Michigan State football lands impressive Oregon DL transfer Ben Roberts

Jonathan Smith and Michigan State football are scorching-hot right now, picking up another transfer commitment.

Who is hotter than Jonathan Smith right now? The first-year Michigan State football coach is absolutely killing it in the transfer portal.

In fact, he landed his 21st transfer commitment of the offseason in the form of Oregon defensive lineman Ben Roberts.

BREAKING: Michigan State lands a commitment from Oregon DT Ben “Big Worm” Roberts from the transfer portal (FREE)https://t.co/0pSl5wJiHq

— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) May 15, 2024

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound defensive lineman from Oregon was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class and played a total of 48 snaps for the Ducks over the past two seasons. He recorded five total tackles in nine games and was expected to make the jump into the two-deep for Oregon after a strong spring.

However, he opted to enter the portal and Michigan State was lucky enough to snag him.

There’s a chance we could see Roberts start for the Spartans this fall, but at the very least he’ll be in the two-deep along with D’Quan Douse, Alex VanSumeren, Maverick Hansen, and Ru’Quan Buckley, among others. This is a nice addition and Demetrice Martin’s presence on the staff had to help the Spartans. He was a defensive backs coach for the Ducks during Roberts’ two seasons in Eugene so there’s familiarity there.

Roberts is a big body and the nickname “Big Worm” is a plus. We should see him develop under this staff and become one of the better defensive linemen on the team. There’s a reason he was so highly-regarded out of high school.

The defensive line was looking a little thin a couple of weeks ago, but the additions of Roberts, Tyler Gillison, Jalen Satchell, and Buckley have helped matters. This group is coming together nicely and it could end up being a strength in 2024.

With this transfer, we can safely say that the Derrick Harmon trade is complete. Let’s hope Roberts out-performs expectations early on.