The story is quite similar for the two redshirt juniors. Both had played significant snaps for the Spartans in the past, but appeared to have fallen out of the rotation for the most part at their respective positions. 

Gervin and Kline are the second and third Spartans to enter the transfer portal after freshman defensive end Alex Okolo entered the portal at the end of last week.

Gervin, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound native of Detroit, first arrived in East Lansing in 2018 where he would play three games before deciding to redshirt for the remainder of the season. He earned his first career start in 2019 against Ohio State and played a total of 158 defensive snaps on the season as well as some time on special teams.

Last season, Gervin appeared to take some nice steps forward, starting in six games for the green and white and logging 22 total tackles. His brightest moment came Nov. 28 against Northwestern when Gervin recovered a fumble in the end zone on the final play of the game to seal Michigan State’s upset win. 

This season, there were high hopes that Gervin could make additional steps forward as a defensive back. The former four-star prospect started in the first two games in 2021 versus Northwestern and Youngstown State, but struggled. As a result, he saw his playing time diminish and eventually fell out of the rotation in favor of newcomers such as Ronald Williams, Chester Kimbrough and Charles Brantley. 

For Kline, he also arrived at MSU in 2018, but decided to redshirt before playing a game. He dressed for all 13 games in 2019, recording 12 tackles and his first career sack against Western Michigan. In 2020, his role increased as one of the main backups, making 29 tackles and forcing two fumbles. 

Through the first four games the Chardon, Ohio native played sparingly. The linebacker core has appeared to be more solidified than the secondary, with Kline behind the likes of junior Quavaris Crouch, redshirt freshman Cal Haladay, redshirt junior Ben VanSumeren and redshirt senior Noah Harvey. 

An MSU Spokesperson confirmed Okelo's journey into the transfer portal Saturday. The former three-star prospect from Nashville, Tennessee did not appear in any of the four games in 2021.

With four games being the threshold of consideration for a redshirt season, it is not uncommon to see a few players here and there enter the portal around this time of the season. It also may not be surprising to see another player or two make the same move throughout the week.