Mississippi State football's Jacarius Clayton, a Tupelo product, to enter transfer portal
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football's Jacarius Clayton announced Monday via social media that he is entering the transfer portal. Clayton is coming off his redshirt freshman season where he served as a tight end for former coach Zach Arnett and former offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay.
Clayton came to MSU in 2022 out of Tupelo High School. He was recruited as a defensive lineman who was a four-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He was originally committed to Ole Miss but flipped on the early signing day.
As MSU transitioned into Barbay's offense from the late Mike Leach's Air Raid − which didn't use tight ends − the Bulldogs needed depth at the position. MSU signed Ryland Goede from Georgia and Geor'quarius Spivey from TCU.
They weren't available in the spring so Clayton, among others, had to fill in at tight end.
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With Spivey ineligible to play this year, Clayton served as a depth piece.
Clayton's departure comes after the commitment of two transfer tight ends Sunday. Buffalo's Cam Ball and Vanderbilt's Justin Ball, who are brothers, announced they're joining coach Jeff Lebby's first roster in Starkville.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jacarius Clayton: Former 4-star DL to transfer from Mississippi State
