Michigan State football is starting to experience some attrition as the offseason begins with new coach Jonathan Smith in place. Beginning with Katin Houser on Monday. The redshirt freshman quarterback, who started the Spartans’ final seven games this season, reportedly plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal with three seasons of eligibility remaining. Starting right tackle Spencer Brown also announced via Twitter on Monday he plans to enter the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Linebacker Darius Snow also has entered the portal with two years of eligibility remaining, and the redshirt junior said on social media he could appeal for a third season. The decisions come three days after the Spartans’ 4-8 season finished with a 42-0 loss to current No. 10 Penn State at Ford Field in Detroit.
Smith, whose hiring was announced Saturday, said Monday on the Big Ten Network he plans to focus his rebuilding effort for the Spartans on the high school ranks first. “There’s no question we’re gonna start with development,” he said. “And developing a program and the ability to develop year after year, especially for a younger player to be in the program, I want him leading way better as a player, person, student — the whole thing. So we want to be about development. I want to develop the highest-star rated players as well. So a two-, three-, four-, five-star, they come to the place and they develop and improve. He went on to mention discussion of the roster.
Houser arrived from California in 2022 as coach Mel Tucker’s first four-start quarterback recruit, and took a redshirt after playing six snaps in one game against Akron. After two-year starter Payton Thorne left the program for Auburn in the spring, Houser lost the battle to replace him to redshirt junior Noah Kim. Brown is a Walled Lake Western product who initially signed with coach Mark Dantonio in 2019. Brown, 6-6, 315, and a redshirt senior, started 23 of his 32 games as a Spartan, including all 12 in 2022 and 10 of 12 this season. Snow suffered a significant leg injury in the 2022 opener against Western Michigan and missed the rest of the season. Snow, 6-1, 230, was part of Dantonio’s final recruiting class in 2020 and stayed on despite the coach’s departure before his freshman season. He moved from defensive back to linebacker before the 2022 season.
Houser, Brown and Snow are the first defections since the one-month window after Tucker’s firing closed Oct. 27. Under interim coach Harlon Barnett, MSU had four players enter the portal. Brown and Snow are in the portal immediately with post-graduate exemptions. Houser and other undergrads cannot officially enter until the portal window reopens Dec. 4.