Michigan State lands veteran Colorado DT transfer Jalen Sami

On3 imageby:Jason Killop05/17/23

KillopOn3

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State landed a highly-productive defensive tackle as a transfer on Wednesday afternoon, when 6-foot-6, 300-pound Jalen Sami, formerly of the Univery of Colorado, announced that he is becoming a Spartan. He announced his commitment via social media.

Sami played in 36 games, starting 32 games for the Buffaloes. He logged 78 tackles (47 solo), 12 tackles for a loss, with two and a half sacks, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in his four years with Colorado. He was named honorable mention All Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2021, playing in all 12 games in both 2021 and 2022 for Colorado.

Sami played for Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker during his one season as head coach at Colorado in 2019. Sami started 11 games as a redshirt-freshman that year. He was given the team’s Tyrone “Tiger” Bussey Award in 2019 for inspiration in the face of physical adversity.

That year, he played 411 snaps with 25 tackles including two TFLs, and one sack. He had the biggest special teams play of the year, as the last line of defense on the punt coverage unit, when he ran down and tackled Washington’s Aaron Fuller, saving what appeared to be a sure touchdown. Colorado held Washington on the next series and then ran the clock out on its next offensive possession, winning 20-14.

The big-bodied defensive tackle was a member of the 2017 recruiting class, playing high school football for Colorado Springs (CO) Visa Ridge. He was rated as a three-star prospect in the 2017 class by the On3 Industry Rankings. He also ranked as the No. 2021 overall player and No. 13 Colorado prospect in his cycle.

He enrolled at Colorado as a grayshirt in January of 2018 and went through the first half of spring football before suffering a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2018 season.

How it fits

Sami is a proven talent who will provide experience to a deep defensive tackle room at Michigan State in 2023. The 6-foot-6, 300-pounder is a big body who has proven to be durable, starting the last 24 games of his career. The Spartans finished 12th in the Big Ten in 2022 defending the run.

SpartanMag projects that Sami will compete for a starting spot with returning starter Simeon Barrow and experienced tackles Maverick Hansen and Derrick Harmon in 2023.

Michigan State added two depth pieces to the tackle room earlier this off-season in senior transfers Jarrett Jackson from Florida State and DeAndre Butler of Liberty.

Alex VanSumeren played in four games as a true freshman in 2022, preserving his redshirt as he also hopes to provide depth as a redshirt freshman.

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