The Michigan State football program received some good news on Wednesday night when redshirt linebacker Darius Snow announced that he has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal and plans to return to the Spartans.
Snow had originally entered the transfer portal on Nov. 27, which came just two days after Michigan State hired Jonathan Smith as its head football coach. However, after conversations with his family and Smith, Snow has since changed his mind about testing the portal.
"For reasons not worth bringing back up, I decided to enter the transfer portal when the season concluded and did so," Snow wrote in part in a statement posted to social media. "This decision, however, was made before giving Coach Smith and (company) the chance they deserve. As aforementioned, with everything I've went through in my time here, I wouldn't be doing myself justice either leaving without doing so. That being said, after multiple conversations with my family and Coach Smith, I decided to withdraw my name from the transfer portal earlier today and take that chance."
In 2022, Snow suffered a season-ending leg injury during the season-opening game versus Western Michigan. This injury also caused him to miss the first two games of the 2023 season before making his season debut versus Washington on Sept. 16. However, due to injuries, Snow played in just four games in 2023: versus Washington, versus Maryland, at Iowa and at Rutgers.
Snow finished the 2023 season with six total tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 55 defensive snaps, including a season-high 24 defensive snaps against Iowa. Additionally, Snow recorded 30 special teams snaps on the campaign.
In his letter posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Snow mentioned that he has "struggled with how to deal with" the injuries and "hardships" he has faced in his career, but he also mentioned that he is now fully healthy and is looking forward to the future.
"I'm proud to say that I've now completely recovered from the injuries that have plagued my career to this point, and I look forward to building on the work that was put in to get to where I am today," Snow wrote.
Snow has played in 24 career games at Michigan State. As a Spartan, he has recorded 98 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one interception, three passes defended and a fumble recovery. He began his career as a defensive back, playing both nickel back and safety for MSU, before making switching to the linebacker position during the spring practices in 2022.
He has two years of eligibility remaining, with the ability to apply for a third season through a NCAA medical hardship waiver if he chooses.
Snow is a legacy player at Michigan State, as his dad, Eric Snow, played basketball at MSU in the 1990s (and also in the NBA), and his uncle, Percy Snow, was an All-American linebacker for the Spartans in the late-1980s (and also played in the NFL).
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