The Wisconsin Badgers are seeing another position shakeup as running backs coach Devon Spalding is heading to the Michigan State Spartans to work for head coach Pat Fitzgerald in the same role.
Spalding, a Michigan native, had been Wisconsin’s running backs coach for the last three seasons after spending four seasons coaching running backs at Youngstown State.
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At his previous stop, Spalding had coached NFL running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who won MVFC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2022. At Wisconsin, he coached Braelon Allen in his final year of college and helped bring in a strong 2024 recruiting class that included four-stars Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree, and three-star Gideon Ituka.
He was also heavily involved in the recruitment of 2025 four-star Byron Louis, where Wisconsin was a finalist, and 2026 four-star Amari Latimer, who was a longtime Badgers commit before flipping to West Virginia on National Signing Day.
Prior to coaching, Spalding played running back and wide receiver at Central Michigan from 2014 to 2018, playing in 41 games before transitioning to coaching.
Spalding’s first job as a coach was as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati in 2019 under head coach Luke Fickell, which created the tie for him when initially hired at Wisconsin.
Now, he’s heading closer to home at Michigan State, leaving the Badgers with a void to fill on their coaching staff at a key position.
