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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 29m ago
MSU Redshirt Senior Kenny Soares started his career with Pat Fitzgerald, and now gets to end it with him
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Kenny Soares Jr. has made the quite impression on his teammates and the new staff since he arrived in East Lansing in January of 2026. Soares was voted the number 1 Spartan by his teammates, an honor given to a player who best exemplifies leadership, selflessness, toughness, and more.
“I'm just really blessed and thankful to be in this position honestly," said Soares. "It's really not anything I had, it's really just everything my teammates allowed me to do. Coming here, learning where my spot is, and having my teammates allow me to be a leader, be a vocal guy, and me just trying to be me everyday."
Soares' relationship with head coach Pat Fitzgerald also goes way back. He was originally committed to play football at the University of Colorado, until Pat Fitzgerald reached out to him the day before signing day in 2022. Soares flipped his decision, and committed to Northwestern the next day.
"It was very last minute," he said. "We figured out a lot of different details, got it done quick. Honestly, at first, it was the academic portion of it. I got my degree from there. Being able to have that educational piece was huge for me. On top of that, being able to play for a coach like Coach Fitz in a Big Ten program."
While his time at Northwestern was successful, there were some growing pains along the way.
"There was times where I wanted everything right now," Soares added. "When you first start off you gotta go through some speed bumps along the way, and just learn to be patient, and learning the way I learn, and being able to expand my mind, and becoming not only a better player, but a better leader, a better student, a better athlete, and a better person."
Some of the speed bumps he went through even had him questioning if football was really for him.
“I had some moments where I was really out of it mentality," said Soares. "There was a time where I really stopped thinking that football was a thing for me. I remember looking at jobs thinking like 'oh wow, maybe after college, the job force is where I’ll end up' just because I didn’t feel like I was getting the opportunities that I needed to be able to put me into the place where I feel like I wanted to achieve my dreams. So I started to think to myself, take the safe route, and not be as confident in my abilities, which was one of the reasons why I left [Northwestern] because I felt like I had become too comfortable within myself and within my scenario, so that’s where pressure is a privilege. Just me being able to go through that and realize that and wake up and get it back on, its time to get it going.”
Soares was able to get it going, along with the help of his family.
“I’ve got two lovely parents who have made plenty of sacrifices for me," he said. "I've got a younger sister who's nine and a brother who's 19. Everybody really had my back. Them being in my corner really just amplified me being able to do what's best for me at the end of the day. The only thing that mattered to them was they just wanted to see me happy. As long as I got my degree, and was handling my business, they just wanted to make sure I was happy at the end of the day.”
After graduating from Northwestern in 3 years, Soares spent last season in Raleigh playing for NC State. After a successful season there, he entered the portal for one more season of college football. Almost immediately after he entered the portal, a familiar person called him, Coach Fitz.
"I didn’t even take a visit here," Soares said. "There were plans to, but really I didn't feel like I needed to. I have a lot of trust in him as a coach. It was honestly a no brainer, just knowing that I have a coach who's in my corner, that's confident in me, and just wants me to do well."
His decision to come to East Lansing even became a family affair. He’s now playing with his cousin, running back Cam Edwards. Not only does he get to play alongside his cousin, but finishing his career with Coach Fitz also became full circle.
"Being back with him, I couldn’t ask for anything more," Soares said. "He's the type of guy that a lot of people flock around just because of his energy, because as I say, being the same person every single day when you walk into the building. He's the type of guy that's gonna make me better every single day. Me being a freshman, I remember him telling me that he’s always gonna be that bridge to encourage and push me and ket me know exactly what I need to be better and reach that level, and he’s still doing the same thing now.”
Now it’s time for Soares to write his final chapter of his college football career, starting on Friday, September 4th in MSU's season opener against Toledo.
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