Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III avoids a tackle by Michigan's R.J. Moten during his touchdown run during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Syndication Lansing State Journal Nick King/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

When Nick Marsh Knew He Wanted to Be a Spartan

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 5:19 PM ET

Oct. 30, 2021 was a day that will forever be remembered by the Michigan State faithful.

It was the day that in-state rivals Michigan State and Michigan, both 7-0 and both ranked top-10 in the nation, met in East Lansing in what was the most highly anticipated matchup between the two programs since 2015.

The Spartans handed the Wolverines their first loss in what was a narrow 37-33 victory for the Green and White, and not only does it serves as one of the most iconic meetings in the history of the rvialry, but it also happened to win over the top receiver on Michigan State's current team, sophomore Nick Marsh.

Marsh was in attendance for a recruiting visit. And it was that day that he knew he wanted to be a Spartan.

When Nick Marsh wanted to be a Spartan

"2021 against the school down the road," said Marsh. "That kind of made my decision there. Just being here at that game, seeing Kenneth (Walker III) go for five, and just seeing the energy, Chuck's (Charles Brantley's) interception at the end. And then, I just realized how lit the city was and how uplifting it was after the game. I was like, 'Man, this is the place I can be.'

"And just coming here, I've seen a little bit of drought as that 2021 team started to disperse. Then I wanted to come back to East Lansing and be (part of) that uplifting again.

As Marsh mentioned, the program fell off after that 2021 season when it won 11 games. It hasn't had a winning season since, hasn't made a bowl game and hasn't beaten Michigan.

This season will be an opportunity to end all of those droughts. So, how do the Spartans make East Lansing a football city again?

"(It's) got to be some type of trust," Marsh said. "They (the fans) trust in us to do our job inside of here, and they're supporting us on the outside, so just keep that in the back of our heads knowing that we got a lot of people depending on us to be great. So, we're just doing everything that we can to be great out here so we can show it on the field."

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