Michigan State football steals former 4-star EDGE from Big Ten foe

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith has been knee-deep in the transfer portal since the final whistle of the 2024 season and his hard work has paid off.

While his first season as head coach didn't go exactly as he planned, he's been making up for that with success in the transfer portal. He has landed 11 guys from the portal so far, and it feels like he's not even close to being done -- although the scholarship numbers need to be crunched for that.

The Spartans lost 12 guys to the portal and signed a relatively small recruiting class so it's a fair assumption that Smith can go crazy in the portal but he needs to be a bit selective considering these guys will likely have the biggest impact on the roster in 2025.

Well, Smith was selective enough over the weekend that he landed one of the top edge rushers from the 2024 class who spent his first season with Big Ten foe Wisconsin.

Now, Anelu Lafaele is a Spartan and he has four years of eligibility left.

Lafaele was one of the top players from the state of Hawaii in the 2024 class, ranking No. 3 in the state and 247Sports listed him as a four-star and the No. 27 edge rusher in the country.

He redshirted with the Badgers this past season, but his 6-2, 237-pound frame is enticing on the edge as he could be molded into a star pass rusher. He was the No. 3 recruit from Hawaii which one X account pointed out makes him the third former Hawaiian to join the Spartans from the 2024 class. Michigan State now has three of the top four Hawaiian prospects from 2024 on the roster.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited for the next 3-4 years of Kekai Burnett, Lafaele, and Rustin Young in East Lansing. A pipeline from Hawaii to Michigan State may have just been created.