Rush end Kenny Soares Jr. voted ‘The Spartan,’ earns MSU's No. 1 jersey
Soares, a North Carolina State transfer, was voted as "The Spartan" by his teammates. He can wear the No. 1 jersey or a helmet decal.
Michigan State opened 2026 fall camp with its first practice on Thursday, and by the end of the day, redshirt senior EDGE Kenny Soares Jr. was named “The Spartan” following a team vote.
Soares — who will play the rush end position for the Spartans after spending the majority of his career as a linebacker — has won the right to wear the No. 1 jersey.
After wearing the No. 23 for the Spartans during spring practices in March and April, Soares will now have the option to switch his jersey to No. 1 or to keep his original number and wear a helmet decal to show off the honor of being voted as “The Spartan.”
When MSU’s 2026 fall camp roster was released on July 29, no player was assigned the No. 1 because it had to be earned.
While Soares becomes the first Michigan State player to earn this specific designation, there is an interesting history to the tradition and the No. 1 jersey from both head coach Pat Fitzgerald and MSU.
The idea was created by Fitzgerald in 2011 during his time as head coach of Northwestern, where, following a vote, the No. 1 jersey was given to the player who best embodied the values of the program. Now, Fitzgerald is bringing that annual tradition to Michigan State.
The No. 1 jersey also has strong meaning in East Lansing, particularly with the wide receiver position. Some of the program’s most accomplishment wideouts — such as Charles Rogers, Muhsin Muhammad and Andre Rison — donned the number. Following Rogers’ departure from the program, nobody wore the number for 18 seasons (from 2003 through 2020). However, in 2021, standout wide receiver Jayden Reed was given the No. 1 jersey by then-head coach Mel Tucker.
Since then, the No. 1 jersey has been in use for the Spartans, but with seemingly no particular reasoning behind it from the program’s perspective.
In a social media video capturing the team meeting revealing that Soares earned the inaugural honors for the No. 1 jersey, Fitzgerald mentioned that eight total players received votes for it.
In a social media graphic, MSU wrote, “The No. 1 jersey represents what it means to be a Spartan—not some of the time, but all of the time. The guy who wears it represents our values. He carries himself, operates, and acts the way a Spartan should. Not when it’s convenient. Not when it's easy. All the time.”
Interestingly, Soares is a first-year Spartan. He transferred to Michigan State after playing for North Carolina State in 2025. Prior to that, Soares played three seasons at Northwestern from 2022 through 2024, including under Fitzgerald in 2022.
Soares is already making his presence felt in the Green and White and making an impact on his teammates.
While playing with the Wolfpack last season, the 6-foot-2, 234-pound Soares amassed a career-high 80 tackles and tied his career high with four tackles for loss. He also recorded a half-sack, two passes defended and a fumble recovery.
In 41 career collegiate games, the Trumbull, Connecticut native has tallied 137 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, five passes defended and two fumble recoveries.
