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Michigan State QB Alessio Milivojevic announces return for 2026 season

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh4 hours agogriffin_mcveigh

Michigan State made the surprising decision to move on from Jonathan Smith, quickly making a move for Pat Fitzgerald. You have to imagine some turnover is coming inside the program, as would any team going through a coaching change. But it appears as if Michigan State will have a familiar face returning at quarterback.

Alessio Milivojevic announced he will be back in East Lansing for the 2026 season on Thursday night. He did so with an Instagram post, captioning it “Run it back.” Massive news for the Spartans and Fitzgerald.

Milivojevic took over as the starting quarterback in the final stretch of the season. Aidan Chiles started the season there for Michigan State before watching five games from the sideline. A big decision for Smith at the time, there was some success there.

In total, Milivojevic played in nine games this season. He threw for 1,267 yards on 173 attempts, adding 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions. It’s the five starts where Milivojevic did most of his damage, having at least 250 passing yards in all of them.

Unfortunately, Michigan State still struggled from a team perspective. The lone win came in the final against Maryland, playing in Detroit at Ford Field. Poor results are why Smith got fired, ushering in a new era under Fitzgerald.

Whether or not Milivojevic ends up being next year’s starting quarterback, we will have to wait and see. Plenty of roster decisions are coming for the Spartans. The NCAA transfer portal is always something coaches can dip into if they want. But right now, Fitzgerald can count on Milivojevic being on campus

More on Alessio Milivojevic, 2026 season for Michigan State

Milivojevic played high school football at Naperville (IL) St. Francis, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 739 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The 2024 season was spent taking a redshirt year, maintaining a year of eligibility. So, at least three more years of college football can be played moving forward. One more of them is scheduled to be with Michigan State.

Next year’s opener comes on Sept. 5, when Toledo comes to town. Eastern Michigan follows before the big nonconference game of the season — Notre Dame. Fitzgerald will have a great opportunity to make a splash early in his time wearing the green and white.