Rocky Lombardi enters transfer portal
Rocky Lombardi rushes against Northwestern/ Photo Credit: MSU Athletic Communications
December 18, 2020
EAST LANSING — The revolving door of players entering and leaving Michigan State following Mel Tucker’s first season continues, as his former starting quarterback, Rocky Lombardi has entered his name into the portal. Lombardi is the fourth player to enter the portal on Friday after the final game of the season vs. Maryland was canceled (COVID-19 complications) on Thursday. He joins Devontae Dobbs, Jeslord Boateng, and Davion Williams as Spartans to enter the portal on Friday, along with Julian Barnett, who put his name in on Thursday.
Lombardi started the first six games for MSU and led the Spartans to victories over Northwestern and in-state rival Michigan. He completed 84-of-157 passes for 1,090 yards and eight touchdowns. Lombardi also threw nine interceptions over the course of the season. He missed MSU’s final game against Penn State due to an injury.
Lombardi also started three games as a redshirt freshman in 2018 when Brian Lewerke went down with an injured shoulder. The news of Lombardi’s transfer follows the commitment of Temple graduate transfer Anthony Russo and 2021 three-star Hampton Fay, who both joined MSU on Wednesday. Payton Thorne, who started the final game of the season, could also be in the running for the quarterback job next season in East Lansing.
There have been many moving pieces surrounding MSU’s roster and the transfer portal over the past few days, but one thing has been made abundantly clear: Mel Tucker was serious when he mentioned that MSU would be very active in the transfer portal.
Zach Surdenik is a women’s basketball beat reporter for WDBM Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @ZachSurdenik.
