Former Michigan State football players had a big opening week around the nation. How did the Spartan transfers fare?
The opening weekend of college football was a breath of fresh air. Michigan State football fans were relieved to see their team back on the field, picking up a 31-7 win over Central Michigan.
But they also got to witness some former players dominating at their new schools.
The transfer portal is a big part of college football these days and Michigan State is no stranger to its existence. In fact, Mel Tucker has utilized the portal for his benefit but he’s also lost some gems to it. And some of them looked like superstars in Week 1.
How did former Michigan State football players fare in Week 1?
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Keon Coleman had the best game of any former Michigan State player this weekend, catching three touchdown passes on nine receptions for 122 yards. He’s a star.
Payton Thorne, QB, Auburn
Payton Thorne had a modest debut in a blowout of UMass over the weekend, completing 10-of-17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Germie Bernard, WR, Washington
Another unexpected transfer this past offseason, Germie Bernard looked like a solid contributor on his new team. He caught three passes for 47 yards from Michael Penix Jr. in a blowout win over Boise State.
Rocky Lombardi, QB, Northern Illinois
Yes, Rocky Lombardi is still in college and yes, he’s still winning games. He led Northern Illinois to an upset win at Boston College in Week 1, passing for 165 yards and adding a rushing touchdown.
Ricky White, WR, UNLV
The hero from the 2020 Michigan game had a modest opener for UNLV, catching two passes for five yards.
Julian Barnett, CB, Memphis
The former prized Michigan State football recruit from Belleville is in his fifth season and he had a pass deflection and no tackles for the Tigers in the opener.
Jeslord Boateng, LB, Louisiana Tech
Talk about a blast from the past, Jeslord Boateng is a name that you probably haven’t heard in a while. The Louisiana Tech linebacker had six total tackles in the opener against FIU.
Antoine Booth, CB, James Madison
Another defensive back recruit that parted ways during the Mel Tucker era, Antoine Booth went to James Madison. He recorded three tackles in the opener against Bucknell.
Jack Bouwmeester, P, Utah
Although he never played a game with Michigan State, he’s still a former Spartan. He had a strong start to the season for the Utes, punting six times with an average of 51.8 and a long of 64 yards. He also had three punts downed inside the 20.
Chase Carter, DE, Incarnate Word
While he wasn’t the most productive player on the field in the season opener, Chase Carter recorded a solo tackle in his first game with Incarnate Word.
Elijah Collins, RB, Oklahoma State
Whenever you think of Elijah Collins, you probably think of that great season he had in the final year of Mark Dantonio. He’s always just solid and he had another really good game against Central Arkansas to kick off the season with eight carries for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Theo Day, QB, Northern Illinois
Theo Day didn’t have his best game against Iowa State in an opening loss in Ames, completing just 16-of-34 passes for 164 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Cole DeMarzo, LB, Wyoming
While Wyoming picked up a huge upset win over Texas Tech, Cole DeMarzo just had one tackle.
Michael Dowell, DB, Miami (OH)
Michael Dowell is still playing college football for Miami (OH) and he had a decent opening game against Miami (FL), recording two tackles with an interception.
Donovan Eaglin, RB, Alabama A&M
After a nice first season with Alabama A&M in 2022, rushing for over 800 yards, Donovan Eaglin had a rough first game of 2023 against Vanderbilt. He rushed for just 23 yards on eight carries.
Michael Fletcher, DE, Appalachian State
It was a modest first game for Michael Fletcher against Gardner-Webb, recording three tackles and a pass breakup.
Kalon Gervin, CB, Kansas
Another Dantonio-era recruit for Michigan State football, Kalon Gervin seems to be doing well at a Kansas program that has turned things around big-time. He had two tackles in the opening win over Missouri State.
Trenton Gillison, TE, Tennessee State
Trenton Gillison plays for Eddie George and Tennessee State now and he had three catches for 30 yards in a season-opening loss to Notre Dame.
Parks Gissinger, TE, Furman
Parks Gissinger came to Michigan State as a defensive end, but moved to tight end and then transferred to Furman. He had one catch for seven yards in Week 1.
Tate Hallock, S, Western Michigan
Tate Hallock, now a senior safety for Western Michigan, had seven tackles against St. Francis (PA) in Week 1.
Devin Hightower, LB, Rhode Island
Devin Hightower had five total tackles in a loss to Georgia State over the weekend.
Chris Jackson, CB, Washington State
Not a huge game, but Chris Jackson was decent, recording a tackle with a pass breakup against Colorado State.
Terry Lockett, WR, Eastern Michigan
Former Michigan State football wideout Terry Lockett had three catches for 18 yards against Howard.
Dashaun Mallory, DT, Arizona State
The new-look Arizona State program added Dashaun Mallory this offseason and he had four total tackles in a tight season-opening win over Southern Utah.
Jeff Pietrowski, LB, Wisconsin
Jeff Pietrowski went to ‘LB U’ this offseason and has joined Luke Fickell in Madison. He had two tackles in Wisconsin’s Week 1 win.
Jack Olsen, K, Northwestern
Northwestern didn’t score much against Rutgers in Week 1, but former Michigan State football kicker Jack Olsen still put a point on the board with an extra point.
Charles Willekes, LB, Arkansas State
Charles Willekes’ Arkansas State Red Wolves were on the wrong end of a 70-3 blowout against Oklahoma on Saturday but he finished with three total tackles.
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