Within two weeks of entering the transfer portal, Geno VanDeMark has found a new home.

The former Michigan State offensive lineman has committed to Alabama, telling On3 Sports of his decision Saturday.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound VanDeMark started six of the eight games he played at right guard last season for the Spartans. He missed his team’s other four games in 2023 with an undisclosed injury.

At Alabama, he’ll be reunited with former Michigan State offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, who now holds the same role with the Crimson Tide under new coach Kalen DeBoer. Kapilovic was one of VanDeMark’s primary recruiters to the Spartans, who he committed to as a three-star recruit in the 2021 class.

REQUIRED READING: Can’t keep up with Michigan State football roster moves? Here’s a cheat sheet

His verbal pledge to Alabam is the latest development in what has been a back-and-forth, will-he-or-won’t-he process.

VanDeMark originally entered the transfer portal Dec. 4, shortly after Jonathan Smith was unveiled as Michigan State’s new coach, replacing Mel Tucker. About three weeks later, though, he withdrew his name from the portal and returned to the Spartans.

On April 30, following Michigan State’s spring practice and its spring showcase, VanDeMark once again entered the portal, doing so on the final day it was open for new entrants this spring.

He was one of four Spartans players to enter the portal that day, a group that included fellow offensive lineman Ethan Boyd. Boyd, an East Lansing native, has since committed to Colorado and coach Deion Sanders.

A day late this week, these are the top 10 times, distances and heights for each event in Michigan high school boys high school track and field so far this season, according to athletic.net rankings. Check back each week during the season for a new set of rankings.

Note: Any numerals in parenthesis next to a result are wind readings.

ROCHESTER, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, over half of a cherry crop loss and one Metro Detroit fruit farm is trying to remain optimistic about the future of the fruit growing in Southeast Michigan

A look at the cherry trees at Schramm’s Orchards in Rochester will tell you that it’s been a rough spring.

“That’s the thing about mother nature is that you just don’t get to decide,” says Sarah Schramm, an orchardist at Schramm’s Orchards.

A 70% loss this season in cherries is due to an up-and-down spring when it comes to the forecast.

“Every day, it threatened to dip below freezing since maybe the second week of March. The cherries can withstand a certain temperature down to about 28,” Schramm told CBS News Detroit.

When you dip lower than that, like what Schramm’s Orchards saw, it can make for a devastating loss of cherries that they say will add up to over $100,000 in losses.

“You don’t find a lot of fruit growers at the casino. This is pretty much how we live our lives. We gamble on the weather which is even way worse odds than roulette or blackjack,” said Nels Velliquette, a fruit grower in northwestern Michigan, where cherry farms are in no shortage.

He says economically, the price of cherries and products from them can fluctuate annually depending on how successfully a crop turns out.

“Everything costs more money these days but I would encourage people to look at the root cause of what those costs are. It’s one thing if you’re paying more for paper towel or toilet paper. It’s another thing if you’re paying more for a specialty crop from somebody who you know, who is putting money right back into your community,” Velliquette said

Schramm said the loss will not impact pricing. The meadery announced Friday that one of its most popular meads, “Statement Reserve,” is releasing from what they said was a bountiful harvest of Schaerbeek cherries last season. The same cherries took a massive hit this season.