Michigan State Football Adds Wide Receiver Via Transfer Portal
Michigan State was already in the marker for a transfer wide receiver before losing Keon Coleman to the portal, but the Spartans' need became even more dire after their star pass-catcher committed to Florida State.
After their own prolonged portal search, MSU has added to its wide receiver room with former Nebraska Cornhusker and one-time Spartan commit, Alante Brown. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder announced his commitment to Michigan State via social media on Friday.
In three seasons at Nebraska, Brown caught 22 passes for 262 yards but did not record a touchdown. The Chicago native also helped out on special teams, with 16 kick returns for 284 yards (17.8 average). He'll have two seasons of eligibility remaining at Michigan State.
Brown, who was a three-star prospect out of Simeon High School in Chicago from the Class of 2019, at one time committed to former MSU head coach Mark Dantonio during his high school recruitment. Brown then elected to go attend St. Thomas More Prep School for one year after backing off a commitment to Texas Tech, before eventually signing with the Cornhuskers in 2020.
Entering the transfer portal on April 16, Brown received around 20 scholarship offers before ultimately circling back and committing to the Spartans once again. In his final season at Nebraska, Brown started 10 games and had 16 receptions for 191 yards.
Losing Coleman was a major blow to Michigan State's passing offense ahead of the 2023 season, and wide receiver become a major position of need for the Spartans as a result. It took some time for head coach Mel Tucker and position coach Courtney Hawkins to add to the WR room, but Brown should provide some needed depth.
Brown visited East Lansing back on April 19th, just three days after entering the transfer portal. However, Michigan State was then linked to other transfer options in Alabama transfer Tyler Harrell (who later committed to Miami), Grand Valley State transfer Jahdae Walker (Texas A&M) and Colorado transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig (Arizona), each of whom elected to attend other programs. There was also some fan-generated buzz surrounding Michigan transfer A.J. Henning, but he chose to continue his career at Northwestern.
It's unclear whether the Spartans circled back to Brown after missing on these other wide receiver targets in the portal, or if Brown held a Michigan State offer this whole time. Regardless, he'll take the field in the Green and White this fall.
Michigan State will break in multiple new receiving options in 2023 after senior wide out Jayden Reed was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft and Coleman elected to take his talents to Tallahassee. The Spartans return a veteran slot receiver in rising senior Tre Mosley, and have a trio of talented second-year options in Tyrell Henry, Antonio Gates Jr. and Jaron Glover. Veterans Montorie Foster and Christian Fitzpatrick will compete for starting jobs as well.
For an updated look at Michigan State's 2023 transfer portal tracker, click here. For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:
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