Following an ankle injury that ended his 2022 season early, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tunmise Adeleye transferred to Michigan State from Texas A&M this offseason looking for a fresh start.

Adeleye – who was one of the top-ranked defensive linemen in Rivals’ 2023 transfer portal rankings and a five-star prospect coming out of high school in the 2021 class – is taking on a new role in East Lansing as an “underdog.”

After finding success in 2021, which included an 11-2 record and a Peach Bowl victory over Pittsburgh, and then a failure to reach its goals as a team in 2022, Michigan State’s entire roster is hungry. Now a Spartan, Adeleye is embracing this “underdog” mindset.

“Underdog mentality,” Adeleye said when asked about Michigan State’s 2023 team. “A lot of guys that know they have to earn their respect. There's not a lot of respect for Michigan State (right now). There was in the past. In the past, (Michigan State) went 11-2 (in 2021), went to the Peach Bowl. There was a lot of respect that was earned by beating Pitt, being a top program. So we’re just trying to get back on that level.”

This has not often been the experience for Adeleye thus far in his career – being a highly-touted recruit and formerly playing for a Texas A&M program that often had high expectations (although, the Aggies also failed to live up to those expectations in 2022) – but he believes in Michigan State’s 2023 squad.

“I think it’s a breath of fresh air,” Adelye said about the underdog mindset. “I've been around places where there's a lot of guys who were (coming up with me), and there were some guys that were there that had that same mentality, but it wasn't throughout the entire team. I believe throughout this entire (Michigan State team), every single person from the scout team, guys from the ones, twos and threes, everybody has that same mentality.”

Following a down season, Michigan State perhaps comes into 2023 with less belief from the national media and fan base, but that is not the case inside the building.

“It’s very much a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality, and these guys are ready to go work,” Adeleye said about the Spartans.

As for how Adeleye is adjusting to his new surroundings and progressing throughout the spring, he feels the transition has been smooth. Adeleye is still learning the playbook and the terminology at Michigan State, but feels he is off to a strong start.

“I think I hit the ground running strong,” Adeleye said. “The first day that we were in pads, guys kind of were like, ‘OK, this is who’s here and we understand why he’s here.’ Getting adjusted to the playbook and terminology, there’s a lot of former NFL coaches here and it’s a very wide use of vocabulary and different terms for the same things and different things. Getting acclimated to that has kind of been an adjustment, but I believe I’m doing well.”

Of course, Adeleye was asked about his decision to transfer to Michigan State. Adeleye, a Katy, Texas native, had never been to Michigan before his visit to East Lansing in December. So what was it about MSU that stood out?

It was actually a prior relationship with a parent of one of his Texas A&M teammates, wide receiver Ainias Smith, that led Adeleye to the Spartans. Smith’s mother, Samyra Smith, was already familiar with Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker as he coached Ainias’ older brother, defensive back Maurice Smith, at both Alabama (as assistant head coach/defensive backs coach) and Georgia (as defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach) in 2015 and 2016.

“Coach Tuck has a very good relationship with a lady that was very influential to me back at (Texas A&M), Ainias Smith's mother,” Adeleye said. “(Tucker) coached her older son, Maurice Smith, when he was at both Georgia and Alabama.

“And Ms. Smith told me he's a very straightforward, genuine guy. He’s gonna hold you accountable and bring the best out of you, and help you get to where you want to get to in the NFL – make an impact while you're at Michigan State. So, she was very confident, and other people that I knew were very confident in Coach Tuck. I took that leap of faith and everything that I've seen so far is ringing true.”

Adeleye would provide more information on what attracted him to the Spartans, which includes the opportunities he will have on the field and how the program can help him reach the NFL.

“Position versatility, ability to come in and make an immediate impact,” Adeleye said when asked to elaborate on what brought him to MSU. “The Big Ten is a great conference – school down the road (Michigan), Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland. There's a lot of good, high-caliber players in this conference, just like the conference I just came from (SEC). So, it's another opportunity to kind of mold my craft and to help this school succeed, and in the process, hopefully be blessed enough and fortunate enough to go to the next level.”

At the end of the day, though, the connection he built with Tucker, and the belief that Tucker had in the defensive lineman, is why Adeleye made the move to East Lansing.

“You have to have a great relationship with your head coach,” Adeleye said. “I feel like Coach Tuck himself, he made it known, like, ‘You're my guy and I'm gonna have faith in you.’ That's what you need to be successful, sometimes you just need a person.”

As Adeleye mentioned, another big draw was that Michigan State plans to use him all over the defensive line – outside, inside or wherever his team needs him. He has been lining up at just about every spot in the defensive trenches.

“Everywhere – from nine (technique) all the way to zero (technique),” Adeleye said about how MSU plans to use him on the defensive line. “They want me to be an impact player and make an impact as much as I can – be a three-down guy, every-down guy, pass rush, stop the run, set edges, do everything. They want me to do everything and I think that’s great because it shows versatility and it shows the next level that I can move all across the line.”

While Adeleye is trying out a few new alignments with the Spartans, this is not dissimilar to how he was used with the Aggies, and he hopes to thrive in this versatile role with MSU.

“It's the same thing I did at A&M,” Adeleye said. “First and second down, I was kind of an edge guy – five, six-i, nine (techniques). Third down, I’d mix in playing five (technique) and playing three (technique). So zero (technique) is kind of new to me, that's been a big adjustment, but I'm the guy that's always gonna go with the flow.”

Outside of the relationship Adeleye built with Tucker, he already had an established connection with Michigan State through former pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan.

Of course, Jordan left MSU last month to take the same role with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. In addition, defensive line coach Marco Coleman left for his alma mater, Georgia Tech, earlier in the offseason. Both coaches were still on staff when Adeleye signed with the Spartans in late December, so it was an unexpected change for him.

Michigan State had to quickly pivot after Coleman’s departure, and Tucker hired Diron Reynolds in January to take over the defensive line duties. After Jordan’s departure, Tucker opted to give the full reins on the defensive line to Reynolds and focused on the secondary instead, hiring cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado in March.

“It was hard but it’s the nature of the business and I’m happy for him,” Adeleye said about Jordan’s departure. “I’m very proud of him for getting an opportunity. He's a person that's very humble, came from literally nothing from down in Louisiana, from New Orleans. So, him getting that opportunity to go and coach at the next level, who would turn that down? He’s blessed. I'm thankful for the knowledge that he's given me, how he's helped mold my craft. We still talk to this day.”

Adeleye is adjusting to Reynolds’ more easy-going approach to coaching. Growing up, Adeleye noted that he got used to coaches cursing at him and using profane language. That is not Reynolds’ style, but that doesn't mean the defensive line coach isn’t holding his players accountable.

“Totally different coaching style than what I'm used to,” Adeleye said about Reynolds. “I like both styles, but Coach Reynolds is very laid back – not laid back in the sense that he's not gonna hold you accountable, but laid back in the sense that he's has a lot of NFL experience, he's just gonna (say), ‘This is the standard. This is what I want you to do. This is how we're gonna accomplish it. Go out and execute it.’ If you're not executing it, he's not gonna berate you because you’re not doing what you were called to do. It's that simple, which I like.”

Speaking of different coaching styles, Adeleye was asked about the differences in approach by the Michigan State staff versus the Texas A&M staff. He noted that MSU staff runs things more like a professional football environment.

“I think the style of coaching (at MSU) is more – there's a lot of former NFL guys here, so with that league background, it is just a different style of coaching,” Adeleye said. “They're more, ‘OK, this is what we want you to do. This is how we want you to do it.’ It's not really berating or anything like that.

“There's an expectation and you want it to be accomplished, if it's not accomplished then you're not meeting the standard, and the standard’s the bottom line. So I think that's the biggest difference.”

The aforementioned injury that Adeleye dealt with last season at Texas A&M was a high ankle sprain. He was limited to just two games in 2022 (both starts).

The injury forced Adeleye to battle through adversity, and he expects to be stronger and better than ever in 2023.

“It was very frustrating,” Adeleye said about the injury. “I tried to come back. I'm a person that's always gonna try and push through things … but it was just too much. I'm back healthy now, and I'm ready to attack this season.”

When asked if he was able to show off his full game before the injury, Adeleye noted that he was really just scratching the surface in his limited action.

“Not nearly as much as (I wanted),” Adeleye said when asked how much of his capabilities were on display in 2022. “There's a reason why I was on the field and the ending of my season so prematurely didn't really display to the world what I had shown to the coaches at A&M. I know that Coach Tuck is gonna give me another opportunity to show the world what I have shown other people previously.”

Adeleye noted that redshirt senior Khris Bogle, redshirt junior Simeon Barrow, redshirt junior Avery Dunn and redshirt senior Brandon Wright have taken him “under their wing” on the defensive line and helped him transition to Michigan State.

He also mentioned that the offensive line is giving the defensive line great looks during spring practice, and that he is very high on his unit this season.

“We’re gonna have a great defensive line,” Adeleye said. “I’m very confident in the D-line.”

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