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Published Jan 12, 2025
Michigan State to promote GA Cordale Grundy to assistant TE coach
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Jacob Cotsonika  â€¢  Spartans Illustrated
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Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said that Cordale Grundy will be promoted to assistant wide receivers coach. He has actually been promoted to assistant tight ends coach.

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Michigan State and head coach Jonathan Smith continue to elevate analysts and graduate assistants to higher roles, with offensive graduate assistant coach Cordale Grundy the latest staff member to get a promotion. He will now serve as assistant tight ends coach. Corey Robinson was first to report the news of Grundy's promotion.

Grundy has already been helping out lead wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins since he joined Smith’s initial staff in East Lansing in February of 2024. Grundy worked closely with MSU's wideouts this past season.

Moving forward, Grundy will work under MSU tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator Brian Wozniak.

Grundy has also had a part in MSU’s overhaul of the wide receivers room since the end of the 2024 season. Grundy has helped Smith and Hawkins get transfers Chrishon McCray (Kent State), Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee State), Rod Bullard (Valdosta State) and Evan Boyd (Central Michigan) to East Lansing. He also assisted with the high school recruitments of incoming true freshmen Braylon Collier, Bryson Williams and Charles Taplin.

Before his time with the Spartans, Grundy most recently was a part of the Colorado football staff as a graduate assistant coach. While with the Buffaloes, he was actually helping out with the defense, more specifically the nickel backs and the safeties.

He began his coaching career at Minnesota.

Grundy also comes with some NFL coaching experience, as he spent some time there after his brief stint with the Golden Gophers. He was an assistant cornerbacks coach with the Miami Dolphins during the 2021 season and an offensive assistant and scout in 2020 under then-head coach and current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Before he became a coach, Grundy was a college quarterback. He started out at the junior college level at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, but eventually transferred to UTSA and started nine of the Roadrunners’ games in 2018.

Grundy's promotion comes during a flurry of news regarding the Michigan State coaching staff. Smith has recently hired Jon Boyer as quarterbacks coach, hired James Adams as safeties coach, promoted offensive analyst Aaron Pflugrad to passing game coordinator, promoted defensive graduate assistant coach Antjuan Simmons to assistant defensive line coach, promoted defensive analyst Andrew Bindelglass to assistant linebackers coach, promoted graduate assistant Jacob Lail to assistant offensive line coach, elevated Joe Begnal to assistant special teams coordinator and promoted Christian Pwaola to assistant defensive backs coach.

MSU also had a departure from its coaching staff this offseason, as cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin left in December to take an assistant coaching job at UCLA.

The now larger coaching staff for the Spartans comes after a recent rule change in June of 2024 by the NCAA Division I Council, which removed restrictions regarding countable coaches. Now, any staff member may provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes during practice and competition. Prior to the rule change, schools were only permitted to have 11 on-field coaches. With Grundy's promotion, MSU currently has 18 known on-field coaches for the 2025 season.

Notably, the NCAA still limits how many staff members are allowed to recruit off campus, which is 11.


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