THE RUNDOWN: Fitzgerald explains MSU’s portal philosophy, reveals staff-building details, and more

Michigan State rebuilt a significant portion of its football roster during the offseason, bringing 62 newcomers into Pat Fitzgerald’s first team.

The Spartans were not simply collecting players.

Fitzgerald said Michigan State entered the transfer portal looking for evidence.

“It was about production,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday night. “It wasn’t about potential out of the portal.”

That philosophy helped create an unusual roster entering Friday night’s season opener against Toledo. Michigan State has undergone enormous turnover, yet the Spartans rank fourth nationally in career starts and lead the Big Ten in that category.

It is one of several subjects Fitzgerald addressed, including how he assembled his coaching staff, the importance of retaining offensive tackle Connor Moore, which position group impressed him most during training camp, and why he believes the current structure of the Big Ten eventually will have to change.

Production over potential

Michigan State’s experience was assembled deliberately.

Fitzgerald and his staff inherited a roster requiring significant reconstruction, and they placed a premium on players who already had shown they could perform at the college level.

“When we were evaluating guys, it was really we wanted to see it on tape,” Fitzgerald said.

Experience naturally began separating players on Michigan State’s recruiting board.

“Guys just started rising to the top as we evaluated them that played more games, which is not a surprise,” Fitzgerald said.

The approach helps explain how Michigan State can simultaneously have 62 newcomers and one of the most experienced collections of players in the country.

Whether that individual experience can quickly become collective experience is another question.

The Spartans have players who have been through college football games, road environments, fourth quarters, injuries, position battles, and pressure situations. Many of them simply have not gone through those experiences together.

Friday night will provide the first indication of how quickly Fitzgerald and his staff have been able to connect those pieces.

No position received more attention during the roster reconstruction than the offensive line.

“That was an area that was a major emphasis through the portal,” Fitzgerald said.

Michigan State also needed to keep one particularly important piece already on campus.