Nov 30, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Max Bullough (40) and Michigan State Spartans defensive tackle Tyler Hoover (91) talk on field during the 2nd half a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 14-3. Mike Carter-Imagn Images

MSU's Bullough Delivers Fiery Speech During Team Meeting

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 12:00 PM ET

A new era of Michigan State football is truly underway.

Pat Fitzgerald has gotten the majority of his transfer portal class together, and plenty are enrolled and on campus already. There are enough bodies in the building that MSU had a team meeting. New co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Max Bullough spoke during said meeting, and there are a few memorable quotes from it.

What Bullough Said

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A portion of Bullough's speech was posted by the team on social media. Bullough didn't waste any time to get his first message across.

"The first thing I want to say to you guys is we don't take a backseat to anybody," Bullough said. "You understand me? You wanna write something down, write that down. Not today, not tomorrow, nobody."

Bullough is here to try to restore Michigan State to the glory it had when he was playing. That means Big Ten titles, Rose Bowls, which would also mean CFP berths with playoff expansion. To get there, the mentality that MSU belongs in that discussion has to be established.

You can't win a Big Ten title without beating Ohio State out for it, without beating Indiana (now) for it, without beating Penn State for it, and without being Oregon (now) for it. If players think there is an inherent, tiered system that puts the Buckeyes ahead of the Spartans, any game between those two teams will essentially be over before the game gets kicked off.

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It's a tougher message to send in an era of the transfer portal, but there has to be some loyalty to the school itself. Bullough did just say that Michigan State cannot accept inferiority to anybody, but five-stars aren't exactly tripping over themselves to play for the Spartans.

Indiana has proven that teams don't need a ton of blue-chip high school recruits to win in this era, but there is the fact that IU identifies undervalued talent better than anybody. But what also sticks out is that everyone, including transfers, loves the school. Listen to a video of the Hoosiers singing their fight song after a victory; it's not done half-heartedly.

"At the end of the day, guys, we've got to be willing --- all of us in this room --- we've got to be willing to give ourselves to Michigan State," Bullough said. "Let's invest in what we have in this room, and with these people, and see what the hell could happen."

It certainly seems Bullough will have a very hands-on approach. He knows what it takes to succeed in East Lansing more than anybody else on the staff. This speech is just one of his first official acts in his return.