Spartans Coach Jonathan Smith Not Surprised by Players Transferring to Rival Schools

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith have lost a player to their biggest rival and gained a player from their biggest rival. Coach Smith thinks this may just be the beginning.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith walks to the sideline during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith have had one of the most noteworthy offseasons of any team in college football. The Spartans’ roster took a significant blow earlier in the offseason when it lost nearly 20 scholarship players to the transfer portal. This gave Coach Smith and his coaching staff their first major obstacle to overcome as a coaching staff. 

Smith and his coaching staff eventually went from one of the worst transfer portal teams to one of the best, ranking just outside the top ten transfer portal classes when it was all said and done. There was arguably no team in college football more positively or negatively impacted by the transfer portal this offseason than Smith and Michigan State.

However, with all the movement the Spartans experienced in the transfer portal, a couple of moves were the main topic of discussion for many in and around two of the most notable football programs in the Big Ten.

Former Michigan State starting free safety Jaden Mangham committed to Spartans' archrival Michigan shortly after entering the transfer portal on April 30. Former Michigan linebacker Semaj Bridgeman committed to Michigan State on the same day Mangham committed to Michigan. Both moves raised eyebrows, as such moves are nearly unfathomable for rival fanbases and former players on both sides.

While recently appearing at Wayne State in Detroit for the National College Showcase camp, Smith was asked about his thoughts on players transferring to rival programs. Smith said he believes this will continue as the transfer portal grows. However, after Michigan State’s early offseason troubles in the transfer portal, Smith does wish there were more rules and regulations on the transfer portal.

"This landscape, this day and age -- across the country -- guys have opportunities to transfer, and so, I think it'll become more and more common," Smith said.

"I'd love to … maybe have more guardrails on it," Smith said of the current transfer environment in general. "I don't know if that's going to be a possibility on rivalries. I'm not trying to say it's going to be very, very common, but just in this landscape nowadays, it's going to happen once in a while."

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