Michigan State Football: Daniel Barker ranked No. 5 transfer TE in nation

Michigan State football has landed a slew of impressive transfers over the past two years, but Daniel Barker may be near the top of the list.

After winning 11 games which includes a NY6 bowl victory, you’re going to recruit plenty of top talent and Mel Tucker did just that this past offseason in the transfer portal and with his 2022 class. Michigan State football is building for the future and on-field success is helping matters.

Along with landing a top 25 recruiting class, Tucker brought in a handful of instant-impact transfers from the portal.

One of those instant-impact transfers is Daniel Barker, a tight end from Illinois.

Barker spent four years at Illinois, catching 64 passes for 827 yards and 11 touchdowns. He entered the portal following his first season under Bret Bielema at Illinois where he caught 18 passes for 202 yards and four scores. He immediately became a coveted target in the portal for some Power Five teams looking for an experienced starting-caliber tight end.

He chose Michigan State and some experts are extremely high on his outlook for 2022.

According to Mike Farrell on The Portal Report, Barker is the fifth-best tight end transfer in the country heading into the 2022 season. Here’s what Farrell had to say:

"When healthy, Barker was a solid option for the Illini over the past three seasons. He heads to Michigan State and should be an immediate contributor."

Barker trails just Michael Trigg (Ole Miss), Logan Kendall (Utah), Jahleel Billingsley (Texas), and Austin Stogner (South Carolina) in Farrell’s ranking of the transfer tight ends for 2022.

If he plays to potential with the Spartans, Barker is going to provide Payton Thorne with another reliable target and that ‘MVP’ of the offense that Jay Johnson has been looking for at tight end.