Matt Gulbin aims to lead by example and earn his Spartan legacy

While his time as a Spartan won’t be long, redshirt-senior Matt Gulbin is attempting to make sure his impact at Michigan State is felt. After spending four seasons at Wake Forest and earning All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2024, Gulbin is poised to be the starting center for MSU this fall; anchoring the offensive line.

While at Wake Forest, Gulbin started 23 games (11 at left guard, 11 at right guard, and one at center). Transitioning to a full-time center for his final colligate season, he is looking to prove himself as an impact player. While Gulbin has yet to make an impact on the field, his impact as a Spartan has been obvious as he earned one of the five captain spots from head coach Jonathan Smith. While this might be surprising for a first time Spartan to earn this honor, it wasn’t surprising to him.

“I tried to prove myself as a leader and as a good teammate,” Gulbin said. “Since I’ve been here in January, I was working as a part of that. I wasn’t necessarily surprised, also just really grateful that my teammates thought of me as a good leader.”

Gulbin hopes that this approach since coming to East Lansing will not only result in a positive impact off the field but one that translates to winning football. While he’s only been in East Lansing since January, he feels that he has a good understanding of the standard and culture that is demanded of him and his teammates.

“I don’t think you can come into a place and immediately think you’re going to be this like leader,” Gulbin said. “I think you have to earn it with everything you do. Whether every day, like you know, how do you present yourself in workouts? How do you show up? Do you do the right thing all the time? Do you hold the standard? Stuff like that.”

Last year, MSU’s offensive line often struggled to provide space for running backs and gave quarterback Aidan Chiles the third least time in the pocket out of 18 Big Ten teams. If the team is going to have any success this year, it starts in the trenches, specifically the offensive line. Perhaps it is no surprise why so many offensive linemen get elected as captain. Gulbin had his own thought on that trend.

“Well, I think it’s because offensive lineman are crucial to a successful football team,” Gulbin explained. “If you don’t have a good, cohesive offensive line, you’re not going to be a successful football team.”

Emphasis on Coaching Staff and Accountability

When choosing where to play your final year of college football, there are a million reasons that can go into your decision. It could be a Name, Image, Likeness paycheck; it could be location such as a warmer climate or closer to home; more playing time potential; or it could be greater exposure. However, for Gulbin what stood out about Michigan State was the coaching staff.

“Coach (Jonathan) Smith, Coach M (Jim Michalczik), you know, I really liked them,” Gulbin explained. “I thought they were just genuine people, good people. And I think it’s always good to play for good people with good character. And I also think they’re really good football coaches.”

Getting to the next level is no guarantee and many of the other factors that go into the transfer portal won’t help a player get there. But Gulbin had more on his mind then an easy paycheck or increased convivence, he wanted to be pushed, to be developed.

This is the kind of mindset that has propelled Spartan teams of the past: gritty, hungry, accountable. While he might not be able to earn the legacy of Spartan greats like Jack Conklin, Brian Allen, or even Flozell Adams, he doesn’t want to settle for just going through the motions.

“I like to look at history, just the tradition of this place like there’s been so many legends have come through here and won, and it’s a storied football program,” Gulbin said. “You know every day, you know you got to wake up and you got to have some accountability that you’re a Michigan State football player in here. You know you have to hold yourself to a higher standard than most people.”

Jonathan Smith has talked this offseason that culture is not just about theory, but living it out, making it become routine. By earning the starting center role and captain honors, Gulbin exemplifies this. When he takes the field for the first time on Friday night against Western Michigan, he’ll begin his final chapter as a student athlete.

What those pages turn out to be is still to be determined, but the foundation, work ethic, and toughness have already been displayed. The expectation is following the footsteps for former Spartan teams of old.

“The only the teams that have won here that I’ve tried to kind of study or look at are the teams that are just tougher than everybody,” Gulbin explained. “No matter who the coaching staff is, no matter what happens, that’s something that needs to be a part of this program. It’s just been tougher.”