With spring practice beginning this week for the Michigan State football team, msuspartans.com takes a look at the position breakdown on defense and special teams for the Spartans.
DEFENSIVE LINE
â–ºPosition Coach: Winston DeLattiboudere III (first season)
The interior of the Spartan defensive line will be led by first-year position coach Winston DeLattiboudere III, who spent the 2025 season working in the NFL as the defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Previously, DeLattiboudere had a two-year stint at Minnesota as the defensive line coach, including the 2023 season under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi.
Redshirt senior Ben Roberts started six games at defensive tackle in 2025 and saw action in seven games overall, but missed five games due to injury, including the last month of the regular season. The lone senior in the position room, the 6-3, 335-pound Roberts will be looked to lead the group this upcoming season.Â
Promising redshirt freshman Derrick Simmons preserved his redshirt season in 2025 and is expected to have a larger role on the defense in his second season. The former four-star recruit was the consensus No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in the state of Michigan in the Class of 2025 and ranked among the top 250 overall players in the nation by 247Sports heading out of Frankenmuth High School. Redshirt sophomore Mikeshun Beeler is also back for the Spartans and will look to break into the playing rotation in his third season at MSU.
MSU brought in two transfers – redshirt junior Eli Coenen (Illinois) and redshirt sophomore Carlos Hazelwood (Toledo) – to help bolster the interior of the defensive line. Coenen played in all 13 games for the Fighting Illini last season, collecting 12 tackles in 222 total snaps on defense, while Hazelwood saw action in nine games for 83 snaps at Toledo.
True freshman Hudson Aultman (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin High School) enrolled early in January and will compete in spring practice for the Spartans; classmate Jackson Pahl (Howell, Mich./Howell High School) will enroll over the summer.
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Isaac Smith, who started all 12 games last season, is back for the Spartans in 2026.
EDGE/RUSH ENDS
â–ºPosition Coach: Andrew Bindelglass (first season as position coach; third overall at MSU)
â–ºIncoming freshmen (1):
• Cory House Jr. (6-4, 265, Whitehaven, Tenn./Whitehaven HS) *fall 2026
â–ºLetterwinners lost (2):
• Tyler Gillison (1L, 9 games, 2 tackles)
• David Santiago (1L, 12 games, 24 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FR, 1 FF)
The Spartans have 10 players listed at the rush end/edge position heading into spring practice, including six returning players, three transfers and one incoming freshman. Andrew Bindelglass, who coached at Minnesota under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and joined the Spartan staff in 2024, will coach the rush ends in 2026 after serving as an assistant linebackers coach last season.
Three letterwinners are back this season after earning their first Spartan letters in 2025: redshirt sophomore Kekai Burnett, redshirt sophomore Anelu Lafaele and sixth-year graduate senior Isaac Smith. Following a redshirt season in 2024, Burnett played in 10 games and saw action on 70 defensive snaps in 2025, gaining valuable experience in just his second collegiate season. Lafaele redshirted as a true freshman at Wisconsin in 2024 and was on track for a productive first season on the field in 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury at Nebraska on Oct. 4; he played in 68 snaps with seven tackles and two sacks as a third-down pass rush specialist. Smith started in all 12 games and produced 26 tackles and one sack in 287 defensive snaps, the third-most snaps among Spartan defensive edge players last season.
Three transfers who arrived in January – redshirt sophomore Trey Lisle, fifth-year graduate senior Kenny Soares Jr. and redshirt senior Keahnist Thompson – are looking to provide an impact on the pass rush for the Spartan defense.
Soares played for Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern during the 2022 season and spent three seasons overall (2022-24) with the Wildcats. After transferring to North Carolina State in 2025, Soares recorded a career-high 80 tackles, second most on the Wolfpack, and played in all 13 games, including starting assignments the last eight games in a row at middle linebacker. Soares, who has played in 41 career games, will shift to rush end for the Spartans under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi.Â
After redshirting at UCF in 2022, Thompson played in 32 games at Weber State the past three seasons (2023-25), racking up 80 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and seven sacks for the Wildcats. He led WSU with a career-high four sacks last season and ranked third on the team with seven tackles for loss in just nine games.
Lisle, who stands at 6-7, 254 pounds, has three seasons of eligibility remaining after redshirting at Southeast Missouri State in 2024 and then playing eight games last season for the Redhawks.
Redshirt sophomore Luke DeJager and redshirt freshman Cal Thrush also return to give the Spartans increased depth at the position. Redshirt junior Jaxson Wilson, who spent his first three years at MSU as a tight end, is making the switch to rush end in spring practice.
Incoming freshman Cory House Jr. (Whitehaven, Tenn./Whitehaven High School) is slated to arrive in the summer.
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LINEBACKERS
â–ºPosition Coach: Max Bullough (first season)
â–ºPlayers returning (6):
• #36 Leonard Ah-You (R-Fr., 6-3, 250, Laie, Hawai'i/Kahuku HS) 2025 (MSU): 3 games
Former Spartan linebacker and captain Max Bullough returns to East Lansing for his first season on the coaching staff as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. A two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree under Hall of Fame Coach Mark Dantonio, Bullough played three seasons in the NFL before joining the coaching ranks. He is now in his eighth season of coaching after spending one season at Cincinnati (2019), three at Alabama (2020-22) and three at Notre Dame (2023-24), most recently as the Fighting Irish linebackers coach in 2025.
Three-year letterwinner Jordan Hall, who was voted a team captain last season as a junior in 2025, will look to lead the room once again in his final season in East Lansing. Hall was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season after ranking first on the team and 11th in the Big Ten during the regular season with a career-high 88 tackles, including 4.5 for losses with 2.5 sacks. He has collected 179 tackles, 13 TFLs and seven sacks over the course of his 35 games at Michigan State.Â
Redshirt sophomore Brady Pretzlaff, who played in four games and redshirted in 2024, was limited to three games due to an injury last season. Fellow redshirt sophomore Chris Piwowarczyk also returns, in addition to three redshirt freshmen: Leonard Ah-You, DiMari Malone and DeJae White.
Three experienced transfers, all in their final season of eligibility, joined the program in January.Â
Senior Dion Crawford recorded 171 tackles, 21 TFLs and 12 sacks in three seasons (2023-25) at Buffalo, including a career-high 81 as a junior in 2025. He earned third-team All-MAC honors as a sophomore in 2024 by ranking tied for second in the MAC with a career-high 8.5 sacks and tied for third with 15 tackles for loss.
Senior Cam Stodghill played his first three seasons (2023-25) at Albany, seeing action in 25 games with 15 starts. He tallied a career-high 65 tackles during the first seven games of the 2025 season before missing the final month with an injury.
Caleb Wheatland, a fifth-year graduate senior, played in 35 games at Maryland from 2022-24, but preserved his redshirt season in 2025 by appearing in just three games at Auburn. He started 11 games at linebacker for the Terrapins in 2024 and posted a career-high 42 tackles with 7.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
The Spartans brought in true freshman Adam Shaw as an early enrollee in January; classmate Jack Lansing III will join the program over the summer.
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Sixth-year graduate senior Charles Brantley, who played at MSU from 2021-24, returns to the Spartans in 2026 after spending the 2025 season at Miami (Fla.).
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CORNERBACKS
â–ºPosition Coach: Hank Poteat (first season)
â–ºPlayers returning (4):
• #14 Andrew Brinson IV (R-So., 6-1, 186, Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS)
The Spartans will have a new look at cornerback this season under first-year position coach Hank Poteat.Â
Fifth-year senior Tre Bell, who Poteat coached at Iowa State last season, was ranked one of the top cornerback transfers in the nation by 247Sports. Bell played in all 12 games for the Cyclones during his lone season in Ames in 2025, including eight starts, and recorded 36 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, two interceptions and two pass break-ups. Bell, who also played three seasons (2022-24) at Lindenwood, has appeared in 32 career games.Â
Redshirt sophomore Tyran Chappell had a breakout year as a redshirt freshman in 2025 at Houston Christian and heads to East Lansing looking to build on that momentum in his third collegiate season. Following a redshirt year in 2024, Chappell tied for first in the Southland Conference with four interceptions last fall and also had seven PBUs; he was named to the Stats Perform FCS Freshman All-America Team and was graded the No. 2 freshman cornerback (84.8) in the FCS by Pro Football Focus.
Graduate sixth-year senior and three-year Spartan letterwinner Charles Brantley, who transferred to Miami in 2025, is back in the Green and White after a one-year hiatus. In his most recent season in East Lansing, Brantley earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades with a team-best three interceptions and seven pass break-ups despite playing in just nine games in 2024. He set a school record for the longest defensive play in MSU history with his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against Prairie View A&M. For his career, he has five picks, including two returned for scores, to go along with to go along with 23 pass break-ups in 34 career games.
In addition, the Spartans return four players at cornerback. Redshirt freshman Andrew Brinson IV lettered as a true freshman in 2024, but missed the entire season last fall with an injury; he is back and competing this spring. Fifth-year senior NiJhay Burt also redshirted last year in his first season at Michigan State following three seasons at Eastern Illinois. Redshirt senior Dorian Davis earned a letter in 2024 playing primarily special teams, and redshirt sophomore Keshawn Williams played on special teams in the final four games of 2025.
Michigan State added five freshmen cornerbacks to the 2026 roster, including three enrolled in the spring semester: KJ Deriso (Atlanta, Ga./Whitewater HS), Jeremiah Favorite (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Boiling Springs HS)Â and TJ Umenyiora (Atlanta, Ga./Trinity Catholic HS). Darelle Cochran (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale HS) and Luca Genrich (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) will join the program over the summer.
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Safety Nikai Martinez is back for his third season in East Lansing as a fifth-year senior in 2025.
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The Spartans feature a good mix of returning players, transfers and incoming freshmen to the safeties group, which is coached by James Adams, who is in his second season at Michigan State.
Fifth-year senior Nikai Martinez provided a boost to the room when he decided to return to MSU for his final season of eligibility after redshirting due to injuries last season. Martinez was limited to four games in 2025, but has been productive throughout his entire collegiate career, which includes two seasons at UCF (2022-23) and two years at Michigan State (2024-25). Over the course of 43 career games, he has recorded 150 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, five interceptions and five pass break-ups. He started 25 consecutive games at safety during the 2023-24 seasons and ranked third on the Spartans with 51 tackles in his first year in East Lansing in 2024. Martinez entered the 2025 season on the NFL Draft radar by being named to the Senior Bowl Top 300 List and expects to be a significant contributor on the back end of the Spartan defense as a senior.
In Martinez's absence, Aveon Grose (R-Sr.) saw increased playing time and gained valuable experience, appearing on 156 defensive snaps, including a fourth-quarter interception that sealed the win against Maryland in his first career start. Grose is back for his third season with the Spartans, along with sixth-year graduate senior Khalil Majeed, who earned a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after missing nearly all of the 2024 season due to an injury. A three-year letterwinner, Majeed has played in 26 career games.
Redshirt junior Caleb Gash is also returning from an injury and will provide depth at safety along with contributing on special teams. He was named one of MSU's special teams players of the week in the Week 1 win over Western Michigan with two tackles on the kick coverage unit before suffering a season-ending injury in practice in Week 2. Â
The Spartans welcomed three transfers to the program in January. Senior Michael Richard (Louisiana Tech) and redshirt junior Devin Vaught (Maine) were both multi-year starters at their previous schools who have earned postseason awards during their careers.
Richard played in 34 games for the Bulldogs from 2023-25, including 22 starts, and has played more than 1,500 snaps on defense with 104 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, three interceptions and 11 pass break-ups. He was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2023 and also earned second-team Freshman All-America honors after leading all C-USA freshmen with seven pass break-ups; he also was the fourth-highest graded defensive back in league with an 83.5 grade from Pro Football Focus. Richard posted career highs in interceptions (3), tackles (39) and TFLs (5.0) during his junior season in 2025.
Vaught redshirted his first season at Maine in 2023, but developed into a starter the past two seasons, starting 23 games for the Black Bears in 2024-25. He has six career interceptions to go along with 107 tackles and nine pass break-ups. Last season as a redshirt sophomore, Vaught was named a second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honoree after ranking second in the conference with three interceptions for 101 return yards, leading the team with five PBUs, and ranking second on the team with a career-high 60 tackles.Â
Redshirt junior Trevaughn Martinez, who is the younger brother of Nikai Martinez, enrolled in January and will add depth at safety. He spent the previous three seasons at Western Carolina (2023-25), although he didn't see the field due to injuries.Â
All three freshmen safeties that Michigan State signed in December are with the Spartans during spring practice: Eliyjah Caldwell (Jacksonville, Fla./Impact Christian Academy), Jonathan Granby (Roswell, Ga./Fellowship Christian School) and Brayden Thomas (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward HS). Â
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LeVar Woods is in his first season as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Spartans after spending the last 18 seasons at Iowa.
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SPECIALISTS
â–ºPosition Coach: LeVar Woods (first season)
â–ºSpecialists returning (1):
• #40 PK Tarik Ahmetbasic (R-So., 6-2, 204, Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley HS)
• P #9 Rhys Dakin (Jr., 6-4, 228, Melbourne, Australia/Mazenod College/Iowa) 2025 (Iowa): 13 games, 42 punts for 1,833 yards, 43.6 avg., 18 inside the 20, 20 fair catches, 10 50+
• LS #88 Nick Duzansky (R-Jr., 6-5, 189, Wheaton, Ill./St. Francis HS/Oregon)
• P #49 Alex Weeks (R-Fr., 6-4, 191, Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS/Northern Arizona)
â–ºIncoming freshmen (2):
• PK Stephen Gonzales (6-0, 160, Monroe, N.C./Union Academy HS)
• LS Trey Serauskis (6-0, 205, Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East HS)
â–ºLetterwinners lost (4):
• PK Martin Connington (1L, 11 games, 12-of-16 FGs, 27-of-28 PATs, 37 kickoffs for 2,294 yards, 62.0 avg.)Â
• P Ryan Eckley (3L, 12 games, 49 punts for 2,378 yards, 48.5 avg., 20 inside the 20, 11 fair catches, 23 50+)
• Carson Voss (1L, 2 games)
• LS Jack Wills (1L, 12 games)
Michigan State will have a dedicated special teams coordinator in 2026 as veteran coach LeVar Woods – who spent the last 18 seasons at Iowa, including 14 coaching special teams – will direct the special teams' units. Highly respected as one of the best special teams coaches in the country, Woods has coached multiple All-Americans, national award winners, NFL Draft picks, Pro Bowlers and all-conference players.
Although All-American Ryan Eckley decided to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, the Spartans are reloading at punter as junior Rhys Dakin transferred from Iowa to Michigan State with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Dakin was a Freshman All-American for the Hawkeyes in 2024 and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten plaudits as a sophomore after averaging 43.6 yards per punt, including 18 inside the 20. Redshirt freshman Alex Weeks also arrived in January after redshirting at Northern Arizona in 2025.
MSU will also feature a new placekicker in 2026. Incoming fifth-year graduate senior Liam Boyd spent the 2025 season at Charlotte, connecting on 9-of-12 field goals and all 15 of his PATs while averaging 60.6 yards on kickoffs. Redshirt sophomore Tarik Ahmetbasic is also back for the Spartans in the spring, while incoming freshman Stephen Gonzales will arrive prior to preseason camp.
At long snapper, the Spartans welcomed Oregon transfer Nick Duzansky (R-Jr.) in January and will bring in freshman Trey Serauskis in the summer.
