Michigan State football has reportedly reached out to transfer running back Peny Boone from Toledo and Louisville.
One of the most recognizable portal names may just be a Michigan State football target once again.
Out of Detroit King (Mich.), Peny Boone was a target for the Spartans in the 2020 class. He was a four-star running back who held two dozen offers and Michigan State was heavily involved in his recruitment. In the end, he opted to head to Maryland where he spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons, totaling 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Following the 2021 season, he hit the portal again. Michigan State was once again a name to watch there but the pursuit wasn’t as heavy and he went the MAC route with Toledo. In his first year with the Rockets, he rushed for 443 yards and three scores on just 3.8 yards per carry. But he exploded for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023, averaging 7.2 yards per touch.
Obviously, he wanted to cash in on this breakout season, entering the portal after the year. Jonathan Smith and Michigan State were rumored to be an option, but he committed to Louisville.
Well, Boone is back in the portal after spending the spring with Louisville.
And according to Hayes Fawcett of On3, Michigan State has reached out.
A whopping 21 schools have reached out to Boone since he hit the portal for the second time this offseason. The Detroit native has heard from some smaller schools like Western Kentucky and USF, but he’s also heard from LSU, Tennessee, Washington, Ole Miss, Miami, North Carolina, Utah, Nebraska, UCLA, and Wisconsin, among others. The Spartans have also reached out, according to the report.
This interest in round two of his transfer portal stint this offseason could mean that Smith is looking for an RB2 behind Nathan Carter. Jaelon Barbarin hit the transfer portal and that leaves the Spartans with Carter, Jaren Mangham, and Jalen Berger.
Could this sudden Boone interest hint that someone else plans on leaving?
Potentially, but there were also reports before Boone chose Louisville that he was hoping to hear from Michigan State in the portal. Maybe this interest is more on his side of things. There’s no way of truly knowing, but I doubt Smith would say ‘no thanks’ to a guy who rushed for 1,400 yards last year.
A one-two punch of Carter and Boone would be electric.
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