Michigan State searching transfer portal for possible roster additions

Michigan State vs. Maryland

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio walks to Spartan Stadium before the game against Maryland in East Lansing on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019.Neil Blake | MLive.com

EAST LANSING – Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio has spent four decades coaching football and witnessed plenty of change.

There have been a lot of developments on the field as well as off it. And the NCAA’s transfer portal has made an impact on both.

“That’s an interesting concept, the transfer portal,” Dantonio said. “There’s over 2,000 people in the transfer portal and it’s very difficult to look at it so we’ve segmented it out. We have one guy who deals with just the portal.”

Evaluating Michigan State’s 2020 recruiting class and top targets left before early signing period

This is the second season since the portal was introduced and Dantonio’s experience with it has been mostly one-sided. The Spartans have had seven players enter it this season in redshirt junior linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle, junior running back Connor Heyward, sophomore running back La’Darius Jefferson, redshirt junior receiver Cam Chambers, redshirt sophomore receiver Weston Bridges, redshirt junior tight end Noah Davis and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Dimitri Douglas.

Entering the portal doesn’t mean a player has to transfer but allows them to be contacted by coaches from other schools. Bouyer-Randle is the only one of the seven Spartans who entered it this season to publicly commit to another program as he announced last week he’s headed to Texas Tech.

Michigan State made one notable portal addition in the offseason when it landed receiver Jayden Reed from Western Michigan. He was named a Freshman All-American last year after posting 56 catches for 797 yards and eight touchdowns and averaged 17.9 yards on 12 punt returns with one touchdown. Although Michigan State applied for Reed to be granted eligibility this season, that was denied by the NCAA, Dantonio said, and he can’t play until next year.

“It’s sort of difficult to try and figure your way through it right now,” Dantonio said of the portal. “You’ve got to look at grades, you’ve got to look at where they’re at in terms of are they going to have to sit out, are they graduate transfers? So, there’s all these different categories I think you have to look at relative to what the needs are and things of that nature.”

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Michigan State (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) has one game left this season and will play Wake Forest (8-4, 4-4 ACC) in the Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York. It’s also an important recruiting period with Dantonio and other staff members making in-home visits with the players committed to their 2020 recruiting class as the early signing period is Dec. 18-20.

The Spartans could also seek to upgrade the 2020 roster through the portal with the hope of rebounding from a disappointing season. Quarterback Brian Lewerke, receiver Darrell Stewart Jr., tight end Matt Seybert, defensive linemen Kenny Willekes, Raequan Williams and Mike Panasiuk, linebackers Joe Bachie and Tyriq Thompson and safety David Dowell are all seniors this season.

“We are looking at those things,” Dantonio said of the portal. “But in the first week (of the contact period with recruits) I thought the most pressing thing was for me to be where I need to be, with our current committed guys. So that’s what I’m focused on. It’s interesting though.”

Related Michigan State football stories:

Michigan State selling ‘life moments’ with Pinstripe Bowl trip to New York

Kenny Willekes wins Burlsworth Trophy winner as nation’s top former walk-on

Up next for Michigan State: First meeting vs. Wake Forest in Pinstripe Bowl

Mark Dantonio doesn’t expect players to skip Pinstripe Bowl, staff to be evaluated after season

Mark Dantonio embracing ‘outstanding’ opportunity to play Pinstripe Bowl vs. Wake Forest


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