Michigan State’s Top 7 impact transfers continued (Nos. 5 through 7)
East Lansing, Mich. – Yesterday, we began ranking the Top 7 portal transfers on the Michigan State roster for the 2023 season, featuring players ranked No. 1 through 4. Today, in the final installment of our series analyzing Michigan State’s incoming transfer portal class, we profile players ranked No. 5 through 7.
5. TE JALEN FRANKLIN
This pick might surprise some people, but Michigan State needs a glue player to emerge at the tight end position, eat up snaps, become an effective blocker and show a reliable set of hands. We see Franklin as an emerging candidate to fill that role.
Michigan State’s tight end blocking has been mediocre for the past three seasons. The Spartans are in the process of overhauling the tight end room, with hopes that junior Maliq Carr will come around as a blocker in 2023. Coaches saw progress in him during the spring, and the Spartans desperately need that side of his game to show itself on Saturdays in the fall.
But, in Michigan State’s offense, it takes more than one reliable blocker at tight end to make the system go.
If redshirt-freshmen Jack Nickel (6-4, 245, Milton, Ga.) and Michael Masunas (6-4, 250, Tucson, Ariz.) are close to breaking into the playing group, there hasn’t been any on-field or spoken-word hint of it just yet. I don’t think anyone is upset with their progress to this point, but the Spartans clearly tried to enhance the tight end situation by hitting the portal and grabbing Jaylan Franklin from Wisconsin, Tyneil Hopper from Boise State and Ademola Faleye of Norfolk State.
Franklin (6-5, 240, Gr., Brownstown Township, Mich/Carlson High) was clearly more effective than Hopper at the spring scrimmage – which marked the only time since Thanksgiving weekend that we’ve seen any of the Spartans block and tackle in a competitive environment, so forgive us for scrutinizing that scrimmage so closely, but that’s most of what we have to go on right now.
For what it’s worth, Carr and senior walk-on Evan Morris repped as the two starters at tight end in the scrimmage.
Walk-on Jackson Morse (6-3, 240, R-Sr., East Lansing) got more snaps in the scrimmage than Nickel or Masunas.
Hopper struggled. He was blown up by Cal Haladay when trying to deliver an isolation block during an inside run.
Later, Hopper (6-3, 240, 6-Sr., Roswell, Ga.) was easily tossed aside by defensive end Tunmise Adeleye during an inside zone.
Last year, Pro Football Focus graded Hopper’s run blocking at 54.2, which rated somewhere between Carr’s 54.1 and Tyler Hunt’s 55.7, neither of whom were considered good blockers in 2022.
I took a long look at Hopper in two of Boise State’s games from last year, against Wyoming and Nevada. The results were mixed. He is a smallish stalemate type of blocker, not a C-gap dominator.
Hopper started six games for Boise State last year and was behind senior Riley Smith in the overall pecking order. He had 13 catches for 108 yards last season.
Hopper had some good moments against Wyoming and Nevada, including a pair of combo blocks which resulted in two 15-yard runs.
He had a 30-yard catch against Nevada, on a shallow cross-and-go route, kind of sneaking up the seam against a two-deep coverage. The QB delivered it deep and to the upfield shoulder. Hopper was comfortable in turning and making the catch with proper hand selection, catching it away from his body. Solid all the way around.
There were times early in the Wyoming game when he did not look strong enough to sustain blocks. And he had similar problems in the Michigan State scrimmage.
Franklin had less film at Wisconsin to analyze, but was the most impressive tight end blocker on the field at the Michigan State scrimmage.
I polled Mel Tucker and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic about tight end blocking while at Michigan State’s camps last week. While they expressed confidence in all of them, there seemed to be a little extra satisfaction with Franklin.
WHERE HE FITS: With Hunt and Daniel Barker gone, someone needs to rise up and become Carr’s tag team partner as the No. 2 tight end on the team. Heck, it could turn out to be Morris. Tight ends coach Ted Gilmore spoke highly of Morris (6-5, 245, Sr., Elsie, Mich.) midway through the spring and Morris looked competent in the spring scrimmage.
But in the spring scrimmage, Franklin looked like the guy who was best-equipped to provide help as a blocker. Also, he looked athletic and reasonably quick.
SpartanMag projects Carr as the starting tight end, with Franklin the first tight end off the bench. There is still some belief in Hopper, but don’t sleep on Morris as the walk-on darkhorse.
True freshman Brennan Parachek (6-5, 235, Dexter, Mich.) has talent and skill, but he needs to mature into his body in order to block at the Big Ten level.
SPRING UPDATE: Franklin was the most active of the reserve tight ends at the spring scrimmage. SpartanMag’s notes:
– Beaten during pre-game drills by DE Bai Jobe with two high hands then a spin move.
+ Good block by Franklin to seal CB Justin White to the outside, paving the way for Jalen Berger to gain 6 on an outside zone.
+ In terms of route running, he looked pretty quick when getting out into an out route (but QB Noah Kim targeted elsewhere).
+ Good zone block as an insert, getting out to LB Jacoby Windmon with a solid stalemate, as Jaren Mangham gained 9.
+ Good quick feet in stalk blocking defensive back Justin White as Berger gained 5 on an inside zone.
+ 11-yard reception on a curl route as part of the two minute offense, from Kim.
The drawback on Franklin is that he played only 63 snaps for Wisconsin last year, grabbing two receptions for 40 yards.
In 2021, he played only 80 snaps and didn’t post a reception.
He never became a major part of the playing group at Wisconsin, but that’s a program that places heavy emphasis on blocking at the tight end position. With Michigan State in need of help in that area, it made sense to open the doors to a Badger with in-state ties.
Hopper had a larger role at Boise State than Franklin did at Wisconsin, and is the more proven receiver. But Franklin is bigger and the more proven blocker. We need to put a tight end in this Top 7 listing, out of team need, and we’ll go with Franklin over Hopper for now.
6. DT JALEN SAMI
Jalen Sami (6-6, 330, Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) has more starting experience than any player Tucker has ever plucked out of the transfer portal.
He started 32 games at Colorado, including 11 back in 2019 as a redshirt-freshman when Tucker was head coach in Boulder, Colo.
Sami was honorable mention All-Pac-12 by coaches in 2021, with five tackles for loss.
“He (Sami) started for us and he played well,” Tucker told SpartanMag last week. “So we get to see him now; he’s graduated, he’s older and that’s fun to see his mindset, his development, his maturity and all that. He’s a very good addition to our team in a lot of ways.”
Sami is the most established of all of Michigan State’s transfers. So why isn’t he listed higher in our rankings? Firstly, Michigan State doesn’t have a tremendous need at the defensive tackle position.
Tucker said he wanted to get bigger along the defensive line, but Simeon Barrow (6-3, 290, R-Jr.) is good enough to vie for All-Big Ten status this year, while Maverick Hansen (6-4, 300, Sr., Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison) and Derrick Harmon (6-5, 320, R-Soph., Detroit Loyola) are proven battlers.
Michigan State hit the portal to sign Deandre Butler (6-5, 300, R-Sr., Covington, Ga./Liberty), Jarrett Jackson (6-6, 300, 6-Sr., Riviera Beach, Fla./Florida State) and Sami.
Butler and Jackson participated in spring practice at Michigan State, but were not available for the spring scrimmage.
Jackson started two games during his career at Florida State.
Butler played in 13 games at Auburn before transferring to Liberty in 2022. Butler did not start for Liberty.
I watched film of Butler (playing for Liberty, against Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl) and Jackson (for Florida State against North Carolina State). Jackson showed some sparks, including some straight-line speed for a jumbo DT. But unless they tap into some magic I have yet to see, I don’t think they unseat Barrow or the other two to become starters at Michigan State.
However, for Michigan State to go out and land three transfers at the defensive tackle position, the coaches feel the Spartans were in need of something.
I watched Sami play against Minnesota last year. He didn’t jump off the film. He was okay.
I thought I must be missing something, so I went back a year to 2021 when he was named honorable mention All-Pac 12 and watched him against Arizona State. Again, he was just okay.
Sami plays with good force when two-gapping. He’s a stump. He can hold his ground. But he is not the best at disengaging from blocks, he is not a guy that is going to press the pocket in the pass rush, and he gets a little off-balance when battling.
WHERE HE FITS: Defensive tackle didn’t seem like it was a pressing area of need for Michigan State, and quite frankly Jackson, Butler and Sami, in my opinion, don’t offer an upgrade over Barrow, Harmon and Hansen. But those three transfers are here for a reason and one of them is likely to rise up and gain a chunk of reps. Based on the film I saw, Jackson might have the most physical talent, but I think Sami is the one most likely to carve out that role.
7. RB JAREN MANGHAM
Jaren Mangham (6-2, 230, R-Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Detroit Cass Tech) is another player who played for Tucker at Colorado and sought to return to his tutelage.
Last year, he played in only four games at South Florida before going down with an ankle sprain. He preserved redshirt status and has two years of eligibility remaining at Michigan State.
He rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries last year, with three touchdowns.
In 2021, Mangham led USF in rushing with 671 yards and made quite a mark as a short-yardage option with 15 touchdowns. He was honorable mention all-conference in the American Athletic Conference.
In 2019 at Colorado as a true freshman, he rushed for 441 yards on 107 carries and had 10 receptions.
A year later, he saw action in four games during the COVID-shortened season and had only 23 carries. He sought a transfer after that season.
WHERE HE FITS: The running back picture is somewhat crowded at Michigan State with Jalen Berger returning after a decent, progressive 2022 season, and Nathan Carter arriving from UConn. Any of the three could emerge as the feature back for Michigan State in 2023. And any of the three could find themselves out of the rotation, like Jarek Broussard last year.
Mangham’s talent in short yardage should prove to be an asset. Whether or not he becomes an every-down feature back remains to be seen, but don’t close the door on the possibility.
SPRING UPDATE: Mangham played to good reviews in the spring, giving Michigan State a big back with some power. Mangham is looking to drop five pounds this off-season, and might have the capacity to hang onto his power while regaining some quickness.
In the spring scrimmage, he and all the other scholarship tailbacks had two carries.
The SpartanMag notebook on Mangham:
+ Mangham gained nine yards on an inside zone with right guard Geno VanDeMark and right tackle Spencer Brown getting movement with a double-team block against defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren. Jaylan Franklin provided a solid stalemate block on Jacoby Windmon.
= Also, Mangham gained one yard on an inside zone as Hopper fell as a backside blocker.
HONORABLE MENTION
* I took a long look at safety Armorion Smith (6-1, 205, R-Soph., River Rouge), a transfer from Cincinnati.
Smith was the first safety off the bench last year for the Bearcats as part of a good defense which helped pave the way to a 9-4 season. I watched him closely in the Fenway Bowl against Louisville.
He had an interception in the bowl game, playing as a deep safety in man-free coverage. He undercut a poorly-thrown throw on a halfback option pass.
He was credited with a season-high five tackles against Louisville, but he didn’t really pop on film.
I went back to Cincinnati’s early-season game against Central Florida, against which he had four tackles. But again, he was just kind of pedestrian, which is no crime for a redshirt-freshman.
Michigan State needs help on the second string at safety. Sophomores Jaden Mangham and Malik Spencer are likely to be starters at the safety positions. Mangham looks like a future stalwart. Spencer looks like a future star.
There isn’t much behind Mangham and Spencer at safety. Former running back Harold Joiner got second-string reps in the spring. Joiner is a beautiful athlete, but is still learning the position in his sixth year as a college player. Give him credit for trying to stay the course.
Redshirt-freshman Malcolm Jones (6-1, 200, Leesburg, Ga.) made a loud play in the spring scrimmage and is on schedule.
Meanwhile, Smith figures to compete for a role, and might just be a tweak away from getting into the starting lineup. He has three years of eligibility remaining and could be a factor for the future, along with Michigan State’s strong haul of sophomore DBs.
* At 6-6, 300, defensive tackle Jarrett Jackson looks great in the airport. But he never quite harnessed an extended role at Florida State. He’s been at it a long time, having played 201 snaps for Louisville way back in 2018, two teams ago.
For some players, a change of scenery can snap them into stardom. Jackson might have the capacity to forge a storybook season at Michigan State, but I need to see it demonstrated.
* Cornerback Terry Roberts (5-10, 180, 6-Sr., Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep), was a spot starter at Iowa in 2021 and 2022. But he battled injury problems and transferred to Miami after last season. He started three games in 2022 and one game in 2021 for the Hawkeyes.
He went through spring practice at Miami and reportedly didn’t impress.
He was comfortable as a cornerback in Iowa’s zone defense, but Miami’s schemes weren’t a great fit for him, so he re-entered the portal.
The Spartans could use some veteran experience and depth at cornerback and Roberts provides that. Charles Brantley is back as a starting cornerback, and sophomore Dillon Tatum is a strong candidate to join him in the starting lineup, if he beats out redshirt junior Marqui Lowery. Redshirt-freshman Caleb Coley is looming as a riser.
Tatum started one game at cornerback last year, but is still low on game experience. Aside from Lowery and Brantley, no Spartan cornerback has seen more than a handful of snaps at the college level. That’s where Roberts’ experience is an asset.
Roberts was a highly-respected special teams player at Iowa. He won Iowa’s Team Hustle Ward, given to a special teams standout.
Roberts will compete with Lowery and Tatum for a starting job. Judging by Michigan State’s revolving door of starters at cornerback over the last two years, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Roberts maneuver his way into a shot at a starting job at some point. Meanwhile, his special teams ability is a plus.
It wouldn’t be a shock if Roberts ranks in the Top 5 in this category by season’s end. But for now, let’s put him in the honorable mention category.
And if you ask me to rank the portal contributors again in August, I might have a completely different order.
The post Michigan State’s Top 7 impact transfers continued (Nos. 5 through 7) appeared first on On3.
