BREAKING: Michigan State adds massive transfer addition to defensive line
Michigan State has already addressed defensive needs via the transfer portal this offseason, and that continued on Wednesday when the Spartans landed another addition to its D-line.
Former Colorado defensive tackle Jalen Sami, who played for MSU head coach Mel Tucker during his lone season leading the Buffaloes in 2019, announced his commitment to the Spartans via social media this afternoon.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” #TMC🏁 #AGTG #Samoa #GoGreen
— #FTF 🇦🇸🇼🇸 (@SamiUso) May 17, 2023
🟢⚪️ @MSU_Football @Coach_Diron pic.twitter.com/uQ4PcUUNYb
Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 330 pounds, Sami is a massive addition (both figuratively and literally) for Michigan State's front seven. This is a guy who will eat up blocks and help the Spartans improve a run defense that ranked 102nd in rush yards allowed per game (178.6) and was T-85th in yards allowed per carry (4.29) in 2022.
From 2019 to 2022, Sami appeared in 36 games for Colorado with 32 career starts. He racked up 78 tackles, including 12 for loss, with 2.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery during his career with the Buffaloes. In his final season at Colorado, Sami recorded 38 tackles, three tackles for loss, five QB pressures, one forced fumble and a pass breakup in his most productive year in Boulder.
COL DT Jalen Sami is 6'6", but usually keeps his pad level low off the snap to push back shorter OL, as he does here to swallow the RB. Good movement skills for his size, though, able to win a gap off the snap when slanting and will chase outside the box. #SnapScout23 pic.twitter.com/n3U926rkm4
— Chad Reuter (@chad_reuter) June 17, 2022
A member of Colorado's 2017 recruiting class, Sami was a rare 'greyshirt' for the Buffaloes that year before being put on scholarship in 2018. He redshirted in '18, before making his way on to the field for the first time in 2019 with Tucker as his head coach. Sami comes to Michigan State as a graduate transfer with one season of collegiate eligibility remaining.
While Michigan State's defensive line was a little banged up this spring, this unit is shaping up to be the Spartans' best in 2023. MSU returns veterans Simeon Barrow, Derrick Harmon and Maverick Hansen — each of whom played significant snaps in 2022 — and former four-star recruit Alex VanSumern, who redshirted after appearing in the first four games a year ago.
The Spartans also added defensive tackles Jarrett Jackson (Florida State) and Dre Butler (Liberty), giving Michigan State even more experience on the D-line interior. Sami is the third defensive player that Michigan State has landed out of the transfer portal this spring. The Spartans added safety and Detroit-native Armorion Smith (Cincinnati) and cornerback Kee'yon Stewart (TCU).
For an updated look at Michigan State's incoming and outgoing transfers, click here.
For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @SpartanNationPodcast
- Follow us on Twitter: @mlounsberry34 | @a3danm
