How Bringing Back Star DB Brantley Will Impact MSU

Getting this guy back is huge for Michigan State football.

MSU picked up its former star corner, Charles Brantley, from the transfer portal on Wednesday. Brantley had left East Lansing for Miami (FL) last offseason with one year of eligibility remaining.

Everyone naturally assumed that Brantley would finish out his career with the Hurricanes, who will face Indiana in the national championship game next Monday. But Brantley only appeared in three games this fall. That allowed him to redshirt and return to MSU for 2026.

MSU getting Brantley back is huge news for a couple of reasons.

Position of Need

One of the biggest positional needs for Michigan State is in the transfer portal. MSU is losing each of its three outside corners who saw the most playing time this past fall. Both Malcolm Bell and Joshua Eaton ran out of eligibility as one-year transfer additions, but there was also the portal entry of Aydan West, who has since committed to Minnesota.

While Brantley didn't really find a role in Miami, it's not because he magically became worse. The Hurricanes are really, really good --- that's why they're one upset win away from a national championship. It's OK to admit MSU is not on that tier with four straight bowl-less seasons.

We still know that Brantley can be a high-level defender at the Big Ten level, though. During his 2024 season at Michigan State, Brantley intercepted three passes and did not allow a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. The site also says he only allowed 14 catches on 37 targets (37.8% completions) for only 149 yards across 255 coverage snaps.

Despite his limited playing time this fall, On3 still has Brantley rated 151st overall in the portal and 12th among corners in the transfer portal right now. He's the highest-ranked portal addition Michigan State has gotten.

'SD4L'

The term "Spartan Dawg 4 Life," or "SD4L," is starting to be used pretty loosely during the transfer portal era. It's certainly a little bit complicated, because does it apply to a program legend like Kenneth Walker III, who was only a Spartan for one season? Does it apply to talented players like Nick Marsh, who contribute heavily for two years before leaving voluntarily? Is it exclusive to players like Jordan Hall, who spend their entire career in East Lansing?

That's for one to determine on their own. Personally, I think it's more of a case-by-case basis. In the case of Brantley, it definitely applies.

He performed at a high level for MSU for four years, providing a legendary moment with his game-sealing interception against Michigan in 2021. That alone should be enough to earn the label, in my personal opinion. Brantley likely thought he'd be transferring to Miami to maybe win some more games and play closer to his home of Venice, Fla. to finish out his college career.

Obviously, things didn't work out for him in Miami. Brantley likely could've had plenty of other options in the transfer portal if he remained there for a few days. But just a few hours after it had been reported that he was back in the portal, it was also reported that he was signing with Michigan State again.

In an era where so many players leave, those who truly want to be Spartans deserve to be celebrated. Brantley's quick decision to return to East Lansing is a way of wishing that he had never left in the first place.

Just like Hall, Brantley will be playing underneath his third Michigan State head coach during his career as well. He began while Mel Tucker was around, stuck around for the first year of Jonathan Smith, and is now going to help start the Pat Fitzgerald era.

Finding players who truly have a desire to wear green and white is something Fitzgerald seems to be trying to do. The core of MSU's current transfer portal class is players who have produced at a Group of Five school, or in the FCS, or even at the Division II level. Those are going to be players excited to move up and get the opportunity to play in the Big Ten.

It's a different tune when a coach targets a bunch of Power Four mercenaries who are seeking an NIL pay bump. Brantley will assuredly get some nice cash as one of the team's likely starting corners, but Fitzgerald knows he's getting somebody who is playing for more than that.

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