The offseason (unfortunately) started early for Michigan State for a fourth straight year as the Spartans were eliminated from bowl contention early in November.
Jonathan Smith and the Spartans started the season 3-0, but lost eight straight games before beating Maryland in the season finale. That was the last game that Smith would coach as a Spartan, and he at least rode off with a huge buyout and a win.
Smith did a decent enough job of keeping the team together even when it looked fairly obvious that he was going to be fired after the season.
One player who Smith kept happy during his time in East Lansing was star receiver Nick Marsh. The sophomore wideout said during the summer at Big Ten Media Days that he could have transferred in the offseason, but he wanted to carve out a legacy at Michigan State.
Unfortunately, after Smith was fired and Pat Fitzgerald was hired, Marsh announced his intention to transfer from Michigan State.
Now, Marsh is ranked the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports.
I’d expect that to change when more players enter the portal after the postseason games are over, but Marsh is currently the No. 1 transfer on the market. Will Michigan State make a run at keeping him? Probably not, the price is going to be way too high, and I’d almost expect a program like LSU or someone in the SEC to make a push for him.
What will Nick Marsh be remembered for at Michigan State?
Losing Marsh to the portal definitely hurt, but fans would probably take more quality offensive lineman than a good receiver. All success starts in the trenches, and Michigan State hasn’t had decent offensive or defensive line play in years.
Marsh is going to be remembered for making big plays to provide the only offensive excitement the team really saw in 2024. He’ll also be remembered for not giving up on the team even when times got tough. He had some drop problems near the end of the 2025 season, but he still finished with 59 catches for 662 yards and six touchdowns.
As a freshman, he broke program records, and he was held back by poor offensive coaching in 2025. Brian Lindgren’s offense just didn’t do him any favors.
Now he’s going to become a star wherever he ends up next.