2026 Michigan State Football Positional Preview: Quarterbacks

Football is nearly back for Michigan State, as the Spartans report to fall camp on Wednesday, Aug. 5 and will have their first practice on Saturday, Aug. 6. MSU ushers in a new era as head coach Pat Fitzgerald readies for his first season at the helm in East Lansing.

Michigan State opens the season on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo. Prior to that, Spartans Illustarted will take a look at each positional group on MSU's 2026 roster. The Spartans' new-look roster includes many returners from the 2025 team, more than 30 new transfers and a plethora of true freshmen.

There are many starting positions and rotational roles available that will be earned during fall camp. One of the few positions that enters the 2026 campaign with an unquestioned starter, however, is quarterback. Fitzgerald has been adamant that Alessio Milivojevic is his starter, and for good reason. But what does the depth look like behind Milivojevic?

We begin our 2026 positional preview series by examining MSU's group of quarterbacks.

Starter: Alessio Milivojevic (redshirt sophomore)

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Now in his third year at the college level, Alessio Milivojevic enters a season as the starting signal-caller for the first time in his career. He appeared in nine games in 2025, including starting the final four games of the campaign. He played in one game in 2024 as a true freshman.

During the 2025 season, Milivojevic completed 111 out of 173 passes (64%) for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown. The Naperville, Illinois native played 319 offensive snaps in total. The now 6-foot-3, 223-pound Milivojevic's toughness and ability to stand in the pocket and take hit after hit and still make plays were aspects of his game that immediately stood out as a redshirt freshman last year.

Milivojevic took over for previous starter Aidan Chiles last season, and made his starting debut in a close 23-20 loss in overtime at Minnesota in November. Milivojevic also made starts against Penn State, Iowa and Maryland, and led the Spartans to their only Big Ten win of the season in the regular-season finale against the Terrapins at Ford Field in Detroit.

A lot has changed since then. After playing under former MSU head coach Jonathan Smith and former MSU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren for two seasons (along with quarterbacks coach Jon Boyer in 2025), Milivojevic will now learn under the tutelage of Fitzgerald, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan and quarterbacks coach John McNulty in 2026. Chiles left the program and transferred to Northwestern. Without a doubt, Milivojevic is now one of the biggest leaders for the Spartans — and he feels more than ready for the challenge.

“Being the starting quarterback, there's going to be a ton of questions surrounding you, surrounding your teammates, surrounding your coaches,” Milivojevic said during Big Ten Media Days. “So I think it's just embracing it and coming in every day with a positive mindset and just listening to those questions and giving them the right answers.”

Fitzgerald has consistently praised Milivojevic's leadership, toughness and ability. It didn't take Fitzgerald long to put his trust in Milivojevic and identify him as his guy at arguably the most important position in sports. If the Spartans are going to find success in 2026, Milivojevic's play is going to be crucial, as he looks to take the next step forward in his career.

Projected backup: Cam Fancher (sixth-year senior)

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While Milivojevic is locked in as Michigan State's starter, he is still young, and the Spartans' quarterbacks room includes several players who are yet to play a collegiate snap. Enter Cam Fancher, a veteran signal-caller who enrolled in East Lansing in January after transferring to MSU from Central Florida. The left-hander was able to acclimate himself to his new surroundings and new offense by participating in spring ball with the Spartans in March and April.

Heading into fall camp, Fitzgerald said Fancher will serve as MSU’s backup quarterback.

Fancher — who also made collegiate stops at Marshall and Florida Atlantic — brings needed experience to McNulty's quarterbacks room. He is somebody the coaching staff can depend on to run the offense if Milivojevic needs to leave the game for any reason this season. With his rushing ability, it would not be surprising to possibly see packages in Sheridan's offense where Fancher enters the game to try to pick up first downs or score touchdowns near the goal line as well.

After only appearing in three games (two starts) for UCF in 2025, Fancher was granted a sixth year of eligibility due to injuries. Fancher completed 41 of 72 passes (56.9%) for 333 yards. He added 170 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. Over the course of his career, Fancher has played in 37 games, with 28 starts. He has completed 503 out of 834 passing attempts (60.3%) for 5,627 yards, 27 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He has also rushed for 1,292 yards and nine touchdowns.

Adding a seasoned quarterback in the transfer portal appeared to be a priority for Fitzgerald and and company.

Notably, Fancher previously played in Spartan Stadium in 2024 when MSU defeated FAU by a final score of 16-10.

Depth: Leo Hannan, (redshirt freshman)

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With Milivojevic leading the offense as the starter and Fancher entering camp as the backup, Hannan will look to solidify himself as Michigan State's third option on the depth chart — with the opportunity to perhaps eventually unseat Fancher as second-stringer with a strong performance in camp or further into the season as well. However, in addition to chasing Fancher, Hanann will also have to fight off promising true freshman Kayd Coffman (more on him below). Don't count Hannan out as a potential starter for the Spartans in future seasons, though.

Hannan was a three-star prospect in the class of 2025 out of Servite High School in Anaheim, California. He ranked as the No. 36 quarterback in the 2025 cycle, according to Rivals. Hannan was identified early on in the recruiting process as MSU's top priority at the quarterback position that year under Smith and Lindgren. He committed to the Spartans in April of 2024 and never wavered.

He enrolled in East Lansing in January of 2025 and went through spring practices that year. Hannan didn't see any game action as true freshman and redshirted last season.

The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Hannan will now transition from Smith and the previous staff to Fitzgerald, Sheirdan, McNulty and the rest of MSU's coaches in 2026. Despite the coaching change, Hannan never looked to the transfer portal and he is passionate about being a Spartan and believes Fitzgerald is the right person to lead the program.

It will be interesting to watch if Hannan is able to take the next step forward in his playing career in 2026 as a redshirt freshman and move up the depth chart. There is certainly a possibility he will see the first game action of his career this season.

Depth: Kayd Coffman (true freshman)

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One of the highest-rated recruits in MSU's 2026 recruiting class, Kayd Coffman is considered a four-star prospect by multiple outlets. He ranked as a top-275 player overall and a top-20 quarterback in both the 247Sports Composite rankings and the Rivals Industry rankings.

He committed to the Spartans in February of 2025 under the Smith staff and decided to stay with the Spartans after Smith was fired and Fitzgerald took over the program. Coffman enrolled early to give himself a leg up in regards to learning the offensive system, studying the playbook and getting used to life as a student-athlete. He arrived to East Lansing this past January and went through spring ball with the Spartans

The Michigan native out of East Kentwood High School comes to MSU with plenty of buzz, talent and potential as he gets set for his first fall camp. He will look to continue to learn and work his way up the depth chart.

It would not be completely surprising to see the 6-foot-2, 206-pound Coffman play a few snaps in 2026 as a true freshman. Historically, MSU quarterbacks have often redshirted during their first year on campus. However, redshirts are soon to become obsolete under the new eligibility rules that allow student-athletes five years to play five seasons of competition. Fitzgerald has mentioned the advantages the new eligibility rules provide and that more young players will now be able to see the field.

With that in mind, Coffman is not likely to see significant playing time this season with Milivojevic, Fancher and perhaps Hannan all currently above him on the depth chart. But he could get reps late in games when a game is decided to get him some experience without having to worry about burning a redshirt.

Still, Coffman — who boasts the highest recruiting ranking among all current MSU quarterbacks in the room — has all of the makings of a future starter for Michigan State later on in his career.

Depth: Peyton Babbitt (true freshman preferred walk-on)

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Peyton Babbitt joined the Spartans this summer as a preferred walk-on. He pledged to Michigan State in February after previously being committed to Saginaw Valley State.

"Being a kid, everyone has their team they swear up and down they are going to play for when they are older — MSU happens to be mine," Babbitt told Spartans Illustrated at the time of his commitment.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Babbitt was limited to just four games as a senior at Orchard View High School after breaking his left hand. He recorded 957 total yards and 13 touchdowns on just 62 touches in 2025.

As a junior in 2024, the Muskegon, Michigan native threw for 1,084 yards and 15 touchdowns. As a dual-threat quarterback, he also rushed for 503 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Babbitt earned first-team All-West Michigan Conference accolades that year.

In addition to quarterback, Babbitt also played safety, kick returner, long snapper and kicker during his high school career.

As a true freshman and preferred walk-on, Babbitt will provide depth for the Spartans and look to learn the offense as his first fall camp opens soon. He will likely operate behind the other other four signal-callers and look to improve his game, while working to make his teammates better in practice. Babbitt is unlikely to see game action in 2026.