Michigan State football: Katin Houser enters the transfer portal

Michigan State football has lost yet another player to the transfer portal and this time it’s Katin Houser.

Another name has entered the portal from Michigan State football on Monday. And it’s a big one.

According to Pete Thamel, Katin Houser will be entering his name into the portal with three years of eligibility left.

Michigan State redshirt freshman QB Katin Houser tells ESPN that he intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He has three years of eligibility remaining and will be immediately eligible. Houser started seven games for Michigan State this year. pic.twitter.com/YVlydJvePO

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 27, 2023

This comes as a bit of a shock to me and probably everyone who watched Houser become the starter this year. He was highly regarded coming out of high school and was everyone’s favorite to start this offseason before losing the job to Noah Kim. Houser worked hard and eventually won the job mid-season and started seven games.

Unfortunately, the coaching staff did him no favors nor did the offensive line. He had his struggles, but he showed flashes.

So when Michigan State hired Jonathan Smith from Oregon State, I thought it would lock Houser in for good. He recruited Katin out of high school and the two seemed to have a good relationship. But after taking a couple of days to think about it, Houser decided it was in his best interest to hit the portal and see what other programs could offer him a better spot with a fresh start.

Would Houser have begun the 2024 season as the starter? There’s no way of knowing. He did have a good relationship with Smith from his recruiting days, but if the rumors about Aidan Chiles are true, he would be fighting for a job again. After doing that all year and eventually winning it, he probably doesn’t want to have to go through that again.

Or maybe the fit just isn’t what he thought.

Either way, this is a tough loss for Michigan State as many believed Houser could be a star with the right coaching.