Second-year Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith Oregon State a year ago for a more solidified position in the best conference in the country. While it had to be tough to leave his alma mater after building it back up,
When he came to East Lansing, he brought some key players with him via the transfer portal. Guys like Aidan Chiles, Tanner Miller, and Jack Velling followed their head coach to his new job, and they all started in 2024. The Oregon State transfers were key to helping the transition from Mel Tucker to Smith, but the Spartans lost Miller to graduation this offseason.
Fortunately, Smith found another Oregon State offensive lineman to replace him. Luka Vincic joins the roster as a redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
His reason for coming to Michigan State was obviously Smith, who recruited him, but also because he felt like he wasn't being pushed enough at Oregon State.
Luka Vincic: “I wanted to be pushed more” for his transfer from Oregon State.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) July 31, 2025
Brought that up multiple times, cited no offense to the OrSt staff, but he was hoping MSU would give him a call in the portal. pic.twitter.com/s120Td623N
This is a good sign that he knows what he's going to get from this Michigan State coaching staff, and he believes that Smith and Jim Michalczik will push him more than the staff in Corvallis last season did.
For all the Oregon State fans who said that Smith's departure is only going to make Oregon State better under Trent Bray, this is a tough look. Vincic transferred from Oregon State to Michigan State because he felt like he wasn't being pushed hard enough.
Vincic will be a great depth piece for the Spartans, and with the experience he has on the interior, he could play pretty much anywhere on the line.
He knows he'll be pushed more in East Lansing.