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East Lansing — Over the summer, the Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi invited his players over to his house for a cookout. And even though helmets and pads weren’t in the equation, he learned something important about one of his newest players.
At Rossi’s house, there’s a basketball hoop. And as one might expect where high-level athletes number by the dozen, games began. They got competitive, too. Especially for edge rusher Kenny Soares Jr.
“To me, it’s like it’s the NBA finals watching him play,” Rossi said Monday.
So it went with cornhole, too. Different game, same competitor.
“He’s playing, again, like it’s the ESPN Ocho cornhole championships.”
Soares goes a mile a minute according to his new Michigan State teammates and coaches. They respect that so much that even though he is brand new to the program, teammates voted Soares to wear the No. 1 jersey as “The Spartan,” a numerical embodiment of the values Pat Fitzgerald wants to instill in his first MSU team.
“I was emotional. I kept it back,” Soares said. “Because again, with me just being around it for so long and just knowing how much of an honor it is, for me, it was just like I couldn’t believe it. Just seeing my name on the board.”
The No. 1 jersey has a strong tradition at Michigan State. Nobody wore it for nearly 20 years after the graduation of record-setting wide receiver Charles Rogers in 2002. Then Jayden Reed brought it out of quasi-retirement in 2021, putting the number back in circulation ever since. This new No. 1 tradition is something Fitzgerald brings over from Northwestern, where it served as a de facto captain’s badge. It’s a big deal.
Soares knows just how big an honor he earned, because he was once at Northwestern with Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald added the Connecticut product to his last recruiting class at Northwestern in 2022 — probably one of his last recruits there, Soares thinks, because he flipped a Colorado commitment the day before signing day.
The son of an electrician-turned-teacher and a cybersecurity specialist, Soares wanted to get a good degree and play some good football along the way. His time with Fitzgerald was cut short, though, as Northwestern fired the coach amid a hazing scandal — it settled a wrongful termination suit for that decision last year.
Asked by The Detroit News about reuniting with his old coach, Soares smiled wide.
“It meant everything,” he said. “Just unfinished business, that’s the way I see it.”
Already a competitive player, Soares is motivated. He’s also experienced. Since appearing in four games for Fitzgerald as a true freshman, Soares hasn’t missed a game the past three seasons. Two of those were at Northwestern as an outside linebacker and edge rusher. Then he played a lone year at N.C. State in 2025.
Soares started eight games at middle linebacker for an injury-riddled N.C. State and logged a career-high 656 snaps. He made 80 total tackles, four of those tackles for loss. His 14-tackle game against Georgia Tech gave the Yellowjackets their first loss of the season. He was quite productive, though he entered the transfer portal at the end of the year.
Fitzgerald, meanwhile, took over at Michigan State as the Spartans’ 4-8 finish in 2025 ushered out Jonathan Smith after two years on the job. Even though he knew Soares as a recruit, Fitzgerald told his Michigan State staff he wanted a fresh evaluation.
Michigan State’s coaches watched the tape — there were some really good clips at linebacker. But that’s not where they envision Soares helping out.
“We felt like he was best on the edge,” Rossi said. “Like, he had the traits, he just needed to be developed a little bit and coached at rushing the passer. And so then we got on the phone with him and we really, really liked him a lot in terms of his personality, his attitude, just his intelligence.”
Those traits that make Soares leave it all on the basketball court, or give his all to a game of cornhole, are the same ones that coaches think will make him a great edge rusher.
“Pass rush, a lot of it is just being relentless and just having a high motor,” Rossi said. “He is a high motor guy. There are times we have to, like, pull him back, OK. But as a defensive coach, that’s what you love, right? You don’t want to be pushing him forward. You want to be pulling him back, and he’s a pull-back guy.”
Michigan State badly needs to fix its pass rush after finishing with 22 sacks in 2025 (86th out of 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision) and 19 sacks in 2024 (103rd in FBS). Opposing quarterbacks enjoyed lots of time and space to pick apart the Spartans’ defense the past two seasons, which left the secondary out to dry. All that time allowed opponents to protect the ball — 11 opponent turnovers last season ranked MSU 117th.
“If you look at interceptions, most interceptions are the result of pressure,” Rossi said. “And then the most fumbled play in a football play is a sack fumble, so pressure creates takeaways.”
And Soares, with his competitive streak and athletic abilities, can create pressure. He looked like a strong addition in the spring showcase, and he is expected to factor in extensively to the edge rusher rotation this fall. Though neither he nor Rossi can guarantee results will come, what Rossi is making clear to his players is that effort will not be the reason for failure.
“He said we may not outscheme a team, but no matter what, we’re gonna outwork a team every single game,” Soares said. “And that’s the kind of guy I want to play for.”
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Competitive Kenny Soares Jr. key to fixing Michigan State pass rush
Continue reading...
At Rossi’s house, there’s a basketball hoop. And as one might expect where high-level athletes number by the dozen, games began. They got competitive, too. Especially for edge rusher Kenny Soares Jr.
“To me, it’s like it’s the NBA finals watching him play,” Rossi said Monday.
You must be registered for see images attach
So it went with cornhole, too. Different game, same competitor.
“He’s playing, again, like it’s the ESPN Ocho cornhole championships.”
Soares goes a mile a minute according to his new Michigan State teammates and coaches. They respect that so much that even though he is brand new to the program, teammates voted Soares to wear the No. 1 jersey as “The Spartan,” a numerical embodiment of the values Pat Fitzgerald wants to instill in his first MSU team.
“I was emotional. I kept it back,” Soares said. “Because again, with me just being around it for so long and just knowing how much of an honor it is, for me, it was just like I couldn’t believe it. Just seeing my name on the board.”
The No. 1 jersey has a strong tradition at Michigan State. Nobody wore it for nearly 20 years after the graduation of record-setting wide receiver Charles Rogers in 2002. Then Jayden Reed brought it out of quasi-retirement in 2021, putting the number back in circulation ever since. This new No. 1 tradition is something Fitzgerald brings over from Northwestern, where it served as a de facto captain’s badge. It’s a big deal.
Soares knows just how big an honor he earned, because he was once at Northwestern with Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald added the Connecticut product to his last recruiting class at Northwestern in 2022 — probably one of his last recruits there, Soares thinks, because he flipped a Colorado commitment the day before signing day.
The son of an electrician-turned-teacher and a cybersecurity specialist, Soares wanted to get a good degree and play some good football along the way. His time with Fitzgerald was cut short, though, as Northwestern fired the coach amid a hazing scandal — it settled a wrongful termination suit for that decision last year.
You must be registered for see images attach
Asked by The Detroit News about reuniting with his old coach, Soares smiled wide.
“It meant everything,” he said. “Just unfinished business, that’s the way I see it.”
Already a competitive player, Soares is motivated. He’s also experienced. Since appearing in four games for Fitzgerald as a true freshman, Soares hasn’t missed a game the past three seasons. Two of those were at Northwestern as an outside linebacker and edge rusher. Then he played a lone year at N.C. State in 2025.
Soares started eight games at middle linebacker for an injury-riddled N.C. State and logged a career-high 656 snaps. He made 80 total tackles, four of those tackles for loss. His 14-tackle game against Georgia Tech gave the Yellowjackets their first loss of the season. He was quite productive, though he entered the transfer portal at the end of the year.
Fitzgerald, meanwhile, took over at Michigan State as the Spartans’ 4-8 finish in 2025 ushered out Jonathan Smith after two years on the job. Even though he knew Soares as a recruit, Fitzgerald told his Michigan State staff he wanted a fresh evaluation.
Michigan State’s coaches watched the tape — there were some really good clips at linebacker. But that’s not where they envision Soares helping out.
“We felt like he was best on the edge,” Rossi said. “Like, he had the traits, he just needed to be developed a little bit and coached at rushing the passer. And so then we got on the phone with him and we really, really liked him a lot in terms of his personality, his attitude, just his intelligence.”
Those traits that make Soares leave it all on the basketball court, or give his all to a game of cornhole, are the same ones that coaches think will make him a great edge rusher.
“Pass rush, a lot of it is just being relentless and just having a high motor,” Rossi said. “He is a high motor guy. There are times we have to, like, pull him back, OK. But as a defensive coach, that’s what you love, right? You don’t want to be pushing him forward. You want to be pulling him back, and he’s a pull-back guy.”
Michigan State badly needs to fix its pass rush after finishing with 22 sacks in 2025 (86th out of 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision) and 19 sacks in 2024 (103rd in FBS). Opposing quarterbacks enjoyed lots of time and space to pick apart the Spartans’ defense the past two seasons, which left the secondary out to dry. All that time allowed opponents to protect the ball — 11 opponent turnovers last season ranked MSU 117th.
“If you look at interceptions, most interceptions are the result of pressure,” Rossi said. “And then the most fumbled play in a football play is a sack fumble, so pressure creates takeaways.”
And Soares, with his competitive streak and athletic abilities, can create pressure. He looked like a strong addition in the spring showcase, and he is expected to factor in extensively to the edge rusher rotation this fall. Though neither he nor Rossi can guarantee results will come, what Rossi is making clear to his players is that effort will not be the reason for failure.
“He said we may not outscheme a team, but no matter what, we’re gonna outwork a team every single game,” Soares said. “And that’s the kind of guy I want to play for.”
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Competitive Kenny Soares Jr. key to fixing Michigan State pass rush
Continue reading...
