How MSU Special Teams Already Making Big Leap With Fitzgerald, Woods
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EAST LANSING -- Michigan State's program outlook would be a lot different had it had better special teams play last season.
Poor execution and/or game planning in that phase were a major factor in three of MSU's losses last year: Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa. Flip those results, and the Spartans make a bowl game, and Jonathan Smith is still the head coach. Now, with Pat Fitzgerald in charge, he's made a big push to improve that aspect of the game, and it's already paying dividends.
Hiring of LeVar Woods
There was one thing Fitzgerald did this offseason that was an obvious "A+" move: hiring LeVar Woods to be the team's new special teams coordinator. Woods previously held the same position at Iowa (he also added the assistant head coach title at MSU) and quickly became known as perhaps the best special teams coach in college football.
Woods then got to work on changing everything about the third phase at Michigan State. The Spartans have a new kicker, punter, long snapper, and kick return specialist this year, and all of the starters are players Woods and Michigan State landed from the transfer portal.
Analysis of Special Teams Execution
If you're a believer in analytics, they say MSU's special teams have been elite so far. According to The Athletic, the Spartans rank third in the country in special teams EPA (standing for expected points added), and they also top all the teams in the Power Four in that department. I asked Fitzgerald about that during his Monday press conference to see if he had any praise for that phase of the game. He used it as an opportunity to say they've got a long way to go.
"I don't think we're anywhere close to where we can be in the kick game. I think we've got a ton of work to do there, and like I've said since after the first game, we're digging the hole and building the foundation of the culture and the way that we wanna play in the kick game. Coach Woods and I have competed against each other for a long time. It's funny, we kinda had a little banter back and forth about our competition against each other."
"But we both had established units and ways and mindsets and attitudes and character that we established at both our previous institutions. I would say that right now we feel internally like we're a work in progress. We're not there yet fundamentally. We're not there in execution. We're not there in details, and I just think we can play faster. I think we can play more physical."
The refusal to hand out praise is understandable. Fitzgerald is trying to build Michigan State from the ground up, after all, and a great way to stall progress is to act like anything is a remotely finished product. He can't say it, but I can: the special teams play from MSU has been much better to begin the season.
The previously mentioned article from The Athletic suggests that the Spartans' special teams play may have made the difference in the game against Toledo. It says Michigan State gained 16 "expected" points from its play in that phase, which is pretty significant in a game that MSU won by just 10. Five made field goals, three of which were from 40+, and an average starting field position 15 yards better than the Rockets' definitely explain that.
Michigan State allowed Toledo to block one 54-yard field goal attempt, but that's the only clear special-teams hiccup this year. From an EPA standpoint, that mistake doesn't even cost all that much because the field goal attempt was pretty long.
Beyond that, it's been a lot of good. Kicker Liam Boyd didn't even try a field goal against Eastern Michigan after his stellar Spartan debut, but he's also contributed by having 10 of his 13 kickoffs be touchbacks thus far. The three kicks that were brought out were taken down at the 22-, 23-, and 28-yardlines, so kick coverage has been decent thus far. Even the return that went out to the 28 required EMU to pull out a cross-field lateral.
Punter Rhys Dakin has also been great, as expected. He was called upon only three times during MSU's first two games, but two of those three kicks were beauties. His only punt against Toledo was fair caught at the eight-yard line after a 44-yard boot, and his first punt against the Eagles on Saturday was knocked out of bounds by Tre Bell at the three-yard line after a 59-yard punt.
The Spartans also have playmakers at kick returner and punt returner. Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams has only gotten one shot at it so far on a kickoff, but his first return at Michigan State went 47 yards to Toledo's 45-yard line.
Punt returner Chrishon McCray has averaged a solid 15.3 yards per return on four tries thus far. His best came against Eastern Michigan, when he made a couple of defenders miss on the sideline during a 31-yard return that put MSU on the opposing 24-yard line. The Spartans' offense scored a touchdown three plays later.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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