Michigan State football's Hamp Fay enters NCAA transfer portal

East Lansing — Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said he expected some roster movement after spring practice concluded, and that movement began Tuesday.

Redshirt sophomore tight end Hamp Fay, who came to Michigan State as a quarterback, entered the transfer portal, a team spokesman confirmed. He is the first Spartan to enter the portal during the window that opened Saturday and closes on April 30.

Fay, a former three-star prospect from Hudson Oaks, Texas, was part of Tucker’s 2021 recruiting class, his first as Michigan State’s coach and one that was put together almost entirely in a virtual setting, though Fay was one of the few who visited campus before COVID-19 restrictions shut down in-person recruiting.

When the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder arrived on campus, he entered a quarterback room that included Payton Thorne, Anthony Russo and Noah Kim. It led to Fay taking a redshirt season in 2021. Last season, after Katin Houser arrived, Fay eventually made a position switch to safety and eventually tight end, though he did not appear in a game.

Fay was back at tight end this spring and took part in all 15 practices, but playing time likely would have been hard to come by considering the returning players and the offseason additions made at that position.

Junior Maliq Carr is the likely starter, while Michigan State added transfers Tyneil Hopper (Boise State), Jaylan Franklin (Wisconsin) and Ademola Faleye (Norfolk State). All three will be pushing for playing time, as will redshirt freshmen Jack Nickel and Michael Masunas. Four-star freshman Brennan Parachek also enrolled this semester and got plenty of work in the final spring practice on Saturday.

“We will have to see how much attrition we will have,” Tucker said Saturday. “We will see how things go, we may be able to add a couple of players and so these next couple of weeks will be critically important for that. The portal can be somewhat unpredictable, and so we will be keeping a close eye on it, but we may be able to add a couple of players, we will just have to wait and see.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau