MSU Transfer OL Luke Newman Wanted a 'Challenge' For Final Year of Eligibility
Michigan State offensive lineman Luke Newman is in a whole new world after transferring from Holy Cross to East Lansing this offseason.
Newman, who has one year of eligibility remaining, sought a challenge for his final season when he entered the transfer portal this offseason. He certainly got just that, transferring from an FCS school to a Michigan State team that will face some of the best teams in the Big Ten this season.
"Yeah, I mean, there are definitely some guys in the FCS that were a very big challenge for me," Newman told reporters on Thursday. "And obviously, the Big Ten, this is where all the talent really is. I mean, this is the best conference in college football, in my opinion. And it's certainly been a challenge going against these guys every day, but they've been making me a whole lot better, and I hope I've been doing the same for them."
Making that transition from the FCS to a storied Power Four school like Michigan State is quite the leap, but Newman had faith in himself that his game could translate.
"I was very confident in my abilities," he said, "coming out of Holy Cross where you're not facing Big Ten competition every day, but I believed in myself. I know that I've been able to do it against higher competition from some of the FBS games that we played at Holy Cross.
"And really, just taking it day by day. Obviously, it's more competitive with the amount of skill level that you're going against every day, whereas at Holy Cross, you play one or two FBS teams a year. So, it's certainly a big grind day in and day out, but I don't think there was really ever a doubt."
While Newman has spent his college career up to this point in Massachussets, he is quite familiar with Michigan State, having grown up in Bloomfield Hills.
"To be wearing the Green and White has been the dream of a lifetime for me," Newman said. "And, yeah, really it's just something that makes this whole journey, coming here, a whole lot special."
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