Friday's Buzz
The MSU coaching staff has been on fire, landing high school and portal transfers at multiple positions of need in the last week. Friday had a lot of action, starting when Nikia Martinez committed from the portal from UCF to play Safety at MSU. Martinez is essentially the replacement (and potentially upgrade) of Jaden Mangham. The Martinez announcement was perfect timing, as a few hours later, Mangham announced he was transferring to UM. This caused quite a stir in the MSU community. While the swap of those players essentially cancels out, the cherry on top was Semaj Bridgeman quickly following up on the Mangham announcement, posting that the former Wolverine would be coming down the road to MSU.
Why does this addition matter?
Bridgement is a welcome addition to the LB room. As noted in the LB recap a few weeks back, the previous staff barely recruited the position. Requiring the new staff to load up in the portal (Turner, Matthews and Pulliman). They now add Bridgeman, who has four years of eligibility left after not playing last year at UM.
The former 4* recruit is 6-2 / 246 and offers a lot of versatility. With his length and weight, the staff could be projecting him at the specialized rush end role.
How does Bridgeman fit in this year?
We have two seniors in Haladay and Turner. Matthews is a Junior. Hall and Pulliman are so Sophomores. Pretzlaff is a True Freshman, who I expect to Redshirt with the 5 players ahead of him. Now we add Bridgeman, a RS-Fr. Bridgeman can try to carve out a role but won't be thrown into the fire or have too much pressure to produce. We also have Aaron Alexander and Darius Snow, both likely in reserve roles. I'm cautious to put any expectations on either of them.
What does the LB room look like in 2025?
Matthews will be a senior and the best coverage LB. Hall will be a Junior and firmly in the starting LB group, and the most capable 3-down LB. This is where the young portal additions of Pulliman and Bridgeman pay off. Next year, Pulliman will be a True Sophmore, assuming he doesn't Redshirt this year, and is listed at 6-3 /230. Bridgeman will be a RS-So next year, listed at 6-2 / 246. Pretzlaff will likely be a RS-Fr. That's good young depth, and there's room for each to carve out roles as edge rushers, run-down specialists, or coverage specialists and see the field. Additionally, MSU landed the top 2 in-state LB recruits in Di'Mari Malone and Charles White. So next year, we are looking at 5 LBs that are Sophomores or younger, setting us up for long-term success.
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