Michigan State Loses Out on Talented Transfer Safety

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith continue to offer scholarships to players around the country in efforts to rebuild a roster that has regularly lost players to the transfer portal this offseason.

Coach Smith and his coaching staff continue to play catch-up as they look to begin a new era in East Lansing.

Michigan State offered safety Sheldon Arnold a scholarship after he spent the last two seasons at East Tennessee State. Arnold announced the scholarship offer on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, the day after announcing his offer from the Spartans, it was announced that Arnold, a native of Loganville, Georgia, chose the University of Central Florida as his next school, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.

Coach Smith and the Spartans offered the talented safety a chance to become an impact player on a roster that lost many of its players from last season. Moving to Michigan State would have significantly increased Arnold’s weekly competition and exposure. 

Following the 2023 season, Arnold earned a first-team All-Southern Conference selection. He had 87 total tackles, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Arnold also registered a pair of touchdowns for the ETSU defense.

According to East Tennessee State, Arnold “played in all 11 games, making five starts. [He] totaled 53 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble ... Season-best nine tackles against Chattanooga ... Had four tackles and a forced fumble vs. Furman. [Arnold] recorded two hits and an interception (46-yard return) at Robert Morris. [He] had five tackles each against Mercer, Samford, and Western Carolina. [He] also tallied an interception against Western Carolina. [Arnold] ended the season with six tackles (five solo) at Mississippi State.

“The prior season, ‘[he] appeared in all 13 games for ETSU. [He] concluded the season with four tackles (three solo) and one interception. His first collegiate interception came in the win at Vanderbilt (Sept. 40. [He] registered a career-best two tackles in the FCS Playoff game against North Dakota State (Dec. 11).”

Arnold marks another player the Spartans have lost out on in the recruiting trail. They have usually lost players to football programs that were better than Michigan State currently or nationally. UCF is neither.

Losing out on Arnold may not mean much immediately, but it could be a sign of things to come for a team that is losing potential talent and talent that was on its roster last season.

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