Yesterday, we shared a full breakdown of the DB room, including Jaden Mangham's departure and Ed Woods's addition. This post is a brief extension of that, with the latest news that CB Khary Crump also entered his name in the portal.
To put it simply, if Crump was on the field, it meant something bad happened. Either a lot of injuries or players hitting the portal during the season. I projected Crump to be about CB5-6.
I project Woods (Sr) and Rucker (So) to be the starting CBs. Followed by Coley (r-So) and Brantley (r-Jr). After this is a bit of a mess. We have Ade Willie (Jr) and Melvin (Jr) in the CB5-6 range. Crump was likely competing with them.
Crump has only played in 8 games and 27 defensive snaps in 3 seasons at MSU. For perspective, he was suspended for 8 games for swinging a helmet in the UM Tunnel fiasco. He was suspended for more games than he had tackles at MSU.
Yes, we are allowed to be upset about Barrow, Harmon and Mangham leaving. They would have played significant roles. Yes, it's a bummer that highly-ranked recruits like Jobe, Depaepe, and even Jack Nickle won't be developing here. But I'm not losing a minute of sleep over the rest. To be blunt, they are replaceable. The fastest way for Smith to turn around this roster is to trim the fat. The best thing that can happen is for upper-classmen not in the 2-deep to leave, open up a scholarship, and let Smith hand-pick his portal replacements to fill needs as he sees fit.
We have roughly 74 players on scholarship (I'll round up to 76 in case I'm missing someone), with an 85 limit. This means Smith has up to 9 scholarships to work with between now and the season. My guess is he splits between using some now to fill immediate needs (WR, OL, DB, DL) but saves a handful for the Summer to grab players that leave right before or during the season.
MSU is linked to Jayvion Cole, a San Jose State CB transfer. He will be a Junior this year, following two years as a starter. In two years, Cole's combined for 53 tackles, 1 sack, 7 INTs, and 14 pass deflections. He would be a top 3 CB for MSU. Raising the ceiling and floor of the room.
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