Michigan State football loses Bai Jobe as defensive line takes more hits

Michigan State football's defensive line has taken some massive hits this offseason.

First, guys like Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon hit the portal but Jonathan Smith convinced them to stay right after the season when he was hired. Both removed their names from the portal and all seemed to be just fine on that front. Then Zion Young went portaling and transferred to Missouri where he's been all spring.

Young was a huge loss, but if he was the only one, this group would be just fine.

Unfortunately, the spring transfer window opened up and we've seen Barrow and Harmon re-enter the portal along with Andrew Depaepe and Bai Jobe. We've seen the defensive line just get ravashed by the portal with five guys who were expected to have large roles this season departing. That's not ideal when you're trying to rebuild a program.

But it shows that the Mel Tucker era is slowly melting away, making way for Smith's players. Although not ideal to lose Harmon, Depaepe, Young, Jobe, and Barrow, Smith will be hitting the portal for their replacements and a couple of new transfers actually played well during the Spring Showcase.

The new era of college football is making high school recruiting nearly obsolete. While it's important to still recruit at the high school level, a lot of kids are transferring just one year after getting to campus if they're not in line to start right away.

The future seemed bright for Depaepe and Jobe especially, but Smith will have to adjust by hitting the portal hard.

Welcome to the new era of college football, folks.