Michigan State receiver Chrishon McCray catches a pass during football practice on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is WR MSU's Deepest Position Group?

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 8:36 AM ET

The Michigan State Spartans upgraded their wide receiver room tremendously this offseason.

With Montorie Foster Jr. off to the NFL and players like Jaron Glover, Aziah Johnson and Jaelen Smith in the transfer portal, Jonathan Smith knew he needed more pass-catching talent on the roster.

So, Smith and Courtney Hawkins went out and found several talented receivers to fill the room behind Nick Marsh. The current wide receiver room should be much better than last year’s group.

By improving at wide receiver, MSU has given itself a better team around quarterback Aidan Chiles. With more explosive perimeter options, Chiles should produce at a higher level.

Is the wide receiver room the strongest position group on this Spartan team?

It is, and here’s why.

The Spartan receivers

Marsh has the chance to develop into one of the top receivers in college football this upcoming season. He was just behind Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Alabama’s Ryan Williams among freshman wide receivers in 2024.

With a year under his belt and the understanding that he is "the guy" in this Spartan offense, Marsh could be in for a big year leading the team’s passing offense.

The Spartans’ top two transfers, Omari Kelly and Chrishon McCray, have already made strong impressions on the coaching staff and their teammates.

Kelly, who joins MSU from Middle Tennessee, has solidified himself as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver. He has experience with the Blue Raiders and also spent time at Auburn.

His speed and explosiveness should provide an element to this offense that it did not have last season.

McCray was a star on a winless Kent State team in 2024. Defenses had to account for where he was on the field for every snap, and he still produced at a high level, scoring nine touchdowns.

McCray will be the team’s third receiver, and settling in as a depth piece will be beneficial for him. His role makes the receivers the strongest group on the team.

The Spartans are noticeably deep at receiver because of a few of their other transfers, like Central Michigan’s Evan Boyd and Valdosta State’s Rodney Bullard Jr.

MSU’s receivers will carry the offense, and it is hard not to point at that group as the team’s deepest position group.

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