Michigan State has landed a commitment from a highly-coveted Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) transfer player. Holy Cross transfer offensive lineman Luke Newman pledged to the Spartans today.
Newman took an official visit to Michigan State on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19 after taking an unofficial visit to East Lansing in December of 2023 as well.
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The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Newman is a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native and played for Brother Rice High School. He is excited to play in his home state and to suit up for a program he grew up watching.
Newman will now play under head coach Jonathan Smith, offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik, and the rest of the staff at Michigan State in 2024.
In addition to Michigan State, Newman had interest from several other Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, including several programs from the Big Ten, SEC and ACC. Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and James Madison.
Newman made visits to the Commodores, Boilermakers and Fighting Illini. He was also set to make a visit to James Madison but it appears that trip won't be necessary for the Michigan native.
According to Pro Football Focus, Newman played 707 total offensive snaps and 52 special teams snaps. He was the highest-graded player in pass protection for the Crusaders, earning a pass-blocking grade of 91.6 in 326 pass-blocking plays.
Newman played exclusively at left tackle for Holy Cross this past season, but sees himself playing as a guard at the FBS level.
He played in 40 games in four years with Holy Cross. Newman started 11 games in 2023, 13 games in 2022, and 13 games in 2021. He appeared in three games as a true freshman in 2020.
Newman earned several honors during his time with the Crusaders. In 2023, he was named to multiple FCS preseason All-America lists.
In 2022, he earned Stats Perform FCS All-America Team recognition and was selected to Associated Press All-America Team as well. Additionally, Newman received HERO Sports Sophomore All-American honors in 2021 and was a back-to-back All-Patriot League first-team selection (2021 and 2022). He was Phil Steele’s Patriot League Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2022 and also won the Davitt Award as the team’s top offensive lineman in both 2021 and 2022.
He will have one year of college eligibility left.
With Newman in the fold, Michigan State's incoming transfer count increases to 12. He joins fellow offensive lineman Tanner Miller (Oregon State), linebacker Wayne Matthews (Old Dominion), linebacker Jordan Turner (Wisconsin), defensive tackle D'Quan Douse (Georgia Tech), punter Carson Voss (Western Michigan), quarterback Aidan Chiles (Oregon State), quarterback Tommy Schuster (North Dakota), long snapper Kaden Schickel (James Madison), defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan (Middle Tennessee State), tight end Jack Velling (Oregon State) and wide receiver TJ Sheffield (Purdue).
Keep up with all of Michigan State transfer portal activity by viewing the Spartans Illustrated Transfer Portal Tracker.
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