Day's decision to enter portal not a surprise
Theo Day’s decision on Wednesday to enter the transfer portal came as no surprise, especially after he was relegated to fourth-string duty during Saturday’s Spring Scrimmage.
Day served as the third-string quarterback behind Rocky Lombardi and Payton Thorne last season. During the spring scrimmage on Saturday, he repped behind Thorne, Temple transfer Anthony Russo and freshman QB Noah Kim. His snaps during 11-on-11 scrimmaging on Saturday were limited.
Day - of Canton, Mich., and Dearborn Divine Child High School - appeared in two games over the course of three seasons at Michigan State. He did not see playing time last fall as a redshirt sophomore. It was a slight surprise that he stuck with the Michigan State program after the fall and went through winter conditioning and spring practice with the Spartans, following the addition of Russo and Hampton Fay's plans to enroll at mid-year.
Day is the latest Michigan State player to enter the portal after the conclusion of spring practice. Head coach Mel Tucker indicated throughout the winter and spring that several more players were likely to leave the program via the portal after coaches had additonal opportunities to evaluate players during spring practice.
This week, at least eight Michigan State players have entered the portal, including kicker Jack Olsen, tight end Tommy Guajardo, offensive lineman Damon Kaylor, defensive linemen DeAri Todd, Chris Mayfield and Josiyah Robinson and walk-on long snapper Bryce Eimer. None of those players were members of the playing group last year.
Most of those names are recognizable only to the most ardent Michigan State followers. But Day’s fame stretched wider because of the position he plays. He came to Michigan State as a three-star recruit, ranked No. 13 in Michigan and listed as the No. 19 pro style QB in the nation by Rivals.com.
He competed with Lombardi for the second-string role behind Brian Lewerke early in his career, and was nosed out in that competition.
Day remained in tight contention with Lombardi throughout 2019. He received third-string reps against Western Michigan and Penn State in 2019.
He completed two of three passes against Penn State during mop-up time, but then made a footwork error on a simple handoff, resulting in a busted play keeper. Former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio voiced his frustration about the error after the game. Day was replaced by Lewerke after that play, and Lombardi was given the final drive, which ended in an interception. Day never again saw the field for the Spartans.
Day possessed unique arm talent, but the mental error against Penn State unfortunately wasn’t a big surprise to the coaches, hence Dantonio’s post-game words of frustration.
When Lombardi entered the transfer portal following the 2019 season, he was quickly snapped up by Northern Illinois. It will be interesting to see whether Day attracts offers from Mid-American Conference schools as well.
Day's departure won't have an impact on the QB depth chart heading into summer workouts and fall camp. Thorne and Russo are engaged in a tight battle for the starting job. Kim has emerged as a real threat to win third-string status and position himself for second-string duty in the future. Fay's arm talent was impressive at times on Saturday and he possesses a high ceiling of potential. Michigan State continues to recruit four-star QB recruit A.J. Duffy out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Duffy attended Michigan State's spring scrimmage on Saturday. He is also considering Florida State, Arizona State, Oregon and Penn State.