The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. Michigan State landed a new starting running back and possibly a new starting quarterback this week from the portal, and also lost two players early on Friday in similar fashion. Later on Friday, two more Spartans entered the transfer portal: quarterback Rocky Lombardi and linebacker Jeslord Boateng.
The news on Lombardi was first reported by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press while Boateng’s transfer was reported by Rainer Sabin, also of the Free Press.
This is certainly major news regarding Lombardi, but not at all shocking. After showing some flashes, Lombardi was never able to find enough consistency on the field to take control of the starting job. With the emergence of Payton Thorne and the addition of Anthony Russo from Temple, along with recruit Hampton Fay coming to town, Lombardi started to find himself near the bottom of a crowded QB depth chart.
Boateng, a former 3-star recruit in the 2018 recruiting class, was only really able to find the field on special teams this year. He and Lombardi are the eighth and ninth MSU players to transfer this fall. Tucker has not shied away from the fact that if you aren’t a great fit for his program, you are free to see yourself out, and that seems how things have played out.
Faith not sight ❤️ pic.twitter.com/17LRexGscd
— Jeslord Boateng (@JeslordBoateng6) December 18, 2020
