There will be a very interesting wrinkle in Saturday's match-up between Michigan State football vs. No. 10 UCLA. As the Spartans take on the Bruins in Los Angeles, they will reportedly be led by true freshman quarterback Kayd Coffman as starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic deals with an undisclosed injury. The news was reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN.
On the one hand, this might be deflating news for MSU fans who are still waiting to see the Spartans get their first Big Ten win of the season. On the other hand, with the Spartans effectively already out of bowl contention, it will give the team a chance to evaluate a promising young player and give him some live game reps to show what he can do. While the assumption is that Alessio Milivojevic will return next year and reclaim his starting quarterback spot, in this day and age, you can't assume any player will return year-to-year, so it can't hurt to know what your younger players can do in live game action.
Coffman was a 3-star quarterback from East Kentwood High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the No. 274-ranked player in the country in the 2026 class. For reference, Milivojevic was the No. 826 ranked player in the 2024 class coming out of high school.
Sources: Michigan State starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic (undisclosed) is not expected top play at No. 9 UCLA today. With back-up Cam Fancher out, true freshman Cayd Coffman is in line for his first career start. He’ll face UCLA back-up Ty Dieffenbach. pic.twitter.com/0MYidzvio8
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 24, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State football freshman QB Kayd Coffman to start vs. UCLA