MSU acting head coach Harlon T. Barnett runs out onto the field with his team as the game against Maryland starts at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 23, 2023. The Spartans ultimately lost to the Terrapins 31-9.
Just three days after the conclusion of the 2023 season, the Michigan State football team lost its first player to the transfer portal that opens up for the offseason. With the hiring of a new head coach in Jonathan Smith, this season's transfer portal will likely be very active.
The State News will use this transfer portal tracker as a running tab of who has left and who has arrived via the transfer portal. QB Aidan Chiles is the first player to join the Spartans.
Who's In:
QB Aidan Chiles
Oregon State > Michigan State
Thursday afternoon, it was reported by ESPN that true freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles will transfer to Michigan State University from Oregon State, following coach Jonathan Smith to the school to hopefully earn a sport as QB one. He threw for 309 yards, rushed for 79 yards, and had four touchdowns during his freshman campaign.
TE Jack Velling
Oregon State > Michigan State
As the transfer portal continues to surge, Michigan State has gained another key piece to the line-up from Oregon State, tight end Jack Velling. Velling has played two seasons with Oregon State. He put up 719 total yards combined between the years, 45 receptions and 11 touch downs. He follows behind quarterback Aidan Chiles and coach Jonathan Smith to the program.
WR TJ Sheffield
Purdue University > Michigan State
Shortly after Velling's commitment, former Purdue wide receiver TJ Sheffield has announced his commitment to Michigan State after five seasons at Purdue. Sheffield had a total of 32 receptions, two touchdowns and 381 yards. He adds to the list of solid players that Smith and his crew have now gathered from the portal.
LB Jordan Turner
University of Wisconsin > Michigan State
As the commitments continued to roll in, Jordan Turner, a linebacker from Wisconsin was announced as a transfer to Michigan State from Wisconsin. The Farmington Michigan native had a total of 135 tackles through his time at Wisconsin, as well as 5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
DE Quindarius Dunnigan
Middle Tennessee University > Michigan State
Quindarius Dunnigan has announced his transfer from Middle Tennessee to MSU, adding to the growing transfer class that Coach Smith has gathered. The red shirt junior played in all 12 games last season and logged 11 starts. He had a career high 35 tackles and led all defensemen in 56 snaps played per game.
Who's Out:
OT Spencer Brown
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Michigan State > Oklahoma
Shortly after Snow entered his name into the transfer portal Monday, redshirt senior offensive lineman Spencer Brown also put his name into the portal. Brown was an important piece of the Spartan's offensive line, being a starter for the past two seasons on that unit, including a career-high season snap count of 783 in 2022. Brown will use his final year of eligibility elsewhere as a graduate transfer.
QB Katin Houser
Michigan State > East Carolina
Just after the announcement of two fellow teammates to enter the transfer portal, redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser announced his intentions to follow behind them in leaving the program. Houser is left with three years of eligibility in NCAA football. He started seven games for Michigan State and played a total of 11, earning a win against Nebraska and Indiana near the conclusion of the 2023 season. The quarterback threw for a total of 1,134 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions throughout his time with the Spartans.
OL Kevin Wigenton
Michigan State > Illinois
Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Kevin Wigenton also announced his intentions to transfer alongside Boyd after an appearing in four games during his redshirt freshman season. He played a total of 12 snaps on offense and 14 on special teams. He made his college debut against Akron and played a career high 11 snaps against the Zips last season. In his third year, he fought for a spot on the offensive line to get into a playing rotation for the team.
QB Sam Leavitt
Michigan State > Arizona State
Freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt also decided to enter into the NCAA transfer portal as well after playing four games for the Spartans during his first season. He had a total of 139 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and two interceptions during his redshirt season at MSU.
QB Noah Kim
Michigan State > Coastal Carolina
Redshirt Junior Noah Kim is now the third quarterback set to leave East Lansing having entered the NCAA transfer portal Tuesday afternoon. Kim saw action in five games this season putting up 1090 yards, six passing touchdowns and six interceptions before losing his spot to freshman Katin Houser. Kim is listed as a graduate transfer.
WR Christian Fitzpatrick
Michigan State > Marshall
Redshirt junior wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick followed shortly after QB Noah Kim with his announcement into the transfer portal. The wide receiver was a transfer in May 2021 from Louisville and played in every game for the 2023 season with the Spartans. He had a total of 18 receptions and 252 yards, along with one touchdown against Nebraska.
WR Tyrell Henry
Michigan State > ?
Sophomore wide receiver Tyrell Henry also announced his entrance into the transfer portal Tuesday afternoon. Henry played in 11 games his freshman season for the team and played in every game his sophomore year. He had a total of 195 yards in the 2023 season and three touchdowns. Henry will be eligible for two remaining years after entering the portal as a true sophomore.
OL Geno VanDeMark
Michigan State > ?
Shortly following the loss of Tyrell Henry, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Geno VanDeMark took to Twitter for his announcement of entering the portal as well. He played in 10 games during his redshirt freshman season and played in 215 offensive snaps. VanDeMark played in eight games during the 2023 season on the offensive line and has two remaining years of eligibility.
DL Zion Young
Michigan State > ?
Defensive lineman Zion Young announced his entrance into the transfer portal through Twitter along with several other teammates. The sophomore played in eight games his freshman season and made two starts at defensive end. He tallied 183 snaps and had 13 appearances on special teams. He made an appearance in every game for the 2023 season and plans to look for another team to now take him under their wing.
WR Sebastian Brown
Michigan State > ?
Redshirt junior Sebastian Brown has announced his entrance into the transfer portal via Twitter, stating that he will have a remaining two years of eligibility to play. He did not appear in any games his redshirt freshman or his redshirt sophomore year, and appeared in three games for his redshirt junior season to earn his first letter. He played six snaps on offense and one on special teams.
DL Khris Bogle
Michigan State > ?
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Khris Bogle announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Twitter Saturday morning. Bogle had a role on the defensive unit recording 14 total tackles to go along with two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Bogle will have one year of eligibility left as he redshirted during his junior season as a result of suffering an injury that knocked him out of the final eight games of the 2022 season.
TE Maliq Carr
Michigan State > ?
Dec. 9th, tight end Maliq Carr announced his entrance into the transfer portal as a redshirt junior. Carr played in 12 games his redshirt freshman season to earn his letter, and his redshirt sophomore year he ranked second in receptions (16) among MSU tight ends. His redshirt junior season he was named to Reese's Super Bowl watchlist. He had 25 receptions and 352 total yards during the season.
TE Evan Morris
Michigan State > University of Central Florida
The fifth year tight end Evan Morris has moved into the transfer portal as a redshirt senior. He appeared in two games his true freshman season, four games his redshirt freshman season, having played 20 plays on special teams. Morris also had four kickoffs his redshirt sophomore year for 223 yards, and played in a career high 11 games his redshirt junior year. He played in every game his redshirt senior year and had four receptions through the season. He ended his time at MSU with a total of 882 yards.
LB Jacoby Windmon
Michigan State > ?
Before being at MSU for two seasons, Windmon played two seasons at UNLV before transferring to Michigan State. He played eight games his redshirt senior season with six starts at defensive end and two at linebacker. He played 455 snaps on defense and 65 on special teams. Windmon played three games his 2023 season at MSU, but was battling injury.
DL Derrick Harmon
Michigan State > ?
Harmon played a total of 16 career games at Michigan State through his true freshman season, a redshirt freshman season and redshirt sophomore season. He tallied a total of 31 tackles and two sacks for 10 yards. Harmon played in all 12 games his redshirt freshman season including five starting positions to earn his letter.
CB Charles Brantley
Michigan State > ?
Junior Charles Brantley is a two-year letter winner and has played in 22 games at MSU, including 15 career starts at cornerback over his past three seasons. He played in the first three games of the 2023 season recording 4 tackles against Washington.
