Key Building Block of MSU Defense Announces Return
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Michigan State has been hurting for bodies in the trenches as it navigates the transfer portal during Pat Fitzgerald's first offseason. The Spartans currently have 14 offensive and defensive linemen in the transfer portal or officially leaving for other schools, but one key player along the defensive line appears to have confirmed his return.
As a few other returning Spartans have done in recent weeks, sophomore defensive tackle Derrick Simmons took to social media to announce his return on Saturday, keeping a potentially huge piece of the future of Joe Rossi's defense in the fold.
Back to work. #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/3u0dJ2BnEF
— Derrick Simmons (@DerrickSimm2025) January 10, 2026
It seems silly that Simmons (or any player in that situation) would have to announce his return, but that's just the new landscape of college football. No one outside of the team and staff really knows who will be on the team in a given season, so might as well let them know as soon as possible.
Simmons' Return and the Impact on the Defensive Line
The 6-foot-3, 297-pound defensive tackle out of Frankenmuth, Mich., was Michigan State's top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class as the No. 1 defensive tackle in Michigan and a consensus top-300 recruit nationally. He enrolled early as a freshman to participate in spring football but was limited to just two games (making three tackles) during the regular season -- preserving his redshirt and giving him up to four more years in college football.
While there have been a few transfer portal additions on the offensive line, the defensive line has been less certain. Only two defensive linemen have been publicly added via the transfer portal so far. Between the portal, graduations/expired eligibility, and the NFL Draft, the Spartans could lose up to 11 players along the defensive front -- leaving eight players returning from the group.
That made retaining Simmons a key priority for the offseason. He and fellow defensive tackle Mikeshun Beeler could be big parts of the playing rotation come the fall, possibly even battling for a starting spot beside Ben Roberts. The Spartans are not nearly done with additions from the portal and will likely find ways to add to the group, but Simmons' high ceiling will keep him in the conversation, and he seems to have a promising future at Michigan State.
Michigan State's Defensive Building Blocks
The hope is that Simmons spends his remaining years of eligibility in East Lansing and reaches his potential as a future NFL player as the Spartans look to re-establish their intense defensive identity under Pat Fitzgerald's regime. While the head coach has a reputation as an intense, stand-out defender and coach in the Big Ten, he'll have Joe Rossi guiding his defense.
Rossi returns for his third season in East Lansing after an impressive improvement on that side of the ball as last season came to a close. While Simmons was not a major part of that, he was one of five young defenders the defensive coordinator highlighted as future leaders for his defense. Defensive backs Aydan West and Justin Denson both left via the transfer portal, but Simmons, Beeler, and linebacker Brady Pretzlaff have an opportunity to assert themselves as the faces of this defense going forward, especially with Jordan Hall finishing his eligibility in 2026.
It's going to be a crucial year for Michigan State to return to its previously established identity. As it searches for leaders to help develop its culture, keeping players like Simmons in the fold could help accelerate that process.
-ac9f01ae65e71c7320d1c61247b2ecac.jpg "Travis Tyler")
Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.