INSIDER: Michigan State’s depth chart is nowhere near finished - and that's a good thing

Michigan State will finally have a depth chart that matters Friday night.

Just don’t mistake it for a final one.

The Spartans have reached game week, but the competition that dominated spring practice and preseason camp is continuing into the season. There are positions where Michigan State expects to rotate heavily, players outside the initial two-deep who remain very much in the staff’s plans, and jobs that could change hands once the coaches finally have actual game film to evaluate.

That approach extends well beyond wide receiver, where a deep rotation has been expected for much of camp.

It applies throughout the roster.

Michigan State’s staff intends to continue treating essentially every practice rep as part of the evaluation process. Roles are still being earned, and the opening lineup against Toledo will represent where those competitions stand now rather than a declaration about where they will stand in October or November.

Fitzgerald calls it a “meritocracy.”

Players who perform consistently will play. Players who improve can move up. Players who fail to maintain their level can lose ground.

“There’s no downshifting,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s not how I’ve ever operated. The pedal is down.”

That philosophy explains something Michigan State fans should expect Friday night: a lot of Spartans are going to play.

Some of that is philosophical. Some of it is developmental. And some comes from the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility structure, which gives staffs considerably more freedom to use younger players without navigating the old four-game redshirt calculation.

Michigan State plans to take advantage of it.

“We expect to play a lot of guys,” Fitzgerald said. “Who that is, that’s got to be earned. When that is, that has to be earned.”

Michigan State isn’t handing out snaps simply because Fitzgerald wants a deep rotation. The staff is creating opportunities for players further down the depth chart to continue competing for larger roles.

The weekly practice structure reflects that.

The Spartans’ first- and second-team players receive a heavy workload early in the week, but the next group receives significant developmental work as well. Fitzgerald refers to them as the “1As and the 2Bs.”

Michigan State does not transition heavily into scout-team exchange work until Thursday.

That means Tuesday and Wednesday remain demanding developmental practices for a much larger portion of the roster than simply the 22 players expected to start.

The idea is straightforward: Michigan State does not want to establish its depth chart in August and spend the next three months merely maintaining it.

“We want to be the best player development staff in the country,” Fitzgerald said. “That isn’t about January through the end of August. That’s January all the way through the next team.”

Players outside the initial two-deep are therefore not being treated as developmental afterthoughts.

If someone takes a significant step in September, the staff wants him prepared to play in October.

That could become particularly noticeable at two positions.