Michigan State football: Derrick Harmon removes name from portal, returns

After spending a month in the transfer portal, Derrick Harmon has announced he will be returning to Michigan State football.

Michigan State football continues to get good news this offseason. This time in the form of an elite defensive player choosing to stay in East Lansing.

Spartan defensive tackle Derrick Harmon entered his name into the transfer portal on Dec. 4. However, just 23 days later, he has decided to come back to Michigan State.

BREAKING: #MichiganState DT Derrick Harmon has decided to return to MSU.#Oregon, #OhioState, & #Auburn went all-out to try to land Harmon, but Jonathan Smith & his staff got him to stay home.

Background info + intel (FREE): https://t.co/yDuWbmjSkw pic.twitter.com/9ldPK8esPK

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) December 27, 2023

Derrick Harmon is back

As I mentioned, Harmon entered the transfer portal right after the season ended on Dec. 4. By all accounts, he seemed like someone who definitely wanted a new start at a different school. During the last few weeks, he took three visits to other schools including Oregon, Ohio State, and Auburn.

After all of those visits, Jonathan Smith was still able to convince Harmon to return to East Lansing. That is no small feat for Smith. Ohio State, Oregon, and Auburn are three great programs who are routinely at the top of college football. For him to seriously consider those schools and still pick MSU speaks volumes. It shows just how much he believes in MSU and Smith.

It’s no secret that times have not been good in East Lansing recently. He could’ve gone to another school and likely competed immediately for championships. But Harmon to chose to stay at MSU and try to right the ship here.

Jonathan Smith flexing his recruiting muscles

This in my opinion is the second best move made this offseason by Smith. Quarterback Aidan Chiles will always be the biggest get for this staff this offseason, but Harmon is right up there with him. Harmon is coming off an excellent season where he finished with 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. So he has already proven to be a productive collegiate player, and all signs point towards him having a massive year this season.

Winning the battles for Chiles and Harmon aren’t the only massive offseason moves made by Smith this year either. He first put together a solid 2024 high school recruiting class that was nearly empty when he was hired. He also made countless key coaching staff hires, including Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator from Minnesota. Smith has even convinced many Oregon State players to follow him to East a Lansing as well.

This offseason is exactly what our program has needed, and it isn’t even January yet. The Jonathan Smith hype is at an all-time high, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.