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East Lansing — Nick Sheridan got the idea pretty young that he couldn’t play football forever. Probably eighth or ninth grade, if he had to guess. But as the son of a football coach who is his “hero,” Sheridan knew coaching would be his future.
So, at 22 years old, after a walk-on career at Michigan that had him starting games at quarterback, Sheridan wrote letters to coaches all over the college ranks.
Good luck, he’d write. Oh and, keep me in mindif you have any graduate assistant positions open in the future.
“I wrote a lot of notes,” Sheridan said Tuesday. “And I can promise you I didn’t get a ton that wrote back.”
One who did: Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern. That made an impression.
“I still have the note,” Sheridan said. “... He recognized a young coach that was just eager to learn and try to get better and network, and he was gracious enough to write me back.”
Now, more than a decade later, Fitzgerald and Sheridan are together at Michigan State, where Sheridan is the new offensive coordinator at a school he used to watch his dad Bill coach linebackers under Nick Saban.
“When I was kind of growing up in college, and after college, I looked up to Pat Fitzgerald,” Sheridan said. “You know, that was really just someone that I tried to emulate, someone I wanted to be like. And so this was a very easy decision for me, one I’m extremely grateful and appreciative of, and have a lot of familiarity.”
More: 'Incredible' opportunity: Former Michigan QB Nick Sheridan home again, but at MSU
Sheridan will make an average of $1.5 million over the next three seasons, according to a contract obtained by The Detroit News.
Sheridan was hired this offseason to Fitzgerald’s first staff as he took over the Michigan State program in December, looking to steer a once dominant Big Ten giant back to its former glory. That seems distant coming off a combined 18-30 record over the past four seasons — 9-15 over two seasons that included Mel Tucker’s dramatic firing in 2023, then 9-15 in two seasons under Jonathan Smith.
And yet, Sheridan has seen Michigan State as a contender. He knows what winning football looks like. Bill Burke, Chris Baker and Plaxico Burress were some of his idols growing up watching MSU games. His dad was an assistant coach alongside Mark Dantonio.
Sheridan takes the reins from Brian Lindgren, whose stubborn and often confusing play-calling left the Spartans scoring 24.6 points per game (87th in Division I) off 345.5 yards per game (97th). It struggled to feature its best playmakers, like phenom wideout Nick Marsh, or consistently move the chains once Big Ten play rolled around.
Under Sheridan, expect things to look different.
“We tell a lot of people we are an attacking, answer-based offense that features its playmakers,” Sheridan described.
An understudy of Kalen DeBoer at Alabama and Indiana, Sheridan uses the acronym F.A.S.T. to describe his offensive philosophy: fundamentally sound, attacking, smart and tough.
“I’ve been watching that offense for a while,” Fitzgerald said. “The multiplicity of it, the way that it’s able to use all of its weapons and move them around and get matchups that are advantageous for us. The ability to really put the ball in your playmakers’ hands in a number of different ways is what was attractive to me.”
Right now, Sheridan and his offensive staff are figuring out what playmakers they have, and what they can do, from the quarterbacks to wide receivers, tight ends to running backs. Even the offensive linemen — they’re athletes, too. This is an evaluation period, and an acclimation period as the Spartans install schemes over the limited practices of spring ball.
More: With LeVar Woods at helm, MSU football looks for special teams to flip games
Some of the names returning to this offense will be familiar to fans. Alessio Milivojevic is the incumbent starting quarterback, and slot receiver Chrishon McCray — the top returner from last year’s group with three touchdowns — brings his speed and acceleration to the mix. There are some new players in the mix, too, including the multitool tight end Carson Gulker, who played all over the field at Ferris State before transferring to play his final year with the Spartans.
“He’s like that one kid that could do it all,” tight end Brennan Parachek said. “So it’s fun to watch him play. He’s fun to watch in practice.”
More: Michigan State football takes 'great first step' in Pat Fitzgerald's first practice
If Michigan State has a long way to go, that’s expected midway through spring ball.
“There’s lots of work to be done. They’re learning every single day,” Sheridan said. “There’s new techniques, schematics every day that we go out there, and kids are working really hard.
“So certainly we have a long way to go, but we’re better now than we were when we started spring ball.”
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: What will Michigan State Spartans offense look like under Nick Sheridan?
Continue reading...
So, at 22 years old, after a walk-on career at Michigan that had him starting games at quarterback, Sheridan wrote letters to coaches all over the college ranks.
Good luck, he’d write. Oh and, keep me in mindif you have any graduate assistant positions open in the future.
“I wrote a lot of notes,” Sheridan said Tuesday. “And I can promise you I didn’t get a ton that wrote back.”
One who did: Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern. That made an impression.
“I still have the note,” Sheridan said. “... He recognized a young coach that was just eager to learn and try to get better and network, and he was gracious enough to write me back.”
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Now, more than a decade later, Fitzgerald and Sheridan are together at Michigan State, where Sheridan is the new offensive coordinator at a school he used to watch his dad Bill coach linebackers under Nick Saban.
“When I was kind of growing up in college, and after college, I looked up to Pat Fitzgerald,” Sheridan said. “You know, that was really just someone that I tried to emulate, someone I wanted to be like. And so this was a very easy decision for me, one I’m extremely grateful and appreciative of, and have a lot of familiarity.”
More: 'Incredible' opportunity: Former Michigan QB Nick Sheridan home again, but at MSU
Sheridan will make an average of $1.5 million over the next three seasons, according to a contract obtained by The Detroit News.
Sheridan was hired this offseason to Fitzgerald’s first staff as he took over the Michigan State program in December, looking to steer a once dominant Big Ten giant back to its former glory. That seems distant coming off a combined 18-30 record over the past four seasons — 9-15 over two seasons that included Mel Tucker’s dramatic firing in 2023, then 9-15 in two seasons under Jonathan Smith.
And yet, Sheridan has seen Michigan State as a contender. He knows what winning football looks like. Bill Burke, Chris Baker and Plaxico Burress were some of his idols growing up watching MSU games. His dad was an assistant coach alongside Mark Dantonio.
Sheridan takes the reins from Brian Lindgren, whose stubborn and often confusing play-calling left the Spartans scoring 24.6 points per game (87th in Division I) off 345.5 yards per game (97th). It struggled to feature its best playmakers, like phenom wideout Nick Marsh, or consistently move the chains once Big Ten play rolled around.
You must be registered for see images attach
Under Sheridan, expect things to look different.
“We tell a lot of people we are an attacking, answer-based offense that features its playmakers,” Sheridan described.
An understudy of Kalen DeBoer at Alabama and Indiana, Sheridan uses the acronym F.A.S.T. to describe his offensive philosophy: fundamentally sound, attacking, smart and tough.
“I’ve been watching that offense for a while,” Fitzgerald said. “The multiplicity of it, the way that it’s able to use all of its weapons and move them around and get matchups that are advantageous for us. The ability to really put the ball in your playmakers’ hands in a number of different ways is what was attractive to me.”
Right now, Sheridan and his offensive staff are figuring out what playmakers they have, and what they can do, from the quarterbacks to wide receivers, tight ends to running backs. Even the offensive linemen — they’re athletes, too. This is an evaluation period, and an acclimation period as the Spartans install schemes over the limited practices of spring ball.
More: With LeVar Woods at helm, MSU football looks for special teams to flip games
Some of the names returning to this offense will be familiar to fans. Alessio Milivojevic is the incumbent starting quarterback, and slot receiver Chrishon McCray — the top returner from last year’s group with three touchdowns — brings his speed and acceleration to the mix. There are some new players in the mix, too, including the multitool tight end Carson Gulker, who played all over the field at Ferris State before transferring to play his final year with the Spartans.
“He’s like that one kid that could do it all,” tight end Brennan Parachek said. “So it’s fun to watch him play. He’s fun to watch in practice.”
More: Michigan State football takes 'great first step' in Pat Fitzgerald's first practice
If Michigan State has a long way to go, that’s expected midway through spring ball.
“There’s lots of work to be done. They’re learning every single day,” Sheridan said. “There’s new techniques, schematics every day that we go out there, and kids are working really hard.
“So certainly we have a long way to go, but we’re better now than we were when we started spring ball.”
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: What will Michigan State Spartans offense look like under Nick Sheridan?
Continue reading...
