Spartan Nation

Michigan State Lands Transfer Cornerback From Iowa

The Spartans add an important piece at a position of need…

Matthew Lounsberry

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It was a wild ride for Michigan State Football in the transfer portal this past spring, and the Spartans have now added a late addition to their 2023 roster with summer conditioning already underway.

Former Iowa transfer cornerback Terry Roberts, who originally transferred to Miami and participated in spring practice with the Hurricanes, is now headed to East Lansing. A Michigan State spokesperson confirmed the addition of Roberts to the Spartans' roster on Thursday.

Roberts, who played four seasons at Iowa from 2019-22, is a welcome addition to Michigan State's secondary. The Spartans have been actively searching the transfer portal for cornerback this offseason, and thought they had landed their guy in TCU corner Kee'yon Stewart back May 6. However, Stewart was still fielding NIL offers despite "committing" to Michigan State, and ultimately wound up transferring to Arkansas.

That put the Spartans back on the market for a transfer corner, and when Roberts reappeared in the portal after a brief stint in South Beach, head coach Mel Tucker and new MSU cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado went to work to bring him to East Lansing.

In four seasons with the Hawkeyes, Roberts appeared in 33 games and made four starts. He concluded his Hawkeye career with 47 tackles, seven pass break-ups and two interceptions. While Roberts struggled to crack the starting lineup at Iowa, this is still a player who brings a lot of college experience to MSU's roster with one year of eligibility remaining.

Roberts had transfer portal offers from Penn State, Miami, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Minnesota, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Delaware, James Madison, Georgia Southern, and Northern Iowa.

At worst, Roberts provides needed depth to Michigan State's cornerback room alongside second-year defensive backs Dillon Tatum, Malcom Jones and Caleb Coley. This will allow the Spartans' coaching staff to bring along true freshman Chance Rucker and Eddie Pleasant III slowly as they develop. MSU also added experienced depth at cornerback via the transfer portal earlier this offseason, with the addition of former Wisconsin cornerback Semar Melvin, though he could be moved to safety or nickelback.

Michigan State has added 17 total transfer additions to the roster this offseason, including four since the end of April. In addition to Roberts, the Spartans added safety Armorion Smith from Cincinnati, defensive tackle Jalen Sami from Colorado and wide receiver Alante Brown from Nebraska during the spring.

For an updated look at Michigan State's incoming and outgoing transfers, click here.

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Matthew Lounsberry
MATTHEW LOUNSBERRY

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