As the 2023 college football season quickly approaches with fall camp starting next week, Michigan State’s roster for the upcoming campaign appears to be set, barring any surprise late additions. Out of every position group outside of quarterback, wide receiver may be the most intriguing position battle to watch heading into the year.
Michigan State wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins and assistant wide receivers coach Tino Smith II have their work cut out for them after losing a massive chunk of production from last year’s group. Jayden Reed departed for the NFL, while Keon Coleman (Florida State) and Germie Bernard (Washington) — who had the potential to lead the next generation of MSU wide receivers — entered the transfer portal. Coleman led MSU in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, while Reed, who missed time with injury, ranked second on the team in those categories. The duo combined for 113 catches, 1,434 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. That is a significant amount of production to replace.
Quarterback and two-year starter Payton Thorne also left for the portal following the spring, which means a new quarterback — either redshirt junior Noah Kim or redshirt freshman Katin Houser — will need to get quickly acclimated to the wire receivers. The key losses here are hard to overlook for an offense that already had a hard time finding an identity, but there’s no time to dwell as the room oozes with potential and others will be ready to step up.
To be fair, It’s unrealistic to assume someone will come in and immediately replace the steady reliability of a Reed or the athleticism and big-play ability of a Coleman, but you can bet someone will take advantage of the opportunity and carve out a role in their own style for the new-look offensive unit. It may have been time for a clean slate following a disappointing 2022 campaign, and I'm excited to see who will grab the opportunities and run with it. Let’s get into it.
Let's break down Michigan State's wide receivers group further.
Returning:
Not many of the returnees at wideout for Michigan State are household names yet, but like the talent in the room, personally. There are a lot of young players in the wide receivers group who are looking to take on bigger roles for the Spartans in 2023, and will have the opportunity to earn increased playing time.
Tre Mosley returns for his fifth season as the most proven wideout on the roster, totaling 98 receptions, 1,176 yards (12.0 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns in four years. He took a step back in yardage production last year compared to his junior season with the emergence of Coleman (530 yards in 2021 compared to 359 yards in 2022), but will be counted on to take a large leap forward.
Mosley has played mostly in the slot during his time in East Lansing (he has played nearly 90% of his total snaps in the slot in each of the past two seasons), but could potentially make a move to the outside given his experience and catching ability. The sure-handed Mosley is now considered the "OG" of the wide receivers room, and is ready to "dominate" in 2023, as well as lead his positional group and the entire team.
Outside of Mosley, the Spartans have a few other veteran options who will also be looking to take on bigger role. Senior Montorie Foster Jr. is a dynamic athlete and has shown moments of brilliance in limited action over the past two seasons. Foster played in 10 games last season, including 120 offensive snaps, but it has been mentioned this offseason that he was also dealing with an injury in 2022. The senior was productive in limited action over the last two seasons, totaling 17 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns. With an opportunity to earn a significant amount of additional reps this season, expect to see a nice jump in those numbers, if he can lock down a regular spot in the rotation.
Redshirt junior Christian Fitzpatrick played in just five games last year before his season was cut short due to injury. At 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, he is the biggest wide receiver listed on MSU's roster. The big-bodied wideout will likely be asked to make more plays on the outside this year, especially with the absence of Coleman. The former Louisville transfer was buried in the depth chart over the last two seasons and has been unlucky with injuries, but if he can stay healthy, there should be plenty of opportunity to flourish.
The trio of talented second-year receivers of Tyrell Henry (sophomore), Antonio Gates Jr. (redshirt freshman), and Jaron Glover (redshirt freshman) will enter the fold for significant playing time this year. In my opinion, they are the wild cards at the position and I’d venture to guess at least one of them will end up starting day one, while all three could potentially play strong roles. Again, they''ll have to earn it, though.
Henry played in 11 games last season and ended up as the team’s primary kick return specialist, which is likely to remain the case in 2023, but could also translate into a larger role on offense as well. Henry recorded 10 kick returns for 183 yards (18.3 yards per return) in 2022. The local product from Roseville was listed among the best overall players in the state of Michigan as a recruit in 2022, and in a tweet responding to Keon Coleman's departure from the program, Henry vowed to "show out" in his replacement. The confidence is nice to see and he will be someone to keep an eye on as Henry has a chance to be a breakout players for the Spartans.
Gates had an impressive spring practice, displaying a solid connection with potential starting quarterback Noah Kim, and was able to show flashes of big play potential in the vertical game. He comes from a well known football background as his father, Antonio Gates Sr., was an eight-time Pro-Bowler in the NFL. The physicality stands out with the younger Gates, who checks in at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, and we know soft hands runs in the family.
Glover, like Gates, redshirted last year but has the talent to get into the mix here as well. The Florida product has an exciting combination of size and speed at the position and has added about 10 pounds in weight since arriving to campus. Hawkins called the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Glover the "hidden gem" of the 2022 class coming out of high school, while head coach Mel Tucker called him a "true burner." Glover, who played in just one game in 2022 (versus Akron), will now an opportunity to live up to his billing.
MSU also returns redshirt junior (and former quarterback) Zach Gillespie, redshirt senior Nick Hunter, redshirt junior Aubrey Dawkins, redshirt freshman Tyler Vroman, redshirt junior Sebastian Brown and redshirt freshman Alex Watters
Newcomers:
The Spartans were once again active in the transfer portal overall and picked up a solid piece in former Nebraska wide receiver Alante Brown as the lone wideout transfer ahead of the 2023 campaign. Brown, a one-time Spartan commit as a high school recruit, will come into East Lansing looking to earn a larger role than he had in Lincoln. In three seasons at Nebraska, Brown caught 22 passes for 262 yards and was also active in the return game. He did start 10 games for the Cornhuskers in 2022, but that only translated into He had 16 receptions for 191 yards.
Outside of Brown, the only new faces will come from the 2023 recruiting class and walk-ons (such as Jack Yanachik and Grant Calcagno). Jaelen Smith and Aziah Johnson are both three-star prospects Tucker and Hawkins were able to nab toward the back end of the recruiting cycle.
Smith is a 6-foot-2 prospect out of Houston (although he is originally from New York) who comes into the program with a good combination of size, speed and physicality. He was the Texas District 15-6A Player of the Year and amassed 2,051 all-purpose yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior in 2022. Following his official visit in December of 2022, Smith told Spartans Illustrated the following: "I've wanted to go (to Michigan State) since I was a kid growing up in the East (in New York)." Now that dream has become a reality for Smith, who has generated a little bit of buzz this summer and could be a future difference-maker for MSU, whether that be this season or in a couple of years.
Johnson, who was listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds coming out of high school, was listed as an athlete in the 2023 class, but was recruited as a wide receiver. At Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond, Virginia, he was named first team all-region as a wide receiver and defensive back, and named both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. It's unclear how much playing time Johnson will get as a true freshman, but like Smith, he has the skill set to make a future impact.
Things to look out for:
There is more to the offensive equation than just the wide receivers.
The obvious thing to watch heading into fall camp will be the competition under center between Kim and Houser. It’s unclear how long the battle will bleed into fall camp (or beyond), but either way, the Spartans will at least have a confident starter and capable backup. The quicker the quarterbacks can build chemistry with the wide receivers, the better, obviously. Ultimately, the receivers who separate themselves talent-wise will likely get the most opportunities, but the chemistry between quarterbacks and wide receivers will be something to keep an eye on.
One of the brighter storylines coming from the offseason is the offensive line depth. For what seems like the first time in years (barring perhaps 2021), MSU will have a solid rotation there from the jump and will look to get back to where Tucker feels most comfortable: pounding the rock. Too often last year, the team would rely on big plays in the passing game to keep them competitive in games. Injuries on the line simply made it harder for the Spartans to establish a consistent running game, and in turn, made them more predictable in the passing game. Offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic is a great talent developer, and should have a lot more to work with in 2023 compared to 2022.
If the Spartans can improve on the ground, it could simplify things for offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, the starting quarterback and for the young receivers. The coaching staff also values blocking at the position (with a mantra of "no block, no rock") and if someone stands out there, it could garner them more action.
Also in the passing game, Michigan State also overhauled the tight ends room this offseason, and will hope to see more production out of that group in 2023.
As it stands, there’s still more questions to be answered on offense, but the uncertainty can be exciting in a way. There’s plenty of unproven talent at the wide receiver position and it will be up a fun storyline to watch and see who will develop into playmakers on Saturdays. MSU has a solid history of development at wide receiver, and you can expect by this time next year, a few of these names will become very familiar.
