Michigan State has hired LeVar Woods to coach special teams and serve as assistant head coach, handing Pat Fitzgerald the man behind one of the Big Ten’s most reliable return units. Woods spent the last 14 years coaching Iowa special teams, and Fitzgerald made clear he expects that expertise to matter fast in East Lansing.
The move is drawing attention now because Fitzgerald said special teams could make a huge jump for the team, and he said it after taking the job at Michigan State in December. Woods, who said Monday after practice that he was very grateful for the opportunity with coach Fitz, arrives with a record that is hard to ignore: Iowa led the Big Ten in kick returns five times and punt returns twice since 2013, with Woods helping produce four of the past five Big Ten return specialists of the year.
That resume also comes with a sharper edge for Michigan State. Iowa return touchdowns by Charlie Jones in 2020, Cooper DeJean in 2023 and Kaden Wetjen last year all came against Michigan State, a reminder that Woods’ units were not only productive but damaging to the Spartans when they crossed paths. Fitzgerald said Woods is his right-hand man right now when it comes to the coaching staff, called him outstanding and said he is going to be a head coach.
Woods said he and Fitzgerald spent almost their entire coaching careers at their alma mater, and that common path shaped the way the two approached the move. He said both had long-term things in mind, a sign this is more than a short-term staffing fill. For Michigan State, the bet is that a coach who spent 18 years working for Kirk Ferentz can turn special teams from a weakness into an edge quickly enough to matter in the Michigan football schedule race and in Big Ten games where field position usually decides the margins.
The open question is how soon that change shows up. Fitzgerald has already put Woods in a central role, but the value of the hire will be measured by whether Michigan State’s return game and coverage units improve before the season starts to swing on those hidden yards.
