After 48 hours of the MSU fanbase panicking, we can take a deep breath. Brandon Lane committed to MSU as the NFL draft was taking place in Detroit, and fills a massive need in the middle of the DL. Read more about the DL room here.
Lane is transferring from Stephen F. Austin, coming off a strong season with 44 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 6.5 TFLs. At 6-3, 300, he's got the size to play at the BigTen level and help offset the loss of Harmon and Barrow. He has 2 more years of eligibility.
With Jacoby Windon declaring for the draft, and Jobe and Depaepe not at the level the staff hoped for, and subsequently transferring, they made moves to quickly address the D-Line.
Already Committed:
D'Quan Douse (Grad Transfer) transfers in from GT with plenty of experience and production. He's 6-2 / 290, enough size for DT. He has 24 starts in 44 appearances. And was PPF ranked as the No. 4 DT. In 2022, he had an 80.7 run-defense grade.
Quindarius Dunnigan (6th-year Graduate Transfer) transfers in to compete at the other DE position. He's 6-4 / 256, a good size for DE. Dunnigan comes in with experience, with 13 Starts in 32 career appearances. He also brings production. In 2023, he earned Second Team All-CUSA by posting 35 tackles, 10.0 TFLs, 3 sacks, and 8 pass breakups.
Anthony Jones (So) transfers in with three years of eligibility, coming from IU. Listed at 6-4 / 255. He is familiar with the staff from his past two colleges and is what the staff is looking for in the standup rush role. I like this addition a lot. We have enough players this year that he won't be forced to contribute early. But there's plenty of PT to go around next year, giving him a great opportunity.
In the Pipeline - we're not done yet.
Eddie Kelly (Jr)—Douse's former teammate at GT is currently visiting MSU. He's 6-4 / 280, more suited to play strong side edge but can kick inside. Kelly played all 13 games last year and tallied 38 tackles and 5 sacks. He would help replace the loss of the two DEs mentioned above, immediately slotting into the DE 2-deep. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Tyler Gillison (r-So) is in the portal from Cincinnati University. He is a rush end with good measurables. Listed at 6-4 / 240. He is visiting this weekend, Saturday 4/28.
I love the balance they are striking in finding grad transfers to be instant 2-deep players (Douse and Dunnigan) and, at the same time, finding players with 2-3 years of eligibility to continue developing (Lane, Jones, Kelly, Gillison). That is a sustainable model.
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