Michigan State Football: Who will help replace Jase Bowen at WR?

Three-star Jase Bowen has decided to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates and forgo his Michigan State football career. Who will help replace him?

Losing Jase Bowen on Wednesday evening was a tough blow for the Michigan State football program. He signed an MLB contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and stated that he was living out a childhood dream and he’d always keep Michigan State in his heart.

While the loss may be a big one for the 2019 recruiting class and Mark Dantonio, you could argue that it’s even bigger for Jake Boss and the baseball program.

Even though he would have joined a loaded position at wide receiver in 2019, he could have pushed for some early playing time because of his hands and athleticism. He was a top-400 recruit, according to the 247Sports rankings, and 49th-best receiver in the 2019 class. He could have been a solid addition to an offense that needed a boost.

With Bowen gone, though, who will help replace him in terms of depth?

The starters are already essentially set in stone with Cody White, Darrell Stewart Jr. and either Jalen Nailor or Cam Chambers. Outside of that, C.J. Hayes could be a decent sophomore contributor and Laress Nelson is a name that’s been thrown around.

And although he may not be eligible this season, Western Michigan transfer Jayden Reed would likely have been higher on the depth chart than Bowen in 2020. He was a Freshman All-American in 2018.

If that’s not enough depth, the incoming freshman class even has two prospects who were higher rated than Bowen in Tre’Von Morgan and Tre Mosley. Both are expected to have immediate impacts for the Spartans and they’ll help ease the pain of losing Bowen to the MLB.

There are a few positions that wouldn’t suffer a ton if they lost one or two players to transfer, or in this case the MLB, and receiver is one of them.