Michigan State RB Jaren Mangham says 'My heart led me' to Spartans (SP)
Coming home. That seems to be the theme for the arrival of transfer running back Jaren Mangham, who will play for Michigan State in 2023.
Mangham spoke to the media on Wednesday about what led to his decision to transfer to Michigan State, what it’s like to be reunited with his brother and his relationship with head coach Mel Tucker.
Mangham is the older brother to current Spartan safety Jaden Mangham, who played in nine games as a true freshman in 2022. Both brothers will wear the No. 1 next season. The older Mangham expressed excitement when talking about playing with his brother again.
“Not every brother gets to play together so it’s very special to me, especially being able to wear the same number,” Mangham said to the media. “That’s kind of a little special moment for my parents…seeing their boys on the same team. It kind of means something to us. I’m just very excited to be here. I’m very excited to learn. I’m very excited to get back with Coach Tucker.”
MSU is Mangham’s third stop as a collegiate athlete. He played under Tucker at Colorado in 2019 as a true freshman. Tucker then departed Colorado to become the head coach at MSU. Mangham spent the shortened 2020 season with the Buffaloes before transferring to South Florida. He played for the Bulls for two seasons.
“I’ve always had a tremendous relationship with Coach Tucker,” Mangham said. “We were always close.”
Mangham recalls his conversation with Tucker while in the transfer portal back in December. He said it wasn’t like a normal recruiting talk.
“It was really just catching up,” Mangham recalled. “It’s like we never lost a beat. I loved everything I heard. It was just amazing getting to talk to him again and just building that relationship even further.”
Naturally, Tucker wasn’t the only guy recruiting Mangham to East Lansing. Jaden was trying to persuade Jaren to come back to his home state of Michigan.
“He (Jaden) was begging me to come,” the elder Mangham said. “He (Jaden) loves it here. It’s really truly a family tradition. I really do feel like they (the coaching staff) love the players beyond football.”
Mangham – a Detroit native who played his high school ball at Cass Tech – didn't necessary know that he would be committing to MSU until shortly before it happened, saying that he trusts wherever God will lead him. In the end, Mangham’s heart led him to East Lansing.
“That’s where my heart led me and it led me back here (to Michigan State), home,” Mangham said.
Despite coming to MSU via the transfer portal, there is no guarantee that Mangham will see the majority of snaps at the running back position. The Spartans have a number of solid pieces at the position, such as redshirt junior Jalen Berger, redshirt junior and UConn transfer Nathan Carter, senior Jordon Simmons (who saw his role diminish in 2022) and more.
“I kind of looked at this (running backs) room as a challenge and I always love having a great room and I never fear no competition or anything like that,” Mangham said about the competition between running backs. “I feel like competition builds character and I feel like it also helps everyone in the room get better. It’s just gonna help push everyone further and help everyone reach that next level.”
In a tightly packed and talented position group, a defining characteristic to set a player apart from the others could be the difference between seeing playing time or not.
“Just a dog mentality,” Mangham answered when asked what he brings to the running back room. “I feel like I can just keep the chains moving, always falling forward. I can make people miss. I do believe that I have soft hands out of the backfield. I’m very good with pass (protection)."
After MSU’s 11-2 season in 2021, there was a palpable buzz around the program that players, coaches and fans could all feel. From a player's perspective, the buzz can be good, but it can also be bad.
“I love that because the buzz obviously gets everyone excited,” Mangham said. “But it can also help the players get sidetracked and distracted sometimes.”
Coming back to his home state of Michigan is a full circle moment for Mangham. He was also “very close” to committing to MSU out of high school, but of course chose Colorado instead.
“Just because I go out to Colorado and then who would have known that I’ll be right back at Michigan State with the same exact coach,” Mangham said about how things worked out for him.
It took a while to set in for Mangham that he is coming back home and joining his younger brother on the roster.
“I really didn’t get to really digest it until after it already happened and I just sat back and just really thought, wow, it really has been a long journey, and I’m just excited to be back home,” Mangham said. “That’s really what I’m grateful for.”
Watch/listen to Mangham’s comments here: