Watching three starters from your football team all decide to enter the transfer portal in one day can certainly feel pretty shocking, and that’s what happened yesterday for Michigan State football, when quarterback Payton Thorne, wide receiver Keon Coleman, and cornerback Charles Brantley all entered the transfer portal on Sunday.
While some people are frustrated with the news, I think if you look at each player and position group, those anxieties might be calmed a little. We look at each player transferring along with the position group situation they are leaving behind below.
UPDATED ON MAY 2, 2023: Charles Brantley has withdrawn from the portal.
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QB Payton Thorne
2022 Stats: 2,679 yards, 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 62.5-percent completion percentage
Quarterbacks still on roster: Noah Kim, Katin Houser, Sam Leavitt, Andrew Schorfhaar, Sam Leavitt
Analysis: Whether Payton Thorne is leaving this year to chase some big NIL money at a school like Auburn who is desperate for a functional quarterback, or because he was in danger of being passed in the depth chart by Noah Kim or Katin Houser, this was going to be Thorne’s last year in East Lansing no matter what. Thorne is competent, but he has a definite ceiling on his abilities, and the program might be better served getting a fresh start at that position with their next QB of the future.
If the rumors are true and Noah Kim was starting to outplay him in practice, it’s the best thing for all involved for Thorne to move on, as it’s never good to have those kind of whispers around your veteran quarterback, even if they were just rumors.
WR Keon Coleman
2022 stats: 58 receptions, 798 yards, 7 touchdowns
Wide receivers still on roster: Tre Mosley, Montorie Foster Jr., Tyrell Henry, Christian Fitzpatrick, Jaron Glover, Antonio Gates Jr., Cade McDonald, more…
Analysis: This is the one that stings the most of the three big transfers, because Coleman was set up to be the Spartans No. 1 option, and one of the best wide receivers in the Big Ten. However, this is a deep group, with some players like Antonio Gates Jr. who had about as much hype and potential as Coleman coming out of high school, or with similar size to Coleman like Christian Fitzpatrick. You can also bet that the Spartans will be adding a few more receivers in the portal to flesh out this group.
