Starting MSU DT Derrick Harmon to the portal
Second defensive line starter to depart in the last week or so (Simeon Barrow). MSU also has managed to lose 4-star defensive lineman Andrew Depaepe to the portal today. The hits keep coming (or probably going).
Cool.
Jonathan Smith is a good coach. And he knows how to compete as a little brother. He will show up in ways Mel never did.
But Smith will come to painfully realize that Oregon State is not remotely as dysfunctional as Sparty. But then, who is?
I don't disagree with any of your points, but the portal era and starters leaving isn't anything indictive of Sparty's dysfunction.
This is just the way things are--and it's pretty annoying as a lifelong college sports fan. Good for the kids for doing what they want. Bad for the fans.
Loudly clears throat, holds lorgnette to my face, and sticks nose in the air: You're operating under the assumption that because the typical contemporary player departs at the drop of a dime, that this particular player didn't depart as a result of a ghastly dysfunctional program in East Lansing. Ghastly!
+1 for sound idea, +1,000 for use of lorgnette.
Maybe. But this guy stuck around during the height of dysfunction and embarrassment. He made it through the low point and is now transferring? Either he got offered the bag somewhere else, was holding MSU hostage for the bag and MSU said “no”, or spring game came and went and he’s not confident about his playing time.
or spring game came and went and he’s not confident about his playing time.
Other option: spring game came and went and he's absolutely confident about how absolutely awful they looked (and what that portends for the upcoming season).
Smith may not be dysfunctional enough.
I think it’s fair to raise an eyebrow at anyone who’s suddenly in a hurry to skedaddle as soon as a long reign of terror is replaced by a semblance of decency.
I’m sure a good year for them will be a top half finish in the Norris or Campbell division.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:21 PM ^
Or the American League Central.
But can he play- wait a sec!
Honestly, unlikely.
New regime. You know one of the first things new coaches do is dump the malcontents and slackers to improve the culture.
I would take one of them for the trolling lolz being scholarship limits don't exist anymore. Sparty was really bad last year though. They got a new coach that brought in a lot of transfers. They either watched their spring game and said "eff this" or are getting chased off. I have a hard time believing these guys are good. My memories of football last year are hazy though. I just remember winning. Was their D-line as bad as the rest of the team?
Harmon and Barrow are both good players. Harmon considered the better of the two.
It also sounds like a law firm.
It also sounds like a law firm.
It's funny because it's true. Thanks for the laugh.
It's a talent loss for Sparty, for sure. Worth noting both of these DT starters have been in the portal multiple times looking for bigger paydays. They're mercenaries.
When we're disparaging, they're mercenaries. When we like 'em, they're just doing what every red-blooded American is gonna do. Getting that payday while they can. . . etc.
They were both in the portal already THIS YEAR. Hopping in and out of the portal multiple times in the same 6-month span absolutely makes you a mercenary. I'm not saying they're bad people or they shouldn't try to get more money, only that their way of going about getting more money isn't the best look.
So it's about aesthetics. :)
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:21 PM ^
Yes
Word is they took Ishbia's money (ok I am using Ishbia but their "collective") in December to stay, and still walked in April. It's really gross - except it happened @ MSU so it's cool. Obviously they have been tampered with the whole time and I guess they are two timing it. What a culture Mork built!
The market for DT's is pretty hot right now. Some P5 teams are ponying up big bucks to get players into the portal. If they commit within the week, that's the tell.
Specifically to Ole Miss, Tennessee or OSU
getting late early for John L Smith Jr.
in all seriousness they will probably be fine
Judging by how rattled they appear to be about this transfer, it is a rough day in East Lansing 😁
It’s always a rough day in East Lansing
It’s one of my go-to comments about MSU, but I have infinite sympathy for their grad students. MSU undergrad and MSU post-grad are two different universes.
I drew a blank. Pics don't import?
MSU undergrad, Michigan post-grad, so what universe does that put me in Pontiff?
These guys are takes right if they somehow qualify aren't they? Wasn't DT the one area of strength for MSU?
Of course there are culture issues to consider I suppose.
I feel like people had bad things to say about Barrow, but I'd take this guy as a depth piece. I know DT depth is a bit of a concern, and I'd love to have more depth to burn against overmatched opponents so Graham/Grant are fresher for the big games...
They're both probably going for SEC bags so I wouldn't count on M being involved. LSU and other SEC teams are desperate for DTs right now.
Texas too. We might still have to have to face one of them.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:22 PM ^
I doubt one single credit transfers :P
Basket weaving isn't that in demand anymore.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:22 PM ^
Are you familiar with the SEC?
Per RCMB he had just signed a big NIL deal a few months ago. LOLZ. Sparty is just so very Sparty sometimes
If he was "paid in full - and advance" for his NIL deal, it would appear he has learned "how to do it" from Mark Dantonio.
Take the money - and run... And, if you happen to leave the "green and white" in a difficult and awkward position - don't worry about it - just count your cash.
NIL can’t be contingent upon playing at a specific school, so it really wouldn’t matter if he took the payment up front or not. If he signed a deal, they have to honor it.
Yes, but who wants the back-up DT for Miss St. appearing in your car dealership ad in East Lansing?
They can claim the contract is no longer binding because the player changed the nature of the agreement.
Doesn’t really matter unless the terms of the deal were payment per appearance. They signed the individual. If the “nature of the agreement” is contingent upon him being a Michigan State football player, that is against the rules.
Didn’t their big NIL collective cancel all contracts out of the blue? Or was this a different NIL deal?
If this guy bilked MSU out of as much upfront money as possible only to enter the portal immediately thereafter, we might have to find him a spot on our team on general principle!
Let's hope he didn't lose his NIL deal because of a phone masturbation incident.
Pride comes before the...oh wait they already fell.
I was at dinner last night with a very partisan and somewhat delusional Sparty. Last time I saw him, he let me know that he was very confident that Urban becoming their next coach was pretty much a done deal.
His comical statement last night: "You at least have to admit that Harbaugh's tattoo is pretty bad."
They really are great at grasping at whatever thing they can find to make themselves feel better about their current situation.
Yeah, I'm pretty torn up about the fact that the guy who led Michigan football to a National Championship has a shitty tattoo.
This is so spot on. I work with two Sparty grads. We rarely talk sports because it's gotten quite heated in the past. But their little digs are usually in the same vein as "bad tattoo, dude." They've got nothing else. Even Michigan basketball's implosion was so complete that there was no meat on the bone for them.
a 15-0 tattoo will always look better than a 4-8 tattoo.
Gerald Ford tattoo afficionados, simmer down. He said "4-8" not 48.
Most popular Sparty tatoos:
1-800-phone sex #
Where's your manager?
I'm lying in the weed(s)
Couches & bonfires, what's the difference?
I'm shorter than you, what's your problem?
SDFL