MSU lands two defensive commits in transfer portal, 3-star receiver from Texas

With the early signing period beginning on Wednesday, Mel Tucker and the Michigan State staff remained busy adding to the 2023 class through both the high school ranks and the transfer portal.

The Spartans landed a pair of commitments on Tuesday from the portal, first from former Belleville linebacker Aaron Alexander, who played three games last fall at UMass. On Tuesday evening, Florida State defensive tackle Jarrett Jackson announced he had committed to Michigan State.

Alexander, who Tweeted “I’m coming home,” is a one-time Michigan commit. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Alexander was a three-star prospect at Belleville and the 26th ranked player in the state.

Jackson (6-6, 300) is a graduate transfer who spent two years at Louisville before spending the last three at Florida State. He’s played in 33 career games and last season had 12 tackles in 11 games for the Seminoles.

Michigan State now has eight commits from the transfer portal, including Jackson and Alexander as well as RB Nathan Carter (Connecticut), CB Semar Melvin (Wisconsin), K Jonathan Kim (North Carolina) and TEs Ademola Faleye (Norfolk State), Jaylan Franklin (Wisconsin) and Tyneil Hopper (Boise State).

Late Tuesday night, Michigan State landed a commitment from three-star wide receiver Jaelen Smith from Houston (Texas) Klein Cain. At 6-1 and 185 pounds, Smith is the 73rd ranked receiver in the nation and chose Michigan State over the likes of Minnesota, Vanderbilt and a handful of Ivy League schools. At Klein Cain, Smith played multiple positions, including quarterback.

He is the 14th player to commit to the class, including the second wide receiver, joining Aziah Johnson of Virginia, who committed last week.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mcharboneau