2022-23 while winning the 2023 Pac-12 title and reaching the CFP National Championship Game. Sheridan’s tight ends contributed to a passing offense that ranked No. 1 in the FBS in 2022 and No. 2 in 2023. During UW’s march to

Nick Tabacca, who has 20 years of offensive line coaching experience, was named Michigan State's offensive line coach in January 2026. Tabacca most recently spent 11 seasons (2014-24) coaching the o-line at Wake Forest, helping send several players to the NFL throughout his tenue in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest played in a school-record seven consecutive bowl games from 2016-22 and rewrote the offensive record book under former head coach Dave Clawson. Tabacca also worked with current Michigan State safeties coach James Adams for three seasons (2022-24) at Wake. Eight Demon Deacon offensive linemen, including four NFL Draft picks, played in the NFL under Tabacca's tutelage. In addition, Tabacca coached Matt Gulbin, who transferred to Michigan State for the 2025 season and was named a team captain, for four seasons at Wake Forest (2021-24); Gulbin was graded as the No. 2 center in the FBS by Pro Football Focus for the 2025 season and is an NFL Draft prospect in 2026. After starting 46 games, Michael Jurgens was selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft by Minnesota and he has spent the past two seasons in the NFL with the Vikings. Jurgens began his career at center but moved to guard his senior year, where he was the highest-graded Power-5 interior lineman according to PFF (83.7) in 2023. Several Demon Deacons coached by Tabacca earned All-ACC honors, including Zach Tom (first team in 2021) and Sean Maginn (second team in 2022 and third team in 2021). Tom, who also ear

Nicklos Bristol is in his third year as the director of football digital and brand strategy at Michigan State. Bristol held the same role at Oregon State before arriving in East Lansing, overseeing the social media efforts for the Beaver football program. He joined the OSU Athletic Department as an assistant director of ideation in the spring of 2021. Prior to his time at Oregon State, Bristol was the director of marketing at Loyola Marymount from 2017-21. He overseeing the marketing efforts for the LMU athletic department, which included serving as the lead designer for the Lions' print and digital efforts. He was also LMU's point person for social media strategy and content creation. While at LMU, the Lions claimed a school record five "Best of" awards from NACMA in 2021. Before his tenure at LMU, Bristol was a marketing and communications coordinator at UC Irvine from 2015-17. He coordinated marketing plans for ticketed sports as well as developed and executed graphic design projects. Bristol earned a degree in communication studies and history from the University of San Diego in 2014.

A four-year letterwinner at Northwestern under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, Riley Lees is in his first year at Michigan State in 2026 as the director of football strategy/special assistant to the head coach. Lees played at NU from 2016-20, lettering four seasons (2017-20) as a wide receiver and punt returner with the Wildcats while playing in 48 career games. He hauled in 111 receptions for 1,093 yards and nine touchdowns in his collegiate career, including a career-high 51 catches for 430 yards and two TDs as a redshirt junior in 2019. Lees was a part of two Big Ten West Division title teams (2018, 2020) and played in three bowl games, concluding his career with a victory over Auburn in the 2021 Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day in which he caught a touchdown pass. He served as one of the captains his senior year on the 2020 team that finished 7-2 and ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll. Lees ranks among Northwestern's all-time leaders in punt returns, ranking third in most punt returns (53) and sixth in punt return yards (378); he led the Wildcats in punt returns four consecutive seasons (2017-20). Following his playing career, Lees served as a graduate assistant on offense at Northwestern for two seasons (2022-23) and then spent two years as the director of football alumni engagement for the Wildcats (2024-25).

Sean Levy is in his seventh season working in player personnel for Michigan State football. Levy arrived at MSU in 2020 as a player personnel coordinator and served in that role for two years before being appointed an assistant director of player personnel in 2022. He was named director of player personnel in 2023, switched roles to director of player personnel for offense in 2024, and returned to director of player personnel in 2025. Prior to his role at Michigan State, Levy spent two seasons (2018-19) at Akron, the first as a recruiting intern and the second as a recruiting/operations assistant. Levy earned his bachelor's degree in marketing sales from Virginia Tech in 2018 and his master's degree in business administration from Akron in 2020. While getting his undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech, Levy worked two years as a recruiting analyst for 247Sports in addition to serving as a sports club supervisor for the school.

Ted Flaherty enters his first season as an assistant secondary coach at Michigan State in 2026. Flaherty spent the previous four seasons (2022-25) as an assistant coach at Dayton. He coached the hybrid linebacker/defensive back position during his time with the Flyers. He has previous experience working for defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, serving as a defensive intern at Minnesota with the linebackers during the 2021-22 academic year. The Gophers ranked in the top 10 in both total defense (No. 3) and scoring defense (No. 6) in 2021 and finished 9-4 with a victory over West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. A four-year letterwinner at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, Flaherty was named a team captain as a senior in 2019 and earned the team’s special teams player of the year award. He began his coaching career in 2020 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Hanover, Massachusetts, native earned his degree in communications from Curry in 2020.

Winston DeLattiboudere III was named Michigan State's defensive line coach in January 2026. After spending one season in the NFL as the defensive line coach with the Arizona Cardinals, DeLattiboudere III (DEE-lat-TEE-bo-DARE) is returning to the college ranks as the defensive line coach for the Spartans. DeLattiboudere coached the defensive line for two seasons (2023-24) at his alma mater, Minnesota, prior to heading to the NFL with Arizona in 2025. He has both played and coached for Joe Rossi at Minnesota and was promoted to assistant head coach for the Gophers during the 2024 season. In his second year at Minnesota in 2024, DeLattiboudere helped the Gopher defense rank among the FBS leaders in total defense (No. 5 at 287.5 ypg), scoring defense (No. 9 at 16.9 ppg) and rushing defense (No. 12 at 109.6 ypg). He tutored defensive end Jah Joyner, a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection who led the team with 7.5 sacks in 2023 and finished his career with 14.5 sacks, 10th-most in school history. In 2023, DeLattiboudere's defensive line improved its sack total by 9.5 sacks from the year before (10.5 to 20), and the group also forced six fumbles with three recoveries, broke up seven passes and made one interception. During his one season at Arizona, DeLattiboudere coached six-time Pro Bowler Calais Campbell, who led the Cardinal defensive line and ranked second on the team with 6.5 sacks. Campbell's 117 career sacks rank 25th all-time in NFL history. Prior to coaching wi