Michigan State freshman defensive back Jaylen Thompson plans to enter the transfer portal, he told Ryan O'Bleness of Spartans Illustrated.
Due to health issues within his family, Thompson has made the decision to enter the portal when it opens on Dec. 9 with the hope of finding a school closer to his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Thompson appeared in six games during his true freshman campaign in 2024, including MSU’s final four games, partially as a result of the large amount of injuries in the Spartans’ secondary. Thompson started the final three games of the season for the Spartans.
Thompson was carted off the field during the second quarter of Michigan State’s season finale against Rutgers due to a concussion, but tells Spartans Illustrated he is recovering well.
Across that six-game span, Thompson was involved in 17 total tackles while also breaking up one pass. He ended up recording 162 defensive snaps this year, with 143 of those snaps coming in the last four games when he was thrust into an expanded role. Thompson received a 56.0 total defensive grade and a 62.6 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus in the process.
He is the fifth Michigan State player to announce that they will be entering the transfer portal since the season ended. He is the second defensive player to do so, with the other being defensive lineman Ken Talley, and the first defensive back.
As a high school recruit, Thompson was a player that stayed loyal to the Spartans through some tough times within the program. He verbally committed to MSU in December 2022, when Mel Tucker was the head coach, and he ended up staying true to it after Tucker’s firing and signed onto Jonathan Smith’s squad almost a full year later.
The former high three-star recruit had other suitors. There was an unofficial trip to Kentucky very early in his recruiting process. He also held offers from Michigan, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and more. Following the coaching change with MSU, the Hokies nearly got Thompson to campus for an official visit, but he reaffirmed with the Spartans and never took the trip to Blacksburg.
Sources tell Spartans Illustrated that Michigan State will be active when it comes to finding defensive backs in the portal. Given the terrible injury luck at that spot this past season for the Spartans, it could be in the Spartans’ best interest to add extra depth there.
Some players Michigan State could have back in the secondary for 2025 that had suffered injuries in 2024 include Charles Brantley, Malik Spencer, Dillon Tatum, Khalil Majeed, Chance Rucker and others.
To keep up with all of Michigan State transfer portal activity, please view the Spartans Illustrated transfer portal tracker.