EAST LANSING, Mich. – Although it was quarter past 6 a.m. and sunrise was still over an hour away, the Michigan State football team hit the outdoor turf practice field under the lights on Tuesday morning with temperatures in the 60s as the Spartans conducted the seventh of their 15 allotted spring practices.
Following practice, first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald provided the media an update on the Spartans as the team is in its third week of spring ball.
"Can't believe it's already practice seven in the books, so kind of over the hill already on our first spring, and the guys are working really hard," said Fitzgerald. "Glad we could get outside today. What's jumping out to me right now is just the guys' work ethic and their attitude. They're showing up, it's early – we all know it's early – and they could use that as an excuse, but instead I think they're using it as motivation to come out and get ready to go.
"Collectively as a group I've been pleased. Obviously, a lot of the little things and details, we have a long way to go. Heavy, heavy install right now with scheme, heavy install with fundamental and technique, and then coming together collectively in all three phases. It's a heavy work in progress, but the guys are putting that work in, which I'm appreciative for."
One new member of the Spartan coaching staff this season is offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, who has coached 15 seasons in college, including previous experience as the offensive coordinator at Alabama and Indiana. Fitzgerald spoke on Tuesday about why he felt like Sheridan was the right person to put in charge of the Spartan offense.
"I have been watching that offense for a number of years," said Fitzgerald. "I think I mentioned this a couple of months ago, but I tried to hire Kalen (DeBoer) when he was at Indiana, and then he got the Fresno State job. So I've been watching that offense for a while (Sheridan and DeBoer spent five seasons together on the same staff). The multiplicity of it, the way that it's able to use all of its weapons and move them around and get matchups that are advantageous for us, the ability to really put the ball in your playmakers' hands in a number of different ways is what was attractive to me.
"Then, as we went through the interview process, Nick doesn't like football, Nick loves football, and he exudes it every day. Unbelievable teacher – the way that we have gone about building relationships offensively has been directed by him. They've done a really good job collectively as a staff to pouring into the offensive players. So that's a work in progress, but going in the right direction.
"I think the way that he lets the coaches coach, too, he's installing, he's up there in front, and then as we kind of section out and go into position meetings, allowing the coaches to coach, which is going to be really important as we move forward, because as a coordinator, you can't do everything. You have to set the tone, you have to set the vision, and then you have to let your coaches coach, and he's done a really good job of that." Nick Sheridan is in his first season as offensive coordinator after spending the past two seasons at Alabama.
Sheridan's father, Bill, was an assistant coach at Michigan State for two seasons (1998-99) under Nick Saban and one season under Bobby Williams (2000).
"It was an easy (decision)," said Sheridan on coming to Michigan State to be on Fitzgerald's staff. "Certainly, there's history here with my dad coaching here when I was a kid, so I was very familiar with the community, the school, the history, the tradition. I've told a lot of people that when I was 10, 11, 12 years old, Bill Burke, Chris Baker, Plaxico Burress, Gari Scott, Amp Campbell, Sorie Kanu, I remember all of these guys. These guys were heroes to me, they were giants to me. TJ Turner, Josh Thornhill, I could go on and on.
"And so, this was an easy decision. It was an opportunity for me to come home. My wife is from 20 minutes down the road, my parents live an hour and a half from here, and when I was kind of growing up in college and after college, I looked up to Pat Fitzgerald. That was someone I wanted to emulate. So, this was a very easy decision for me and one that I'm extremely grateful and appreciative of, and I have a lot of familiarity with the school, the history and the tradition."
"Being a coach's kid, you can just tell that every aspect of football he absolutely loves," remarked Fitzgerald. "It makes it a joy to be around."
"Coach Sheridan, the offense we've been able to put in, he makes us work hard," said redshirt junior tight end Brennan Parachek. "That's just what he does. He's very detailed, and he wants the best for us. He's going to coach us hard, and I don't think you would want anything else."
When he was first starting out his coaching journey, Sheridan said he wrote a note to Fitzgerald out of admiration – and Fitzgerald took the time to write him back.
"I still have that note," Sheridan reminisced. "I'm sure many of you have similar stories about trying to reach out to people, and I wrote a ton of notes and there were a ton that I didn't get back, so I thought that spoke a ton about who he is. It was not a surprise. I wasn't expecting it, but it just speaks to who he is and the type of person he is. His love for football and coaching, and he just recognized a young coach who was eager to learn and try to learn, network, and get better, and he was gracious enough to write me back."
As for his offensive philosophy, Sheridan outlined his F.A.S.T. approach.
"We tell people we're an attacking, answer-based offense that features its playmakers," said Sheridan. "There's a lot of layers to that, and the acronym that we use on how we want to play, we say want to play F.A.S.T: Fundamentally sound, attacking, smart, and tough.
"So, we kind of combine those things, like I said, there's a lot of layers to that, attacking in nature, the way that we play. The decisions that we make, the schemes that we implement.
"We want to provide answers for the players, whether it be answers to front structures, coverage structures, or personnel. Where there's a great player one way and weaknesses the other way, we want to make sure we give our players answers. And then we want to feature our playmakers, we want to put our players in the best position to be successful, and that includes everybody: wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, quarterbacks, all the way through the offensive line. We've had great success in this offense doing that and utilizing people in a lot of different ways in all different positions.
"We're in the infant stages of finding out what our players do well, and that's really what spring ball is for, to establish a style of play, the way we want to play, the effort and toughness we want to play with. But also trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the players, so that we can expand on that after spring and into the summer and certainly into the fall." Ben Roberts (No. 55) looks to lead the interior of the Spartan defensive line in 2026.
On the defensive side of the ball, redshirt senior defensive tackle Ben Roberts talked about the enjoyment he's having this spring playing for Fitzgerald, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III.
"I think it's definitely a blessing to have Coach Fitz," said Roberts. "He's done a great job trying to establish a culture and trying to bring this place and put it back on top where it belongs. Obviously, Coach Dantonio and all of them have done it. Everybody on the team, we have faith and believe in Coach Fitz and what he can do.
"As a defense, we just have to be able to come together and lean on each other and take every opportunity we get with all of these practices – we only get 15 – we just got to take advantage of it, and then it's just another opportunity for us to all come together. Coach Debo (DeLattiboudere) has been great. He recruited me out of Oregon, when I first got out of high school, so it's kind of full circle. He coached a lot of my best friends and cousins at Oregon, so being able to get coached by him finally is definitely a blessing."
Roberts is entering his fifth and final collegiate season in 2026, and his third at Michigan State.
"For me, it was no doubt," said Roberts on returning to the Spartans. "I kind of went into break knowing that I was coming back. Coach Rossi has done a great job with me, he's one of the best defensive coordinators in the country – who wouldn't want to play for Coach Rossi? He brings the fire every day, and that's why we want to play."
Roberts said he is focusing on helping all of his teammates become better players this season.
"I just want to help everybody around me," commented Roberts when asked about his goals for the season. "Make sure that everybody is good and everybody is smiling."
"(Ben) has a big heart, a big presence, he cares about his teammates, he cares about Michigan State," said Fitzgerald. "He's been a huge influence on bringing that d-line together and the team together. He was elected to the unity council by his teammates. So when you see that, I think it speaks volumes to his leadership."
MSU has eight spring practices left and will return to the practice field later this week on Thursday and Saturday.
Michigan State's 15 spring practices will conclude with the Spring Showcase, presented by Michigan Achievement Scholarship, in Spartan Stadium on Saturday, April 18 at noon.
