Michigan State football has some questions to answer in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the 2026 season.Practices should start around the first week of August. The Spartans haven't made a bowl game in four years, but the hope is that Pat Fitzgerald can engineer a quick turnaround. Before everyone can worry about wins and losses come Friday, Sept. 4, these are the questions that must be answered once practices begin.Who Steps Up at WR?Michigan State's Charles Taplin catches a pass while warming up during the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectWide receiver is a serious question mark ahead of Week 1. MSU is bringing back starting slot receiver Chrishon McCray, but the competition for the team's starting X and Z spots is very open. The list of candidates is certainly lengthy: Charles Taplin, KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, Rodney Bullard Jr., and Samson Gash could all get a starting nod against Toledo, and it wouldn't feel that stunning.What makes the competition hard to figure out is that nobody in the room is truly proven. Smith and Moore are incoming transfers who were backups at their previous schools. Bullard had five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown last season -- four catches, 102 yards, and the touchdown all came in one game at Minnesota. Taplin had one catch for eight yards last season. Gash will have to earn his stripes as a true freshman quickly.Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver KK Smith (11) lines up during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectRight now, I have the projected starters as Taplin and Smith. Taplin was getting first-team reps during the spring game in April, and while Smith didn't participate that day, I think he's the most promising of the rest of the group competing for those X and Z spots.This may not be a year where wide receiver is a clear strength for Michigan State like it normally is, but position coach Courtney Hawkins has earned some benefit of the doubt. There probably won't be a receiver of Nick Marsh's caliber this season, but the odds of somebody somewhere making that needed step up should be high with Hawkins' overall track record.Who Starts at TE?The Grand Valley State football team edged Ferris State in the Anchor Bone rivalry on Saturday at Ferris State.