Michigan State Football: Gaoteote’s departure and potential pitfalls of transfer dependency

But why does Gaoteote raise a red flag?

It’s possible, that Ma’a Gaoteote didn’t meet the expectations that preceded him being the prized recruit of the last cycle.

Michigan State signed Quavaris Crouch from the portal, who was a major contributor this season, arguably one of the most consistent defensive players all year on the team, and he is expected to return. Cal Haladay was a Freshman All-American and his productivity and play entrenched him for years to come. And then there is Jacoby Windmon and Aaron Brule, both transfers that are incoming from UNLV and Mississippi State, respectively, that are joining the program as part of the 2022 class. They both were highly coveted transfer players that many schools were interested in and MSU is lucky to have them.

That right there is your two-deep rotation, and more than likely Gaoteote saw the writing on the wall that playing time would be hard to come by as a sophomore, just like it was as a true freshman.

However, it begs the question: is the focus on being really good right now potentially sacrificing the long-term development and success of the program? Many have professed “In Mel we Trust” and I am one of those individuals. I have never been more excited about the future of Michigan State football. However, when Gaoteote entered the portal, it did make me pause unlike many that we have lost to the portal to this point.

Why is a promising true freshman that signed with us after being committed to USC on signing day and was the highest-ranked player in the 2021 class, leaving after just one year? Was he lacking that much capability that we felt the “instant gratification” of bringing in a couple of transfer portal players was necessary? Did he not have the work ethic that the Spartan program is embodying now? Was he not developing as quickly as the staff had hoped he would to make them feel comfortable with him seeing regular playing time in 2022 as a sophomore?

It absolutely could be any one, or all, of those reasons that he ultimately decided to enter the portal. If so, then he would have never been a fit and the portal entry is beneficial for both. If not, are we trying to move too fast, and what are the potential impacts long term of transfers like this?