Michigan State football: Ethan Boyd pulls name out of transfer portal

The Michigan State football trenches just got a massive upgrade with offensive tackle Ethan Boyd returning for his fourth season.

On Monday, Michigan State football got great news: Ethan Boyd was pulling his name out of the transfer portal and returning to the Spartans.

Boyd has officially been in the portal for a week when it opened on Dec. 4, after announcing his intentions on Nov. 27. Boyd was highly coveted, receiving offers from Arizona State, Purdue, Colorado, Indiana, and Louisville, among others. He is the second player to remove his name from the portal this cycle.

NEWS: OT Ethan Boyd has pulled his name out of the transfer portal and will return to #MichiganState, he tells me.

The East Lansing native is in line for major playing time at right tackle next season.

Had gotten multiple P5 portal offers.https://t.co/HbDPogGI7G pic.twitter.com/XodT3euEV8

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) December 11, 2023

Ethan Boyd was one of the top priorities in the portal

Ethan Boyd is a homegrown Spartan, playing high school ball for East Lansing High School. He was ranked No. 669 in the 2021 recruiting class and a top-60 offensive tackle and top-20 player in the state of Michigan. He committed to the Spartans in April 2020 and was an early enrollee. After a redshirt season, he played in 10 games in 2022, including 23 offensive snaps at tackle.

Boyd was one of the better offensive linemen this year, recording his first three career starts against Ohio State, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Additionally, Boyd’s presence had given the Spartans a notable uptick in performance, noted as early as Central Michigan this season. His best game this season came in the Spartans’ Big Ten opener against Maryland. In that game, he recorded an 84.1 pass block grade and 81.1 overall grade from PFF. 

When Boyd entered the portal, it was a decision to weigh his options after all of the coaching uncertainty that resulted from Mel Tucker’s firing. Both the Michigan State coaching staff and the fans wanted to bring back Boyd, and they have gotten their wish. Jonathan Smith and Jim Michalczik pitched hard to bring back the talented Michigander and succeeded in keeping him with the program. 

Boyd comes back for his redshirt junior year to a cleaner path to an assured starting role. Spencer Brown, a multi-year starter at tackle for the Spartans, announced he was taking his talents to Oklahoma on Dec. 6. In a true East Lansing arc, Brown joins Boyd’s high school teammate, receiver Andrel Anthony Jr., who starred for Oklahoma this season before an injury cut his season short.

Boyd is the second Spartan to withdraw from the portal this cycle, as Darius Snow previously withdrew his name on Dec. 6. Both fan favorites are back for another season and have belief in coach Jonathan Smith in East Lansing.

Now, Boyd and the Spartan offensive line will wait for the staff to land the Michigan State quarterback of the future.