Nick Marsh is the No. 1 transfer on the market after leaving Michigan State when Jonathan Smith was fired and replaced by Pat Fitzgerald. He didn’t even give the new head coach a chance to sway him into staying in East Lansing, and he’s likely gone for good.
This has the same feel as the Keon Coleman departure a couple of years ago, but that truly felt like rock-bottom, especially after a disappointing 2022 season.
Coleman, however, felt like he had to leave because the quarterback situation was a nightmare and it felt like the Mel Tucker era was coming to an end soon (he was right on both accounts). He went on to star at Florida State and then he was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills.
Marsh is leaving even though the quarterback situation looks solid with Alessio Milivojevic and the head coach is brand-new and he’s injected the program with new life.
The star sophomore will likely be hearing from all the big-time programs, but there’s one potential landing spot that would drive Michigan State fans crazy.
Nick Marsh could opt to go to a rival
I bet you thought I was going to point out the obvious and say Michigan, didn’t you? While I think Michigan would be a nightmare landing spot for Marsh, I just don’t see it happening considering that offense hasn’t been known to pass the ball effectively in years, and the former Michigan State receiver wouldn’t use the term “SD4L” and transfer to the program down the road.
I could, however, see him transferring to another rival: Penn State.
That’s right, Marsh was almost going to Penn State out of high school, but Jonathan Smith convinced him to stick with the Spartans after Mel Tucker was fired. With James Franklin gone, there may not be a connection to Penn State anymore, but that’s what would make it even worse. The Nittany Lions are already making big recruiting moves, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Matt Campbell and Co. tempt the talented wideout a huge NIL deal.
Seeing Marsh at Penn State, or anywhere in the Big Ten for that matter, would hurt. There’s also talk of Indiana getting involved with Marsh, which is another “rivalry”.
Outside of the obvious nightmare scenario where he picks Michigan, if Marsh were to go to Penn State, Spartan fans would be sick. A brand-new coach stealing Michigan State’s best offensive weapon without having built a good relationship with him would be a gut-punch.
Fortunately, if he does pick Penn State, the Spartans won’t see him in 2026.