Nick Marsh has been ready for Friday’s portal opening for about a month, and the talented Michigan State transfer is already taking advantage.
The in-state sophomore opted to enter the transfer portal after Jonathan Smith was fired and subsequently replaced by Pat Fitzgerald about an hour later. Then Courtney Hawkins was retained and that opened the door to the possibility of a return to East Lansing for a junior season.
That, however, no longer feels likely or even possible after he scheduled two big-time visits to a couple of Power Four programs from the Midwest.
The first visit will be to Indiana on Jan. 3-4 and that will be followed by a visit to Notre Dame on Jan. 5-6. He’s looking to stay close enough to home, but also play for a College Football Playoff contender in 2026. He doesn’t see that being Michigan State even though programs have made one-year turnarounds before (Indiana is a prime example).
NEWS: Michigan State star transfer WR Nick Marsh has locked in visits to Indiana and Notre Dame, his agent @allantegardner tells @On3Sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 2, 2026
Indiana: January 3rd-4th
Notre Dame: January 5th-6th
May add one more visit https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/YB1D3TJMUK
Yes, there’s still a chance he could return, but it doesn’t look likely. Also, before anyone comes at me for calling Notre Dame a “Power Four” program, I would have to consider it one seeing as it plays mostly P4 competition and it carries itself as an elite program despite not having a conference — at least the basketball program is in the ACC.
Marsh would be an interesting fit with both programs.
How would Nick Marsh look in either offense?
Indiana would probably be a perfect fit seeing as Curt Cignetti just turned Fernando Mendoza into a Heisman-winning quarterback. He will be able to find a quarterback to fit Marsh’s needs and turn him into an All-Big Ten pass-catcher. He’s already at that level, he just never got consistent quarterback play in East Lansing.
The Hoosiers clearly throw a lot seeing as Mendoza won the Heisman.
At Notre Dame, he’d be paired with Michigan native CJ Carr who he probably knows from his prep days. They would have a solid connection and that offense would be projected to do massive things in 2026.
If he returned to Michigan State, he’d have Alessio Milivojevic throwing him the ball as the new full-time starter. They already have a solid rapport, but is it enough to keep him around? We’ll see soon enough, but I’m leaning toward no.