The energy is already electric at 6:30 a.m. inside Michigan State's practice facility, where new linebackers coach Max Bullough commands the room. At 34, the Traverse City native looks like he could still suit up and lead the drills himself—and you get the sense he'd love to.

This is more than a new job for Bullough; it's a homecoming steeped in Spartan legacy. He is the third generation of his family to coach at Michigan State, following his grandfather Hank and father Shane. It's the same program where he and his brothers, Riley and Byron, starred under Mark Dantonio, with Max captaining the iconic 2013 Big Ten championship squad that earned a Rose Bowl berth.

For Bullough, returning to the sidelines in East Lansing always felt inevitable. Yet, that return brings with it a chapter many fans remember: his suspension from that very Rose Bowl his senior year. When asked, Bullough gracefully pivots to the future.

"That was 13 years ago," he states. "My focus is on the 2026 Spartans, my wife Bailey, and my four boys. We're leaving the past behind. Let's talk about what's ahead."

And what's ahead is a mission to revive a program that's in his blood—literally, with "Spartans" tattooed on both arms. He's raising his family on the same grounds where his own family made history, and where his grandmother, Lou Ann, remains a fixture at Michigan State basketball games. Reflecting on what his grandfather would think of his return to coach, Bullough shares a quiet conviction.

"You never got too much out of him that way," he says with a smile. "But I think, at the end of the day, it would mean a lot." For Bullough, this role is about honoring that legacy while building a new one—a perfect blend of Spartan past and future.