Simeon Barrow is once again looking to move on from Michigan State football.
The fifth-year senior defensive tackle entered the NCAA transfer portal Thursday for the second time in six months, a team spokesman confirmed. Barrow initially submitted his name to transfer in late October after coach Mel Tucker’s firing, but quickly withdrew it and returned to the team two days later. He played in the Spartans’ loss at Minnesota that Saturday and finishing out their 4-8 season.
Another MSU veteran, reserve cornerback Marqui Lowery Jr., announced via X he has entered the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining. Lowery transferred to MSU from Louisville in 2021.
TRENDING:Michigan State, Michigan football among teams facing great unknown as transfer portal opens
The oft-injured Barrow was at practice Tuesday but was not in pads, working instead with trainers away from MSU’s defense. Lowery was working with the Spartans’ cornerbacks during the 15-minute portion of practice open to the media.
The 6-foot-3, 296-pound native of Grovetown, Georgia, earned All-Big Ten honorable mention last season and finished with 36 tackles, including 5½ for lost yardage and 3½ for sacks. He also had seven QB hurries from his interior line spot, forcing a fumble and blocking two kicks.
Originally a Mark Dantonio recruit, Barrow sat out his true freshman year in 2020 during the pandemic but then started 30 of his 34 career games. Should he decide to leave this time, he would finish his MSU career with 110 tackles, of which 18½ were for a loss. His 10½ sacks rank 24th on MSU’s all-time list, while the 92 yards lost on those sacks rank 15th.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG:Jonathan Smith promises MSU’s spring showcase will feature some actual football
MSU returns fellow starting defensive tackle Maverick Hansen for his sixth season, along with redshirt junior Derrick Harmon. New coach Jonathan Smith added two sixth-year senior graduate transfers at the position during the winter in Quindarius Dunnigan from Middle Tennessee State and D’Quan Douse from Georgia Tech.
“I do think at the line of scrimmage defensively, it can be a strength for us, that front seven on that side,” Smith sad Tuesday. “That stands out to me.”
Lowery played 48 defensive snaps at cornerback and 15 plays on special teams in MSU’s first three games last season before an injury shut him down. The 6-foot, 184-pound native of Charlotte, North Carolina, registered 22 tackles and a pass breakup in seven games in 2021, including 223 snaps at cornerback, and had three of his four tackles over five games in 2022 on special teams. Lowery started two of his 16 games as a Spartan and did not play at Louisville in 2020 as a true freshman.
Barrow and Lowery are the third and fourth Spartans from the spring roster and sixth players from the 2023 team to enter the portal since it opened Tuesday, along with redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Braden Miller and redshirt freshman cornerback Eddie Pleasant III. Two others, redshirt junior linebacker Ma’a Gaoteote and redshirt freshman running back Jaelon Barbarin, entered the portal this week but were not on MSU’s spring roster.
RECRUITIN’:MSU’s want to win recruiting in Ohio again. Brian Wozniak leads charge
The Spartans practiced Thursday morning, then wrap their 15 allotted spring workouts with a public “showcase” Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Gates open at 12:30 p.m., with two hours of action beginning at 2 p.m. It will be aired on Big Ten Network on tape delay starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
