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Michigan State LB Ben VanSumeren signs as free-agent with Philadelphia

Michigan State's Ben VanSumeren celebrates after sacking Indiana's Dexter Williams II during the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing
Michigan State's Ben VanSumeren celebrates after sacking Indiana's Dexter Williams II during the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing (Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Paul Fanson • Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer
@PaulFanson
I am a 1998 graduate of MSU in Chemical Engineer and I earned a Ph.D. from Purdue in 2002. In my day job I work on advanced automotive technology, but I enjoy writing about sports analytics.

Michigan State linebacker Ben VanSumeren's college journey has been filled with twists and turns. On Saturday afternoon, the first page of the next chapter of VanSumeren's football career came into focus when he announced on his Instagram account that he is signing as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. So it looks like Ben is headed to the City of Brotherly Love.

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The Bay City native was high school star at Garber High School. VanSumeren was rated as a high three-star prospect by Rivals (5.7 rating) and was a consensus top 15 player in the state. In 2018, Ben committed to the University of Michigan, where he played for three years.

In his first two years in Ann Arbor, VanSumeren played in a total of nine games on both special teams and as a fullback. In his redshirt sophomore year in 2020, Ben made the move from offense to defense and even had two starts for the Wolverines at linebacker. VanSumeren recorded a total of seven tackles in the six games of the COVID-shortened season.

In February of 2021, VanSumeren decided to enter the transfer portal. Within just a few days, Ben made the decision to exchange his maize-and-blue threads for the green and white.

VanSumeren played in all 13 of Michigan State's games in 2021. Ben logged a total of 12 tackles on 122 defensive snaps and 133 special teams plays. In 2022, VanSumeren saw his role expand. He missed one game due to injury, but started in 10 of the other 11 games at linebacker. VanSumeren registered a total of 81 tackles (third highest on the team) over a total of 626 snaps on defense.

At the conclusion of Michigan State's 2022 campaign, VanSumeren's names did not appear in many, if any mock draft boards. Ben simply continued to put in the work.

It started with a surprisingly strong showing at the Shrine Bowl where he turned heads in practice and led all players in tackles during the game. VanSumeren followed up that performance by impressing scouts at Michigan State's Pro Day in March. One scout even described VanSumeren as a "physical freak."

Now, all that hard work has translated into a chance to earn some money playing the game that he loves. VanSumeren will get the chance to compete for a roster spot after signing a free agent deal with the Eagles Saturday night.

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