Mississippi State’s depth at linebacker looks to be taking a hit as Joe Moorhead recently announced redshirt sophomore linebacker Tyler Dunning has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean Dunning can’t return to Starkville to continue his Mississippi State career, based on what Coach Moorhead had to say, it doesn’t sound like the Florida native plans on returning to the program.

“Tyler made the decision to enter the transfer portal. He came through and met with Coach Marve and I the other day, wanting an opportunity to get back closer to home in Florida,” Moorhead said following a recent MSU practice. “We’re going to support him and try to help him get somewhere he feels comfortable finishing out his career.”

The career backup had yet to register his first tackle for the Mississippi State program leading up to this decision.

Dunning signed with Mississippi State in the 2017 recruiting cycle out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He was a three-star prospect coming out of high school and redshirted his first season on campus.