Skip to main content
michigan-state logo

Michigan State safety A.J. Kirk enters transfer portal

On3 imageby:Jake Lyskawa•04/20/23•

jakelyskawa

A.J. Kirk tackles Germie Bernard
EAST LANSING, MI - APRIL 16: Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Germie Bernard (4) gets hit by Michigan State Spartans safety A.J. Kirk (40) during the Michigan State Spring Game on April 16, 2022 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI (Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State safety A.J. Kirk – a former three-star high school prospect who committed to the Spartans as part of head coach Mel Tucker’s first recruiting class – entered the transfer portal on Thursday. 

Kirk (6-1, 210, R-Soph, Columbus, Ohio) redshirted his true freshman season in 2021 and did not see game action in 2022. He never appeared in a game for Michigan State. 

Kirk did not participate in Michigan State’s spring scrimmage on Saturday. SpartanMag.com had reported in December that Kirk was no longer with the team. He did not practice with the Spartans this spring.

Kirk saw action in last year’s spring scrimmage as a third-string safety, with mixed results. He did a decent job covering tight end Evan Morris in man-to-man on one play, although he seemed a bit fidgety as that play developed. Later, he made a mistake in cover-two zone coverage, didn’t get over the top to cover his deep half of the field and allowed a touchdown pass from Noah Kim to Sebastian Brown.

Kirk committed to Michigan State on Oct. 13, 2020. He was ranked as high as the No. 10 player in Ohio and No. 22 safety in the class of 2021 by ESPN (four-star status). On3’s Industry Rankings listed him as the No. 21 player in Ohio and No. 50 safety, good for a No. 598 national ranking and three-star status overall. 

Kirk committed to Michigan State over offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan, Penn State and others. A late-bloomer as a prospect, Kirk burst onto the radar with an outstanding senior year in high school, helping Archbishop Hoban High School to Division II state championship and 11-0 record in 2020.

Kirk transferred to Archbishop Hoban for his senior year. Prior to that, he played at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. 

Kirk is the younger brother of Mike Doss, a three-time All-American safety who played at Ohio State while Tucker was the defensive backs coach there. 

Kirk joins tight end Hamp Fay as Spartans who have entered the transfer portal this week. Fay was also a member of Tucker’s first recruiting class, which was constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The second transfer window of the offseason opened on Saturday and will close April 30.

You may also like