Michigan State offers East Lansing native, former Wolverine in transfer portal

In the weeks following Michigan State football's regular season finale loss to Penn State, Mel Tucker and the Spartans' coaching staff have been hard at work to revamp a roster that struggled to a 5-7 record in 2022.

MSU has added a "quality over quantity" 2023 recruiting class, which featured nine four-star prospects among a total of 15 signees. The Spartans have also added 11 players out of the transfer portal, adding depth to various positions of need.

However, the transfer portal is a two-way street, and Michigan State has suffered several departures from the program as well. The biggest gut-punch was freshman wide receiver Germie Bernard, who flashed his potential on his first collegiate snap with a 44-yard touchdown reception.

✅ First touchdown of the season
✅ First touchdown as a Spartan @germie_bernard

pic.twitter.com/eM15mHqKIt
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) September 2, 2022

However, Bernard entered the portal after just one season in East Lansing, and is headed to Washington to resume his collegiate career.

While Michigan State has a budding star returning at wide receiver in Keon Coleman, and a savvy veteran in Tre Mosley, the Spartans could use another playmaker to threaten defenses with. That threat could be former Michigan wide receiver Andrel Anthony, a native of East Lansing who signed with the Wolverines in 2021.

Anthony entered the transfer portal earlier this week, and quickly garnered several Power 5 offers, including one from Michigan State. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was Tucker's top target in the Class of 2021 — the head coach's first recruiting cycle at MSU. The Spartans ultimately finished second in his recruitment, but now they've got another shot at bringing Anthony home.

While used sparingly in Ann Arbor, Anthony also flashed his potential as a freshman — ironically, against his hometown Spartans. His first career reception went for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Anthony added another touchdown reception later in the game, and finished his day with six catches for 155 yards. Despite that impressive day, the two-year Wolverine finished his Michigan career with just 19 receptions for 328 yards and four touchdowns. This past season, Anthony had just seven receptions for 80 yards, and his lone touchdown came on a fumble recovery in the end zone.

Despite the limited usage, most who cover Michigan's football program chalk up the lack of production to the Wolverines' style of offense, not due to lack of ability from the wide receiver.

That belief is backed up by the offer sheet that Anthony has garnered since entering the transfer portal. In addition to Michigan State, the sophomore has offers from Notre Dame, Penn State, Auburn, Arizona, UCLA, Purdue, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Miami, Cal, South Carolina, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma.

It will be interesting to see how hard Tucker and Michigan State wide receiver coach Courtney Hawkins pursue Anthony. Both men were heavily involved in his high school recruitment, and that lends itself well to potentially landing Anthony out of the portal. With that said, Anthony certainly has many viable options and Michigan State is no shoe-in to land his services.

However, if the Spartans are able to land Anthony it would be a solid consolation prize for MSU after the recent departure of Bernard.

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