Post-Spring Game, MSU has seen an uptick in player movement
A few days have passed since MSU’s Spring Game. As has become an annual tradition all around college football, the immediate aftermath of the Spring Game has been accompanied by the exodus of a few names from the football program to the transfer portal.
Just since Saturday, the following players have announced their decision to enter the portal:
RBs Jalen Berger and Davion Primm
DLs Derrick Harmon, Simeon Barrow, Andrew Depaepe. (It is worth mentioning that Harmon and Barrow also entered the portal immediately following Coach Tucker’s dismissal during the 2023 season.)
TE Jack Nickel
WR Antonio Gates Jr.
Players still have until April 30 to drop their name into the portal. That means we still could hear more guys leaving. But that also means there is more time for other schools to have their athletes enter the portal.
So far, new head coach Jonathan Smith has plucked one guy from the portal. RB Kay’ron Lynch-Adams is heading to East Lansing. Kay’ron has already used his usual eligibility between his time at Rutgers and then at UMass, but he is getting a bonus Covid year that he will utilize as a grad transfer at Michigan State.
I am not panicking about the imbalance of players going out versus coming in. I expect that the majority of players will wait until after April 30 when they see everyone in the portal and then can make the best decisions for themselves.
In other recruiting news, Coach Smith has nabbed the first member of the 2025 recruiting class. Quarterback Leo Hannan has just declared his commitment to the Spartans. Hannan plays his high school ball in Anaheim, CA, He is rated as a three-star recruit, and 247 has him as the #50 QB.
Stay tuned to TOC for more offseason coverage.