Michigan State offensive lineman Matt Allen (64) celebrates the 37-33 win over Michigan at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Familiar Face Joins MSU Coaching Staff

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Feb 24, 2026 7:00 AM ET

A former starting offensive lineman at Michigan State has returned to his alma mater to help out on the team's coaching staff.

Former MSU center Matt Allen is back. He's officially been added to the team's coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Allen played in 44 games across six total seasons with the program from 2016-21, starting 30 times. The term "SD4L" is definitely something that belonged alongside him already.

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New head coach Pat Fitzgerald has outspokenly talked about his admiration for the program Mark Dantonio ran in East Lansing that he observed from afar during his time at Northwestern. It doesn't feel like a huge surprise that Fitzgerald has added another one of Dantonio's former players to the staff.

Fitzgerald has already also added Dantonio era legend Max Bullough to the staff as the team's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins also played at MSU, but he played from 1988-91 during the George Perles era. That restoration to the old, blue-collar culture at Michigan State is been something Fitzgerald has brought up often, too. Allen is another guy who has experienced that.

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The most successful season for Allen came with Mel Tucker as the head coach in 2021, but four of his six years with the program were while Dantonio was in charge. Allen started all 13 of the Spartans' games that season, helping block for now-legendary running back and Kenneth Walker III, who just became the Super Bowl MVP. Allen received honorable mention all-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media that season as well.

Allen also started seven games in 2018, nine games in 2019, and one game in 2020. Most of the games he didn't start throughout his career from the 2018 season onward were because he wasn't able to play at all due to injury.

Now back in East Lansing, Allen is going to get the chance to gain some coaching experience and perhaps jumpstart a career in the coaching sphere. He'll likely be working with MSU's offensive line a fair bit, where he would work underneath head offensive line coach Nick Tabacca and assistant offensive line coach Colin Johnson.

Michigan State's offensive line is also bound to look a lot different in 2026. If there is one player Allen would likely work with individually the most, it would probably be North Dakota State transfer Trent Fraley, who is projected to start at Allen's old position.