Transfer portal season is almost upon us, and as we approach the end of bowl season and the start of the new year, Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald will need to identify his top transfer targets.
It’s also interesting to see which former Spartans are in the transfer portal. While there are first-time transfer portal entrants from Michigan State like Nick Marsh, Makhi Frazier, and Gavin Broscious, among others, there are former Spartans who are back in the portal yet again — far removed from their days in East Lansing.
We’ve seen both Sam Leavitt and Katin Houser back in the transfer portal for a second time, there’s another former Spartan from the Mel Tucker who is now entering for a fourth time.
Tunmise Adeleye is in the transfer portal for the fourth time since 2021 and the third time since leaving Michigan State. He spent the 2025 season at UNLV and he was at Texas State the year before, one season removed from his time at Michigan State.
NEW: UNLV EDGE Tunmise Adeleye plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @Hayesfawcett3 reports
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 26, 2025
The former Texas A&M, Michigan State and Texas State EDGE was a top-50 recruit in the 2021 class.https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/QWEdMlJUW5
Fans thought Adeleye was going to be a star in East Lansing when he committed under Tucker. He was a top-50 recruit from Texas A&M who signed on with Tucker to be a starter on the Spartans’ defensive line in 2023. Unfortunately, he joined the program at a weird time seeing as Tucker was fired just a few games into that season and Adeleye probably felt robbed of a year.
Adeleye finished the 2023 season with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack in just six games. He’ll now be looking for his fifth school in six years.
The transfer portal is littered with former Michigan State players
The transfer portal is littered with former Michigan State players. In fact, there are three former Spartans in the top 10 transfer quarterback rankings. The No. 1 receiver is also a former Spartan, but Nick Marsh could still make the decision to return to East Lansing under Courtney Hawkins.
Former Jaron Glover, too, is back in the transfer portal.
I’m going to assume there will be more former Spartans in the portal over the next few months. Former Spartans in the portal have seen success over the years from Ricky White to Keon Coleman to Derrick Harmon. Unfortunately, Adeleye will need to have a big-time 2026 season in order to build any sort of draft stock.
Adeleye had a career year with UNLV in 2025, totaling 49 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. He’s looking for one final opportunity to improve that stock.