Michigan State tight end Hamp Fay enters transfer portal: What it means and what's next

East Lansing, Mich. – One of the most notable members of Mel Tucker’s first recruiting class at Michigan State, tight end Hamp Fay, has entered the transfer portal. Fay has three years of eligibility remaining and did not see action in two seasons as a Spartan.

Fay (6-5, 220, R-Soph., Hudson Oaks, Texas) signed with Michigan State as a quarterback in 2021, moved to safety last fall and then moved to tight end in 2022.

Fay attempted to add mass after the move to tight end and competed in a crowded tight end picture during spring practice with the Spartans.

It’s unclear whether Fay entered the portal as a quarterback or tight end prospect.

Fay came to Michigan State as a three-star recruit, ranked the No. 29 quarterback in the nation by ESPN and No. 77 at the position by 247. 

Fay committed to Michigan State as part of head coach Tucker’s “Zoom Babies” recruiting class, with all members having been recruited virtually during COVID lockdowns. 

Fay committed to Michigan State in April of 2020 over offers from Mississippi, Boise State, Rutgers, Memphis, Boston College, Tulane, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Houston, Colorado, Illinois and others.

Tucker’s staff offered Fay when they were at Colorado in January of 2020, a few weeks before Tucker was hired at Michigan State. 

Fay possessed size, a strong arm and excellent foot speed coming out of high school, but had an unrefined feel for the position. SpartanMag viewed him as big-framed, athletic project at the position, similar to Connor Cook at the high school level. Fay transferred from Aledo High School to All Saints Episcopal for his junior and senior seasons in order to have a clear path to the starting quarterback job.

Fay competed at quarterback for the Spartans in the spring of 2022 but remained behind starter Payton Thorne, second-stringer Noah Kim and fell behind true freshman Katin Houser. 

As a sophomore at Aledo High, Fay saw most of his playing time at wide receiver for a team that won the Division 2 5A state championship. With his size, athleticism and background as a high school receiver, his move to tight end at Michigan State made sense. However, he wasn’t able to gain enough upward traction in the depth chart to feel compelled to stay at Michigan State. 

During 11 on 11 repetitions at Saturday’s scrimmage, he saw action with the third string and was not targeted with a pass. 

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MICHIGAN STATE

Following the 2022 season, Michigan State added three tight ends from the transfer portal (Tyneil Hopper of Boise State, Jaylan Franklin of Wisconsin and Ademola Faleye of Norfolk State). None of those three appear to be drastic difference-makers, with SpartanMag viewing Franklin as the player most likely to make an impact in 2023.

Those three strengthened a tight end room which included projected starter Maliq Carr, redshirt freshman Jack Nickel and Michael Masunas as well as true freshman Brennan Parachek. Parachek enrolled early and participated in spring practice.

Walk-on Evan Morris (6-4, 245, R-Sr., Elsie, Mich.) saw action as a second-stringer on Saturday early in the scrimmage and appeared to be ahead of Fay on the rep chart, but Morris’s availability waned as the scrimmage progressed. Coaches were highly complimentary of Morris midway through the spring.

Walk-on Jackson Morse (6-4, 240, R-Sr., East Lansing) caught a pass in Saturday’s scrimmage and also is competing for a role.

Carr is poised for a major breakthrough for Michigan State at tight end in 2023, with Tyler Hunt and Daniel Barker having graduated and Carr remaining as the only tight end in the program with extensive experience.

The rest of the room is competing for a support role with or behind Carr. No definitive clear leader seemed to emerge at second- and third-string coming out of spring. That competition will continue through the summer and into August with Morris and Franklin regarded by SpartanMag as top contenders.

The transfer portal re-opened on April 15. Fay isn’t expected to be the last Michigan State deep-bench reserve to enter the portal.

THE LATEST ON FAY

Fay’s excellent hands were on display a few times during spring practice, but blocking is an area that needs work.

In limited reps during Saturday’s scrimmage, Fay served as a primary blocker at the point of attack on a few occasions with mixed results. On one noteable running play, he lost a collision with third-string linebacker Aaron Alexander as an insert lead blocker on a pin-and-pull.

Later, he and third-string left tackle Ashton Lepo attempted to double-team defensive end Tunmise Adeleye but Adeleye split the double-team and made the tackle on the ball carrier.  

On an outside zone, Fay and Stanton Ramil combined for a double-team which achieved some movement against third-string defensive end Ken Talley.

THE TAKEAWAY

Fay is a big-framed athlete with good hands and good speed. He was a natural to make the transition from quarterback to tight end when things didn’t work out for him at his original position. Credit him with sticking with the program through last fall, moving to safety and then to tight end, and then committing to the weight room during the winter to try to make progress at the tight end position at Michigan State. 

After going backward on the depth chart at quarterback a year ago, he easily could have entered the portal in the spring of 2022. But he stuck around and gave it a shot for another year.

If Fay remains at tight end, SpartanMag would not be surprised to see him continue to improve and make an impact with program at the FBS level in the years ahead. 

Fay is a hard-nosed, team-oriented athlete but SpartanMag expected him to show more progress as a blocker on Saturday. He has work to do, but still possesses potential as a tight end.