Michigan State football completes Jaden Mangham trade with Semaj Bridgeman

Bridgeman was a four-star recruit in Michigan’s 2023 class, ranked No. 303 in the nation and he was also the 26th-best linebacker in the country, per 247Sports. On top of that, he was the state of Pennsylvania’s fifth-best prospect. So, on paper, this is a big-time get for Michigan State, especially flipping him from in-state rival Michigan mere hours after the Mangham news.

The timing of Bridgeman’s commitment was too perfect and it felt like this was a direct response to Mangham, but I’m sure he didn’t care about that. Mangham was a big loss, but 247Sports is actually higher on the Spartans’ new transfer as Bridgeman is rated an 88 in the portal while Jaden was right behind him as an 87.

Bridgeman joins a really solid group of linebackers led by Jordan Hall, Jordan Turner, Wayne Matthews III, Cal Haladay, Darius Snow, and Marcellius Pulliam. Adding a guy with four years of eligibility remaining and who drew some major interest in the 2023 class is huge.

Michigan State fans were furious about Mangham going from starting MSU safety to Michigan transfer in the span of a few weeks but they quickly got over that with Bridgeman siding with the Spartans.

The rivalry has never quite had a trade like this and let’s just hope this doesn’t become a regular occurrence.