Michigan State football's unfortunate trend this offseason
This offseason is getting to the point of complete frustration for me. Time and time again Michigan State football is getting bad news as every day it seems like a new player enters the transfer portal. But I expected that to happen this offseason, so that isn't the thing that frustrates me.
What's frustrating to me is that Michigan State can't seem to have good news without something bad happening immediately after. The best part about the offseason is celebrating Michigan State wins on the recruiting trail, but so far this offseason we haven't had much of a chance to celebrate.
The latest example of this was Thursday night, when Michigan State picked up a massive commitment from four-star transfer offensive lineman Andrew Dennis. However, about one hour after that news broke, MSU found out that one of their spring transfer acquisitions in defensive lineman Brandon Lane is no longer transferring to Michigan State.
Michigan State and Stephen F. Austin transfer defensive lineman Brandon Lane have mutually agreed to part ways, per sources. @SpartansRivals
— Brendan Moore (@bmoorecfb) May 2, 2024
Lane totaled 44 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery in 11 games played in 2023.https://t.co/9jwFtJmDd6
While losing Lane isn't a huge loss, it's frustrating because it just had to happen right after the Spartans got some elite news from Dennis committing. But this isn't the only example of bad news hitting immediately after something good happens.
On April 30, Jonathan Smith picked up his most impressive recruiting win when Edward Woods announced he is transferring to Michigan State. But what happened after that? Four Spartans entered the portal the very same day along with a fifth the following day. So any momentum we thought Michigan State earned from Woods' commitment was gone in the blink of an eye.
Even Michigan State basketball is joining the trend as well. Tom Izzo earned a huge commitment from Frankie Fidler on April 23. What happened later that day? Two key defensive lineman as well as running back Jalen Berger all entered the portal. I know these are two different sports, but it still hurt me as a fan of both teams to see the bad news come right after Fidler committed.
All I hope for is that Michigan State can string some good news together without anything bad happening in the middle. I feel like that isn't asking for too much, but for some reason that hasn't happened this offseason.