A major piece of Michigan State football's defensive backfield has entered the transfer portal.
As we all know by now, the transfer portal has played a major role in college athletics these days, and with NIL thrown into the mix, players are looking for greener pastures every offseason and sometimes it's the same players transferring each year.
Dillon Tatum has been committed to Michigan State since high school, so this doesn't quite apply to him. But he did enter the transfer portal -- surprisingly -- on Monday afternoon.
Dillon Tatum has hit the portal from the Spartans. Tatum had 9 starts in 22 career games for MSU.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) April 21, 2025
He played 21 snaps against FAU last year before a leg injury ended his season.
Best of luck to Dillon as he looks for the best fit academically and athletically! https://t.co/5CNfuH2QVL
The news was a bit shocking, but coming off a season-ending injury in the 2024 opener can sometimes be tough to rebound fully from and it could be the case that the staff and the veteran safety agreed to part ways.
Tatum was a starter in 2023 for the Spartans and began 2024 as the projected starting safety before suffering that injury against FAU and never returning.
Mel Tucker's fingerprint on this team is slowly disappearing as Tatum was recruited by the former head coach as he committed to Michigan State over Michigan back in 2022 out of West Bloomfield, Mich. He had a solid two-plus year career with 62 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and eight pass breakups.
Now, Tatum will be looking for a new home for his final year of eligibility although he could likely apply for another due to the injury he suffered at the start of the 2024 season.
On paper, this is a big loss for the Spartans because many believed he was going to be the team's starting safety this season as long as he could stay healthy and he can play pretty much anywhere in the backfield. That versatility will be missed.