Darius Snow is staying in East Lansing.

After initially entering the transfer portal, the program legacy linebacker Wednesday night announced via X (formerly Twitter) that he plans to remain at Michigan State to play for new football coach Jonathan Smith next season.

“For reasons not worth bringing back up, I decided to enter the transfer portal when the season concluded and did so,” Snow wrote. “This decision, however, was made before giving coach Smith and Co. the chance they deserve. As aforementioned, with everything I’ve went through in my time here, I wouldn’t be doing myself justice either leaving without doing so.

“That being said, after multiple conversations with my family and coach Smith, I decided to withdraw my name from the transfer portal earlier (Wednesday) and take that chance.”

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Snow previously tweeted he has two years of eligibility left with an ability to appeal for a third. That is due to a litany of injuries since he arrived in 2020 as part of Mark Dantonio's final recruiting class that never played for the all-time winningest coach in school history.

A significant leg injury in the first half of the Spartans’ 2022 opener against Western Michigan ended Snow’s season that year. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound former defensive back moved to linebacker during that offseason.

After missing the first two games this season, Snow returned against Washington and played in four games before being shut down with another undisclosed injury for the final six games. He finished with six tackles in 55 snaps.

“I’m proud to say that I’ve now completely recovered from the injuries that have plagued my career to this point, and I look forward to building on the work that was put in to get where I am today,” Snow wrote. “I can’t speak to what the future holds, but I can guarantee that I will attack it head-first as I always have.”

After earning an undergraduate degree in graphic design in May, Snow was enrolled in a digital media graduate certificate program this fall.

Snow started eight games at nickel and one at safety as a sophomore in 2021, finishing third on the Spartans with 87 tackles, three pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery while playing in all 13 contests.

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As a true freshman in 2020, Snow played 40 plays over six games on special teams and had three tackles after remaining with Mel Tucker’s program following Dantonio’s retirement. He is the son of former MSU/NBA guard Eric Snow, and the nephew of former All-America/NFL linebacker Percy Snow (the only Spartan to win the Butkus and Lombardi awards in 1989 and the first in college football history to win both in the same season).

Snow is the first Spartan who entered the portal to announce he plans to return to the program under Smith, who was hired Nov. 25, hours after MSU ended its 4-7 season with a 42-0 loss to Penn State in Detroit. A total of 15 entered after Smith’s hiring was announced, and four others entered after Tucker was fired Sept. 27.

Two players Wednesday announced they found new homes at major power programs, starting right tackle Spencer Brown (Oklahoma) and starting long snapper Hank Pepper (Southern Cal). Another, offensive tackle Keyshawn Blackstock, committed to Arkansas on Nov. 24.

Others who remain in the portal are quarterbacks Katin Houser, Noah Kim and Sam Leavitt; wide receivers Tyrell Henry, Jaron Glover and Christian Fitzpatrick; running back Jordon Simmons; offensive linemen Brandon Baldwin, Ethan Boyd, Geno VanDeMark and Kevin Wigenton II; defensive end Zion Young; and defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.

The portal window to transfer or stay is open until Jan. 4.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: LB Darius Snow withdraws from transfer portal