Michigan State football has contacted one of the top OL in transfer portal

After the regular season finale and signing day, Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith seemingly admitted that he needed to bolster the trenches on both sides of the ball. You won’t win many games with the type of line play Michigan State got this season and that’s a priority moving forward.

It looks like Smith is keeping true to his word as he and the staff have already reached out to one of the top transfer linemen on the market.

According to Allen Trieu of 247Sports, Michigan State is one of many schools that have reached out to Northwestern offensive line transfer Josh Thompson who entered the portal earlier this week. Michigan has reportedly also reached out early on.

Northwestern OL Josh Thompson had a busy first 24 hours in the portal.

Multiple schools have inquired including Michigan and Michigan State for the Fenton (Mich.) native.

(VIP) https://t.co/qa6clUv1wg

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) December 5, 2024

This is a recruitment worth keeping an eye on as Thompson is from Fenton, Mich., and spent the past four years at Northwestern. While he played primarily right tackle, he can also slide into that guard spot as Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 2 guard in the Big Ten this season. He’s a 6-foot-5, 301-pound force on the offensive line and there’s a reason he’s been busy since entering the portal this week.

The Spartans could use all the offensive line help they can get as they had one of the worst units in the Big Ten this past season. Injuries ravaged the line and while Tanner Miller and Luke Newman played well, the rest seemed to struggle.

Adding a player like Thompson with four years of experience in the Big Ten would be huge, especially since the in-state rivals are also after him. In my opinion, this is going to come down to an in-state battle for him, but the Spartans will have to conjure up a nice NIL deal to hold off the Wolverines.

Hopefully Smith keeps the positive momentum going after a strong signing day.