The latest addition to Michigan State football took a surprising route to East Lansing.
Hope College. Via trade school.
The Spartans landed a commitment from defensive end Jack Lamancusa, a Division III transfer, on Friday, two days after adding Isaac Smith from Texas Tech. And the Comstock Park native arrives with three years of eligibility and a unique backstory.
Lamancusa, 21, graduated in 2022 from Rockford High School, where he predominantly played basketball. For his senior season at Rockford, his friends convinced him to play football for the first time since middle school.
“And I kind of fell in love with it,” Lamancusa said Friday. “But after high school, I was kind of drained with sports because I played AAU year-round for basketball. So I just took a gap year to figure out what I want to do.”
After graduating from Rockford (where his mother, Stephani, works), Lamancusa enrolled in an electrician apprenticeship program through CS Erickson in Grand Rapids. His flame for football continued to grow, however. And a chance encounter reignited it.
In the fall 2023, Lamancusa ran into Hope College football coach Peter Stuursma on the sidelines at a Rockford game at Caledonia. The two had built a relationship when Stuursma was recruiting during Lamancusa’s senior year of high school — and the veteran coach remembered what he saw two years earlier.
“I was standing next to (Rockford) AD Cole Andrews, and I’m like, ‘Who is that 99?’ He goes, ‘Jack Lamancusa, he’s played one year of high school football.’ I go, ‘WHAT?’” Stuursma said Friday. “I literally said to him, ‘Shhh, don’t tell anybody about him.’ I’m watching this kid, and this dude plays with a really good motor. … The way he conducted himself, I wanted him more and more each time I talked to him.”
Lamancusa called Stuursma before entering the apprenticeship to thank him for recruiting him to Hope. When the two reconnected in 2023, the coach asked Lamancusa if he missed football.
His response: “More than you know.”
“I’m like, ‘Let’s go, let’s do this,’” Stuursma said.
Lamancusa enrolled at Hope in January 2024 as an exercise science major and went through spring practice, emerging as a starter for the Flying Dutchmen this fall. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Lamancusa had 43 tackles with four sacks, earning first-team All-MIAA and second-team all-region honors from D3football.com. Hope finished eighth in the nation in run defense at 61.3 yards allowed per game, with Lamancusa as a big reason.
“He has worked his butt off in that gym. So this is all on him,” Stephani Lamancusa said. “It’s a Cinderella story. … That gap year has allowed him to really appreciate academics and athletics.”
After the season, Stuursmsa said Jack Lamancusa approached him about leaving the program. Because Division III schools are not permitted to offer athletic scholarships, he wanted to explore opportunities to get at least part of his education paid for.
“He doesn’t want to let anybody down,” Stuursma said. “He gets in my office and gets all teary-eyed and all choked up. He goes, ‘This is just so hard to say this, but it’s just so expensive to go here. I want to see if I can make it and see if I can make school cheaper.’ And I’m like, ‘Buddy, I understand. It’s because you’re a dude.’ He’s a dude.”
Lamancusa went through spring practice at Hope with an understanding with Stuursma that he planned to explore transfer options this spring. Division II national champion Ferris State quickly showed interest. One of Lamancusa’s teammates recommended him to Kurt Richardson, MSU’s director of player engagement, and coach Jonathan Smith’s staff liked Lamancusa’s film enough to offer him a spot on the 105-man roster this fall.
Upon arriving in May, Lamancusa will arrive as a walk-on with an opportunity to earn one of the 85 scholarships. He also has a redshirt year available after playing his one season at Hope, he said.
“There’s definitely a super-high ceiling that can be achieved,” Lamancusa said. “I’m still learning every day what’s going on in football since I’ve only played one year of collegiate and one year of high school.”
Lamancusa and Isaac Smith join a revamped group of edge rushers for defensive coordinator Joe Rossi that includes fellow transfers David Santiago (Air Force) and Anelu Lafele (Wisconsin). The Spartans also return Jalen Thompson and Quindarius Dunningan after losing Anthony Jones and James Schott to the portal this week in the spring window.
Stuursma gave his blessing for Lamancusa leaving his program and is convinced that the chance he took on him will be the start of bigger things ahead.
“I’m like, ‘Buddy, what’s the question? Go be great,’” Stuursma said. “It’s awesome. I said, ‘You don’t have to be anybody you’re not. Just be you.’ And he was pretty good. … I’m telling you, that dude can go. He can flat-out play.
“It’s a cool story because of him. He just handled the situation so well, with maturity, class and dignity. That says a lot about his family and a lot about him. We’re super-proud of him. We’ll see where it goes.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football adds Hope College transfer DE Jack Lamancusa
The latest addition to Michigan State football took a surprising route to East Lansing.
Hope College. Via trade school.
The Spartans landed a commitment from defensive end Jack Lamancusa, a Division III transfer, on Friday, two days after adding Isaac Smith from Texas Tech. And the Comstock Park native arrives with three years of eligibility and a unique backstory.
Lamancusa, 21, graduated in 2022 from Rockford High School, where he predominantly played basketball. For his senior season at Rockford, his friends convinced him to play football for the first time since middle school.
“And I kind of fell in love with it,” Lamancusa said Friday. “But after high school, I was kind of drained with sports because I played AAU year-round for basketball. So I just took a gap year to figure out what I want to do.”
After graduating from Rockford (where his mother, Stephani, works), Lamancusa enrolled in an electrician apprenticeship program through CS Erickson in Grand Rapids. His flame for football continued to grow, however. And a chance encounter reignited it.
In the fall 2023, Lamancusa ran into Hope College football coach Peter Stuursma on the sidelines at a Rockford game at Caledonia. The two had built a relationship when Stuursma was recruiting during Lamancusa’s senior year of high school — and the veteran coach remembered what he saw two years earlier.
“I was standing next to (Rockford) AD Cole Andrews, and I’m like, ‘Who is that 99?’ He goes, ‘Jack Lamancusa, he’s played one year of high school football.’ I go, ‘WHAT?’” Stuursma said Friday. “I literally said to him, ‘Shhh, don’t tell anybody about him.’ I’m watching this kid, and this dude plays with a really good motor. … The way he conducted himself, I wanted him more and more each time I talked to him.”
Lamancusa called Stuursma before entering the apprenticeship to thank him for recruiting him to Hope. When the two reconnected in 2023, the coach asked Lamancusa if he missed football.
His response: “More than you know.”
“I’m like, ‘Let’s go, let’s do this,’” Stuursma said.
Lamancusa enrolled at Hope in January 2024 as an exercise science major and went through spring practice, emerging as a starter for the Flying Dutchmen this fall. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Lamancusa had 43 tackles with four sacks, earning first-team All-MIAA and second-team all-region honors from D3football.com. Hope finished eighth in the nation in run defense at 61.3 yards allowed per game, with Lamancusa as a big reason.
“He has worked his butt off in that gym. So this is all on him,” Stephani Lamancusa said. “It’s a Cinderella story. … That gap year has allowed him to really appreciate academics and athletics.”
After the season, Stuursmsa said Jack Lamancusa approached him about leaving the program. Because Division III schools are not permitted to offer athletic scholarships, he wanted to explore opportunities to get at least part of his education paid for.
“He doesn’t want to let anybody down,” Stuursma said. “He gets in my office and gets all teary-eyed and all choked up. He goes, ‘This is just so hard to say this, but it’s just so expensive to go here. I want to see if I can make it and see if I can make school cheaper.’ And I’m like, ‘Buddy, I understand. It’s because you’re a dude.’ He’s a dude.”
Lamancusa went through spring practice at Hope with an understanding with Stuursma that he planned to explore transfer options this spring. Division II national champion Ferris State quickly showed interest. One of Lamancusa’s teammates recommended him to Kurt Richardson, MSU’s director of player engagement, and coach Jonathan Smith’s staff liked Lamancusa’s film enough to offer him a spot on the 105-man roster this fall.
Upon arriving in May, Lamancusa will arrive as a walk-on with an opportunity to earn one of the 85 scholarships. He also has a redshirt year available after playing his one season at Hope, he said.
“There’s definitely a super-high ceiling that can be achieved,” Lamancusa said. “I’m still learning every day what’s going on in football since I’ve only played one year of collegiate and one year of high school.”
Lamancusa and Isaac Smith join a revamped group of edge rushers for defensive coordinator Joe Rossi that includes fellow transfers David Santiago (Air Force) and Anelu Lafele (Wisconsin). The Spartans also return Jalen Thompson and Quindarius Dunningan after losing Anthony Jones and James Schott to the portal this week in the spring window.
Stuursma gave his blessing for Lamancusa leaving his program and is convinced that the chance he took on him will be the start of bigger things ahead.
“I’m like, ‘Buddy, what’s the question? Go be great,’” Stuursma said. “It’s awesome. I said, ‘You don’t have to be anybody you’re not. Just be you.’ And he was pretty good. … I’m telling you, that dude can go. He can flat-out play.
“It’s a cool story because of him. He just handled the situation so well, with maturity, class and dignity. That says a lot about his family and a lot about him. We’re super-proud of him. We’ll see where it goes.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football adds Hope College transfer DE Jack Lamancusa
