Derrick Harmon discusses transition from Michigan State to Oregon

One of the most shocking moves this offseason for Michigan State football was when defensive lineman Derrick Harmon entered the transfer portal. Nobody saw this coming because Harmon chose to wait until one of the very last days to do so and Harmon also entered the portal in the winter but chose to stay at Michigan State.

But at the end of the day, Harmon ended up in the portal and made his move to Oregon.

Harmon now has spent a few months in Oregon getting acclimated to his new team and it sounds like things are going pretty well for him. He recently spoke about his transition from Michigan State to Oregon and has noticed a lot of differences between the way Oregon does things compared to the Spartans.

"It’s been good. This is my fourth fall camp but it’s different up here."

- Derrick Harmon

Harmon then went a little deeper and shared more specifically about what’s different about being at Oregon, specifically mentioning the lack of depth at Michigan State.

"I was probably taking 75, 78 (snaps) at State. I was basically on the field the whole defense because we had probably three D-tackles that were rotating in the room. So that sounds good to me 40 snaps. I’m not complaining."

- Derrick Harmon

Harmon in this quote is talking about how he’s getting less snaps in practice and will receive less once the season begins because of the amount of depth Oregon has at his position. He specifically mentions that Michigan State doesn’t have anywhere close to the depth that the Ducks have as well.

When I first read this I wasn’t a fan of what he said. But after reading it a couple more times I actually don’t have a problem with it.

Some former Spartans have gone the route of flat out disrespecting Michigan State and their former teammates after they left the program. Jaden Mangham who is now at Michigan is the greatest example of this. But I don’t think Harmon said anything disrespectful here.

Oregon is the preseason No. 3 team in the country this season while MSU nowhere near the top 25. So it goes without saying that they have significantly more depth than Michigan State. Sure it’s not fun to hear a former Spartan say that, but you can’t argue with what he said.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still don’t respect Harmon for how he left Michigan State, but I’m happy he’s moved on and isn’t still taking shots at MSU like others. I'm going to cheer for Harmon this season, but seeing how he’s handling this transition is making me not want to actively root against him as much.

We’ll see if that changes when Michigan State travels to Oregon later this season.