The Wake Forest to Michigan State connection translated to one of the biggest success stories in college football in the transfer portal era.

Running back Kenneth Walker III made that move following the 2020 season and went on to win the Doak Walker Award the following year and get drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Offensive lineman Matt Gulbin arrived at Wake Forest the same semester as Walker transferred out of there. He even moved into Walker’s room at Wake Forest.

Gulbin is following Walker’s path as he transferred to Michigan State this past winter after building a solid connection with Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Jim Michalczik (“Coach M”).

“The transfer portal was really stressful,” Gulbin said. “I was only in there for a little bit. It sucked. It was really stressful, especially if you were really comfortable with a program for four years and then you just come in here and it’s like the recruiting process all over again. When I was talking to Coach M, I felt like we made a connection. He was easy, just laid out all the facts, wasn’t hard selling or anything.”

Gulbin was at Wake Forest for four years and was really close with former head coach Dave Clawson, who resigned following 11 seasons at the helm in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

When Gulbin was in the transfer portal, he asked Clawson about Michigan State and head coach Jonathan Smith (Clawson and Smith are friends). Clawson raved about Smith. So far, Gulbin thinks that everything Clawson has said about Smith has been true.

“For my last year, I really wanted somewhere where I could come in and help a team win, set myself up for the league,” Gulbin said. “I started talking to Coach M when I hit the portal. I felt like we made a great connection. He was telling me about Michigan State. I’ve always known about Michigan State, the culture here, kind of what it means to be a Spartan, and I was all in.”

Gulbin has a unique family history at Michigan State, although it might be a distant connection, as his grandfather’s cousin is George Perles. Perles played at MSU under Duffy Daugherty and coached the Spartans from 1983-1994, leading MSU to two Big Ten titles in his tenure.

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“My mom had always told me about him and I knew about him," he said. "It was cool to come here and see him on the wall. I had never met him, but I think it was cool.”

Also, Gulbin went on a gameday visit in 2019 to Michigan State -- during Mark Dantonio’s final season as head coach -- as a part of his high school recruitment. He spoke highly of the gameday atmosphere inside Spartan Stadium.