BREAKING: Another Michigan State player leaves football team
Michigan State football has suffered another departure from its roster ahead of Week Seven's matchup against Rutgers.
At his weekly press conference on Monday, interim head coach Harlon Barnett revealed that senior running back Jordon Simmons is no longer on the team, becoming the third Spartan to leave the program in the wake of former head coach Mel Tucker's firing.
"This morning, Jordon Simmons came up and said he thinks he's going to jump in the portal," Barnett said. "And so, with that being said, he's off the team. There wasn't nothing bad, he went home and talked to his parents over the bye week, and we said, 'Okay, that's fine'. That's what he has available to him, as far as football's concerned."
In addition to Simmons, redshirt senior defensive back Justin White and junior long snapper Hank Pepper departed the program in the week leading up to Michigan State's 26-16 loss to Iowa on Sept. 30. After that game, interim head coach Harlon Barnett cited playing time as the reason for White's departure, while noting that Pepper's motivation was tied to saving a year of eligibility.
"If that's what they choose to do, that's their choice," Barnett said. "We let them know what we're going to do, as far as that's concerned. Still love those guys, Justin and Hank. Wish them well, but that was the decision that they made. Okay, more power to you."
Barnett said on Monday that no other players other than those three have approached him about leaving Michigan State's program.
The NCAA provided a free year of eligibility to all collegiate athletes who participated in the 2020 athletic calendar due to COVID-19. College football players can also compete in up to four games and still use a redshirt in any given season. Due to these factors, Simmons should have two years of eligibility remaining should he choose to transfer to a new program.
In three-plus seasons at Michigan State, Simmons appeared in 34 games and ran for 520 rushing yards on 137 carries (3.8 per carry). The senior added 11 receptions for 56 yards and a receiving touchdown in the pass game.
The majority of that production, including all of the receiving, came in Simmons' first two seasons as a Spartan. He led the team in rushing (219 yards) as a true freshman in 2020, and added 278 yards on the ground in 2021 in a backup role to Kenneth Walker III. Over the past two seasons, Simmons has been lower on the depth chart and totaled just 23 rushing yards on 11 carries.
During Tucker's tenure, there were rare times when Michigan State players would enter the transfer portal but still be allowed to practice with the team. That happened with linebacker Ben VanSumeren ahead of the Spartans' 2021 Peach Bowl victory, as well as in spring practice last year.
Barnett said after the Iowa game that was not how MSU will handle portal entrees or departures this season.
"We're going to fight with the guys that are still in the locker room," he said. "And, as you can see, these guys are fighting. They're giving us everything they got."
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