Michigan State football: Former in-state 5-star could be back on radar

A few years ago, there was a big name in the recruiting landscape from the state of Michigan who both the Wolverines and Michigan State football showed some preliminary interest in before he bolted for the SEC.

That big name was none other than five-star Belleville, Mich., defensive lineman Damon Payne.

Payne has spent the last three seasons at Alabama playing interior defensive line and he’s recorded 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries. He hasn’t been overly productive, but the job of an interior defensive lineman is to disrupt plays and sometimes that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. He’s a big-bodied lineman who has had some success in that regard at Alabama.

Now, he’s in the transfer portal after playing his first season for Kalen DeBoer.

The immediate question after he entered the portal was: would Michigan State reach out?

According to Midwest recruiting expert and insider Allen Trieu of 247Sports, that answer is likely yes.

Yes, would think they at least have some preliminary contact and see where things go.

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) December 17, 2024

While Jonathan Smith wasn’t in East Lansing when Payne was at Belleville and being recruited by essentially every major program and definitely everyone in the area, he knows that this is the type of player that could help Michigan State bounce back.

Payne, while not as productive as he would’ve hoped in three years at Alabama, could fill a need for the Spartans on the interior of that defensive line. He could help the younger guys grow and learn and spend his last season back close to home with Michigan State.

Payne had offers from Michigan and Michigan State when he was being recruited out of high school and I’d expect the same here.

The Belleville, Mich., native was ranked the No. 24 overall recruit in the 2021 class, per 247Sports, and he was also the seventh-best defensive lineman and obviously the state’s No. 1 overall prospect. He would be a huge addition, both figuratively and literally, to the Spartans’ defensive line and fill a void there that was needed during the sack drought of 2024.