Two Michigan State Football Starters Withdraw From Transfer Portal
All was quiet over Christmas for Michigan State football, but with the holiday past there's been more movement in the transfer portal this week for MSU. On Wednesday, the Spartans got a big boost to their 2024 roster when two multi-year starters decided to withdraw their names from the transfer portal and return to East Lansing.
The biggest return came from redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who was considered the No. 1 DT in the portal according to 247Sports. Upon declaring his intention to transfer, Harmon drew immediate interest from Ohio State and Auburn, but ultimately it was Oregon who presented the biggest challenge to Michigan State's attempts to keep Harmon on its roster.
According to Spartan Tailgate's Justin Thind, all three of Ohio State, Auburn and Oregon went "all-out" to try to poach Harmon, with the Ducks' NIL offer especially enticing. Yet, in the end, MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, the Spartans' new coaching staff and university donors did what it took to keep a highly-coveted player home.
After redshirting in 2021, Harmon has appeared in all 24 of Michigan State's games over the past two seasons, making 17 total starts. In 28 career games played, the redshirt sophomore has recorded 71 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Harmon has two years of eligibility remaining.
Michigan State's other returnee comes from the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. Right guard Geno VanDeMark, another redshirt sophomore, has also withdrawn his name from the transfer portal to stay at MSU. The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder started in all eight games in which he appeared in 2023, missing four games due to injury. Over his three-year career, VanDeMark has appeared in 18 games with 10 starts at right guard. He also has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
While the Spartans' offensive line has struggled over the past several seasons, things were looking even more bleak for the position group not so long ago. This offseason, seven Michigan State O-lineman entered the transfer portal, but Smith and new offensive line coach Jim Michalczik have convinced four of those seven to return to East Lansing.
VanDeMark joins interior offensive lineman Kristian Phillips (R-Fr.) and offensive tackles Ethan Boyd (R-So.) and Brandon Baldwin (R-Jr.) as returnees. Getting four O-lineman back, even from a group that has struggled, is a significant development for MSU. The offensive line is arguably the most difficult position for football programs to build depth and consistency, and these returns at least give Michalczik a starting point.
Under Smith, Michigan State has been able to convince several transfer portal entrants to reconsider and rejoin the roster. In addition to Harmon and the offensive lineman, the Spartans have gotten portal withdrawals from redshirt junior linebacker Darius Snow and redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaron Glover.
Michigan State Loses Another Linebacker To Transfer Portal
In other transfer portal news, Michigan State suffered another loss to its linebacker room in redshirt freshman Quavian Carter, an MSU spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.
A member of the Spartans' 2021 recruiting class, Carter was a high-rated three-star prospect out of Lee County (Ga.) High School. He was considered the No. 677 overall prospect, No. 60 safety and No. 72 player from the state of Georgia. Upon singing with Michigan State, Carter was moved to linebacker while redshirting in 2022. He missed the entirety of the 2023 season due to injury, and could apply for a medical redshirt from the NCAA. If granted, Carter would have all four years of eligibility remaining.
On Tuesday, Michigan State added a piece to its special teams unit when former James Madison long snapper Kaden Schickel committed to the Spartans out of the transfer portal. The redshirt sophomore appeared in all 13 games for the Dukes this past season, and fills a position of need for MSU after the Spartans lost veteran long snapper Hank Pepper to the portal this offseason. Schickel will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in East Lansing.
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