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Michigan State redshirt freshman offensive tackle Devontae Dobbs has entered the transfer portal, according to Stephen Brooks of 247Sports.
Can confirm OL Devontae Dobbs is in the portal. Dobbs and Julian Barnett were MSU’s top two recruits in the 2019 recruiting class.
— Stephen Brooks (@StephenM_Brooks) December 18, 2020
Surprisingly, Dobbs has not played a single snap in 2020, but played 57 snaps as a true freshman in 2019 across four games, including one start against Rutgers. He also saw action against Michigan, Northwestern and Western Michigan. Playing in only four games allowed Dobbs to preserve his redshirt.
A couple weeks ago on a Zoom call, offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic mentioned that Dobbs may be working through an injury, which could explain why we haven’t seen him this season (check this article for the Kapilovic video).
He just said Dobbs and Luke Campbell are working through injuries and he isn’t sure if he will see then this year — but if not, definitely will see Dobbs next year.
— The Only Colors (@TheOnlyColors) December 1, 2020
He said Spencer Brown and James Ohonba are two other young guys who have seen a lot of improvement.
It does not appear that we will “definitely see Dobbs” next year. The severity of whatever Dobbs is dealing with, and what exactly is going on with him, remains a mystery.
A four-star recruit out of Belleville High School with a 247Sports Composite grade of 0.9747, Dobbs was the highest-rated offensive line signee for Michigan State since Roland Martin in 2004, and was a top-10 rated recruit of all-time for the Spartans. He was the highest-rated recruit in MSU’s 2019 class.
Dobbs ranked as the No. 1 offensive guard in the entire 2019 class, as well as the No. 2 prospect in the state of Michigan and the No. 51 prospect overall in the nation. The Spartans mostly used Dobbs as a left tackle in 2019.
Cornerback Julian Barnett, Dobbs’ high school teammate and the second highest-rated player in the Spartans’ 2019 haul, also entered the transfer portal recently.