Two more Michigan State football players announce they’re entering transfer portal

EAST LANSING: Simeon Barrow has company for his exit.

Barrow was one of two Michigan State football players to officially enter the transfer portal Tuesday morning. The junior defensive tackle was joined by offensive lineman Keyshawn Blackstock, bringing the total to five Spartans who have left the team since Mel Tucker was fired on Sept. 27.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Blackstock, a 2022 junior college all-American who arrived in January, played 74 snaps as a backup left tackle in MSU’s first four games before being inactive against Iowa, Rutgers and Michigan. The junior was listed as being injured in the game notes for the Spartans’ 49-0 loss to Michigan.

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MSU interim coach Harlon Barnett said on Monday that he anticipated Barrow would enter the portal. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound redshirt junior had two tackles in Saturday’s 49-0 loss to No. 2 Michigan, and he has 19 stops and 1.5 sacks in seven games this season, six of them starts. Barrow has 93 tackles and 8.5 sacks while starting 25 of his 29 games as a Spartan since 2021.

Barrow and Blackstock join running back Jordon Simmons, long snapper Hank Pepper, and defensive back Justin White in leaving the team. Pepper and Simmons have both entered the portal.

Every Spartan player received an immediate option to enter the transfer portal for 30 days after Tucker’s firing, per NCAA rules. They could also decide to return to MSU once a new coach is hired.