Interesting quotes from Darien Harris about Michigan State citing EverGreen during recruiting visits:

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This is a little bit long, but it is worth a watch. Bilas is a smart dude and I respect his opinion a lot. I personally don't have a strong opinion on whether players should be paid or not. Philosophically, I do actually still believe that a college education has tremendous value, and that still should mean something. That said, I think that NIL does make sense. A person should be able to profit from their own image. That seems fair.

What has troubled me in the past is the idea that somehow revenue from football and basketball should be given directly to those players. The problem there is that football and basketball fund the rest of the sports on campus, so the economics don't really seem to work out for me, to the extent that I understand these things, which I will admit is not that much. But, with NIL, outside money would be used, and that seems more reasonable.

But, at the end of the day, I am selfish. I love college sports, and I just don't want to see it get screwed up. Jay gave me some hope that "this will all get sorted out." I just hope that it doesn't disrupt things too much in Izzo's final years on the sidelines. I think that a new happy medium and equilibrium will be reached, but it could be a rough couple of years where Wild West rules might apply. I just hope it doesn't mess up Izzo's last potential run at a Natty.

I spoke with class of '22 wide receiver Tommy McIntosh from DeWitt (Mich.) yesterday. The 6'4 200 pounder has yet to be offered by the Spartans.

There are a lot of fans who would like to see Michigan State go after an in-state kid like McIntosh hard. On the other hand, there are some who aren't yet sold on his talent.

When speaking to him, Tommy said that he has been in contact with the Michigan State staff for a few weeks now. Specifically, Scott Aligo, Jack Tabb, and Jay Johnson are the staff members staying in contact with him.

In addition to Michigan State, McIntosh is also hearing from Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Boston College, who similar to the Spartans, have yet to offer.

McIntosh currently has offers from Indiana, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Western Michigan, and many more. I will continue to monitor his recruitment and will update the board if there is an offer sent his way.

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You can find his highlights HERE

I caught up with Jack Stone this afternoon prior to his flight back to Texas from Lansing. I learned a lot and enjoyed the conversation.

Maybe some good news?

Glance through the neutral zone rankings for college recruiting classes - and MSU seems to be moving up.

The 2021 class is (was) ranked #8 in the country. Granted, I need to dive down since I think they are including kids that are coming in down the road (not this year), but this is the highest ranked class Danton has gotten so far in these rankings.

MSU was 4th in the B1G though, as Minnesota (#1), Michigan (#5), and OSU (#7) came in higher. MSU's star average though was an even 4.0 which was slightly higher than OSU's 3.96 and right behind Minnesota's 4.09 (Michigan was 4.3). So the number of commitments plays into it as well.

I'm sure these rankings will shift slightly as guys reclassify.

And these aren't the be-all-end-all, but at least maybe a sign things are trending in the right direction still.

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If someone could post the link after we are under way, that would be great. Thank you

Here is my commitment feature on Quavian Carter.

I caught up with Lee County football coach Dean Fabrizio and he had a lot of insight into what makes Carter tick and why Michigan State should be thrilled to have him in this class.

Fabrizio has sent a lot of DB's to FBS, and he swears that Carter could play safety at the Power Five level. That said, he thinks he'd be well suited to outside backer or the nickel position in the 3-3-5.

Fabrizio tells me that a lot of schools down there are still recruiting Carter despite the decision. He says that Carter is solid in his opinion and that MSU has done everything right recruiting-wise. He said that the official visit sold Carter on MSU.

You might notice that I don't list Clemson as having offered in the story. That is because while Clemson was recruiting Carter hard, they didn't officially extend him an offer. It was more of a conditional deal where he would have to go to camp and earn the offer.

Here is the story:

Here is my article on Cincy Princeton's Rodney Harris II and Mehki Lynn, a couple of '22 guys that did increase their stock. Lynn put up good numbers in testing. I also have notes on '23 WB kids Lorenzo Williams and DeAndre Hill. Each of those guys did really well. Hil had some good catches at tight end. Williams earned an invite with his performance at Wayne State, and got a lot of attention from Harlon Barnett.

LMK if you see them, I've looked everywhere!

I caught up with Cleveland Glenville Coach Ted Ginn Sr. to talk about his current bus tour, and his relationship with Michigan State coach Mel Tucker. I also got his thoughts on 2021 signee Michael Gravely.

I have a good friend who son started as a sophomore for a HS in Daytona Beach, FL. He was suppose to start as a freshman but he broke his non-throwing arm just before the season. He just posted his film and said he has heard from Rutgers and UCF so far. He is 6'3" and his dad tells me he runs a 4.6. His dad also played some college football. Looks pretty good on film but wanted to get some other feedback from some of the experts on the board. I have a very good in if anyone from MSU ever became interested. Appreciate the feedback.


Blake Boda


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Here is my story on Lepo's visit. While speaking to him, I was able to get a better feel for how much it meant to him to have an in-person visit. On the flipside, understanding how important and meaningful an in-person visit was to Lepo, gave me a better feel for how tough it must have been on kids last year making decisions without an opportunity to have that in-person interaction with recruiters and future teammates. I feel like Michigan State is going to take a big step forward in recruiting this year, and in coming years simply by having the opportunity to showcase the program in-person. I've felt that way for a while, but even moreso after talking to kids who have been on campus to see what Michigan State has to offer. It's a big deal.

A new edition today:

Here is my Jack Nickel story based on our conversation yesterday. He seems to be a thoughtful guy, and after his experience with committing/de-committing from ND, I don't think he'll be jumping on board after his official visit. He wants to explore his options, and that's a good move on his part. I think Michigan State can help itself by playing up academics. I think the Smith Center will appeal to Nickel and his family. It's imperative that Michigan State addresses tight end recruiting in this class and Nickel fits that need pretty well in my opinion.

I caught up with Covington (GA) Newton corner Audavion Collins. He is visiting Michigan State on June 11 and is eager to see everything in person. He is listed at 155 in the Rivals database. He is up to 165, and still has some filling out to do. The weightroom and nutrition program is going to be a big deal for him.

Based on my conversation with Collins, it really feels like Indiana is making him a priority DB recruit. Tom Allen is fully invested in the recruiting process, and he has a good eye for secondary talent.

Collins is also an early enroll kid that his fully qualified. That's going to be big for him as he puts on weight, shapes his body.

Georgia and Alabama are both keeping tabs on Collins and want him to work out in camp this summer.

Here is the latest on Collins

Here is my commitment feature on Ronald Williams. I don't think Michigan State fans should sleep on this kid. He has some upside. Long, rangy, athletic. High ceiling.

I caught up with some knowledgable people in Williams' circle and got some background information that I wasn't aware of prior to my converations.

Williams was a four-year varsity quarterback at Ferriday (400 students) and was offered several mid-major scholarships at the position before opting to go the JUCO route at Hutchinson (KS) to increase his exposure and opportunities. His primary recruiter at Arkansas Pine-Bluffs told me that Williams was a tremendous athlete and they offered him as a quarterback with the potential to play a variety of positions on both sides of the ball. They saw a kid that was long, athletic, very good ball skills, and high football IQ.

Williams was a very good free safety at Ferriday as well as a QB, and that is where he played quite a bit at Hutchinson early before moving outside. Williams also spent some time in a hybrid nickelback type role. He played corner at Hutchinson in year-two, before piling up more than 30 scholarship offers and signing with Alabama as consensus Top 25 Juco prospect.

Williams broke his arm early in training camp at Alabama and that was an obvious major setback for a kid that hasn't taken as many reps at defensive back as most incoming Bama DB's. He got on the field late in the season, playing in three games, but entered the portal in seach of an opportunity to make an immediate impact and get the game and practice reps he probably wouldn't have gotten at Alabama.

I haven't thoroughly fact-checked this yet, but one of my sources indicated that Saban may have recommended Williams to Tucker, as both men are close. Tucker, I am told, believes that Ronald Williams will make a quick transition to Michigan State because of his time at Alabama.

Williams background as a safety/nickelback gives him some versatility, but it sounds like Michigan State likes him as a corner to start out. This is a kid that needs practice reps, and moving him around to various positions doesn't make much sense at this point.

People in the Ferriday community indicate that Williams is a good kid that came out of high school school as a full qualifier.

Based on what I've been able to learn, this sounds like a good fit for both parties. Michigan State is getting a high level athlete with good upside and Williams is coming into a program with an obvious need in the defensive backfield.

I have been thinking about this over the last few days, and I thought I would see what the group thinks. Note: this is all pure speculation on my part.

As things stand now, MSU has two open slots for next year. One slot might be saved for Bates when/if he reclassifies and if he decides to come to EL. The other slot needs to be filled, and I am of the opinion that MSU needs a wing to fill that spot. So, what if it turns out that the best player left on the transfer board is... Rocket Watts?

A lot of things have changed since Rocket announced his entry into the portal. Right now, everything seems oddly quiet. MSU does not seem to be hotly pursuing anyone and Rocket does not seem to be close to committing somewhere else. Note that I have ZERO inside information on this, so it is more of a feeling... but the thought did occur to me. Granted, there are probably a LOT of discussions going on behind the scenes, but at least from the outside, things seem to have stagnated.

If this situation, Rocket would primarily be an off guard and could start along side Brown on the wing. MSU will have 3 PGs, and the three (or four if Bates comes...) wings would not need to start right away. If Bates does come, this gets more complicated, but that is a problem that I would love to have. Also, if I recall, Bates is very close with Brown, but also Rocket, to some extent. I could see the argument of the three of them "getting the band back together" to be the primary three wings.

Here is another thought: both Keon Coleman and now Maliq Carr committed to the football team and both want to play basketball... even though there really isn't anything more that a practice squad spot for either of them. BUT, if there was word on the street that a generational talent was going to be playing in East Lansing, it might be a draw for some kids to want to just practice against him.

Yes, this is a ton of speculation, but it occurred to me, so I wondered if anyone else had the same thought(s).