East Lansing, Mich. - We’ll get right into this week’s edition of The War Room with chatter and info from the recruiting trail.
Once again, today’s War Room is kind of long. They won’t always be nearly this long. But with a new recruiting cycle starting up, there are a lot of names coming and going, and a lot of scholarship offer action. So the word count grows long here in The War Room.
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I thought there was a chance Michigan State could get a commitment from Dearborn Fordson offensive lineman KA’MARII (pronounced Kuh-MARR-ee) LANDERS last weekend or in the days that followed. The big, nifty-footed offensive guard prospect loves Michigan State and seems to speak about the Spartan program in terms of when he arrives rather than if he arrives.
He says he is planning to make a decision by Mothers Day at the latest. That was his play prior to his virtual visit with Michigan State on Saturday.
I have played message tag with him a few times since the weekend, but haven’t been able to get a full quote or conversation with him since the virtual visit and what his thoughts were on the visit. Enough days have passed now since the virtual visit that I don’t think a commitment is at hand, for now. But I’ve seen recruits come to campus with Michigan State as the leader, and not intending to make a commitment, but then decide soon after their visit, “Well, if this is the place that I know I’m eventually going to choose, I might as well do it now.”
Landers is and was in that category. However, a virtual visit isn’t the same as an actual on-campus unofficial visit. So Landers is going to wait awhile longer.
I have confirmed that he is a “take” for Michigan State. They would like to put him in the hopper.
I’ve stated before that Landers carries a lot of unnecessary weight, but he’s still quick with all of those excess pounds. Coaches are betting on the rise with him, that after a good college conditioning coach gets ahold of him, Landers’ quick footwork will become even better. In the meantime, he has good natural power too.
Oregon, Kentucky, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Michigan and West Virginia are also jockeying for his attention. Nebraska has been working hard. He would like to visit Oregon just to see all the bells and whistles. Michigan was among the schools that called him on Feb. 1, the first day that coaches could call recruits. He says he likes the culture at Kentucky.
And West Virginia?
“That’s my momma’s thingy,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know why, but she likes West Virginia.”
First of all, that’s the first time I’ve heard a man use the word “thingy” since the old Ironhead Heyward soap commercials.
Secondly, if momma ain’t happy …
So don’t count out West Virginia for a visit, if this thing goes into the summer. But for now, Michigan State has a big lead, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the NCAA’s dead period. There are rumblings that it could be extended to May 31. This would crush the spirits of recruits who are hoping for a chance to visit campuses, soon.
I have heard several recruits say that college coaches told them that they were hoping and expecting the dead period to be lifted on April 15. But reports of an extension will make colleges continue to beef up their virtual visit game.
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As for other news on the virtual meeting front, Curlee Thomas IV - a three-star defensive end fro Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic - is scheduled to have a virtual visit with Michigan State on Saturday.
Thomas released his top 18 two weeks ago. (Yes, a Top 18 is a legit thing, if you want it to be a legit thing. It’s your recruitment, Curlee. Have phun with it).
Anyway, Michigan State was in the Top 18 along with Arkansas, Cal, Georgia Tech, Purdue and a bunch of schools like that, plus Penn State. No super heavyweights at this time.
I asked him which schools he is hearing from that have not offered. He mentioned a few, including Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma.
He recently had virtual visits with Oregon State, Texas Tech and California.
Thomas is listed as a 5.5 three-star, which makes him a low three star. He’s getting better scholarship attention than that, but I can’t argue with that rating, for now.
I’ve only seen his sophomore film. He doesn’t have junior film out yet. I just noticed that. I’m not sure why. I’ll have to ask him about that.
On his sophomore film, he looks young and lean at 6-foot-4. He uses his hands well in playing the run.
He reminds me of current Spartan Michael Fletcher a little bit.
He has decent closing speed.
I’ll need to see his junior film.
As for his recruitment, Michigan State d-line coach Ron Burton is on him, and tearing it up. Burton has resonated with Thomas.
I asked Thomas if he would seriously considering coming all the way up north to go to college.
“Absolutely,” Thomas said. “As long as I can bring a coat.”
He really said that, with one of those crying while laughing emojis.
But seriously, he is serious. His recruitment is still in the early stages, but Michigan State is serious about him, and vice-versa.
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Elsewhere at defensive end, Michigan State is staying warm with CHASE CARTER (6-6, 220). He’s a mid-range three-star recruit out of Minneapolis Minnehaha Academy.
He is ranked the No. 4 player in Minnesota and the No. 28 weakside defensive end in the country.
He has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Carter has basketball offers from Florida, Minnesota, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
As for football calls, he heard from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State and Northern Illinois on Feb. 1. Ron Burton and Scottie Hazelton have been recruiting him for Michigan State.
I haven’t heard back from him as to whether he wants to focus on football or basketball.
I did ask him if any colleges have talked to him about playing both sports. Only one has so far.
“Iowa State said they would love to have me play basketball there as well as football,” he said.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Michigan State makes a play in that category as well.
Carter plans to delay his decision until next winter.
He has been friends with freshman Michigan State wide receiver Terry Lockett since elementary schools, so the Spartans have an in with him.
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Six stars between these segments. Been doing it that way with various stories for awhile. Anyone want to guess the meaning of the number?
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As for other virtual visit, Trevon Howard, a high three-star safety from Minneapolis who now attends Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, had a virtual visit with Michigan State on Thursday.
No word yet on how that visit went. But I’ve had some contact with him and expect to get some impressions.
Howard released his top five on Tuesday: Michigan State, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa State and South Florida.
I think he’s a much better prospect than that top five list. Any of those five would do well to get this guy.
He’s 6-2, 200. He’s rangy, fast. Good hitter. Not a killer, but a good hitter who will stick his nose into a tackle, hard. Can turn real well and run for a safety frame. With a cushion and his size and speed, I think he can stay on top of WRs at the college level. Kurtis Drummond type.
I asked him when he started hearing from Michigan State, and he said pretty much Feb. 1, the first day that coaches were allowed to call recruits.
I asked him which schools called him on Feb. 1. He said Michigan State, Arizona, Iowa State, South Florida.
Then, blammo, he came out with a Top Five, including each of those four, plus Colorado.
I’ve been text-conversing with him for a couple of days. He wanted me to call him at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, which I did, but he didn’t pick up. That’s fine. That’s life in journalism. No big deal. Plus he’s not an elected official. He doesn’t have to make himself for interviews if he doesn’t want to. I respect that and give him his distance if he wishes.
But my point is that I haven’t had a chance to really speak with him. You know, with voices and stuff. Not just texting. But it sounds to me like he was ready to narrow it down to a Top 5 based on who was showing him the most love from the jump, as they say. Michigan State was in there, and made the top five.
I’ve been around the recruiting game for about 30 years, but if I’m reading this one right, and he narrowed down to a Top 5 based on the initial push, that’ll be a new one for me.
I’m still getting a read on this situation. But as of now, things seem to be moving fast.
Now understand, this is Florida recruiting. Sometimes they say a player’s recruitment doesn’t begin until after he makes a commitment. I don’t know if that’s the case here. But I can see why Michigan State offered him and MSU’s early-bird disposition on this thing might pay off pretty handsomely.
As for other info on Howard, his head coach released info on him earlier this week stating that he is a 3.5 student. Maybe it’s just a young man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to take a swing.
I’ll stay tuned on this one.
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Shifting gears to basketball, Paul Konyndyk recently wrote an excellent update feature on senior basketball signee Jaden Akins. Below are some extra viewpoints from Konyndyk in the wake for that feature story:
Last winter while watching a match-up between JADEN AKINS and KOBE BUFKIN, I had an interesting conversation with an assistant basketball coach from Muskegon, who was seated next to me watching the game with his players.
I posed the question to the Muskegon coach and some of his players.
“If you are Michigan State, and you could only take one of them in ’21, who would you take?”
At that time, it appeared that Bufkin and Akins were in contention for a shooting guard/wing spot at Michigan State. Neither player had committed.
Akins outplayed Bufkin in that game, so it’s not surprising that Muskegon players touted Akins as the guy that Michigan State should take. The Muskegon assistant coach said he’d take Bufkin. His rationale was solid. Although Akins had outplayed Bufkin, he said that he’d take Bufkin because he knew that Bufkin could play disciplined, winning basketball within a system. He could execute his role as coached, and that was important at the college level.
Neither of us were thinking about Akins as a point guard on that day.
I mention that conversation because it serves as a reminder of where Akins was a year ago, and how far he has come during the past 12 months. While researching material for my recent feature on Akins, I watched several Sunrise Christian games. I watched those games with a critical lens. I was looking for evidence that Akins can play point guard at the next level, because that is exactly what Michigan State needs him to do.
I was also looking for evidence that Akins couldn’t play point guard at the college level. Akins doesn’t play a lot on-ball offense for Sunrise Christian. Sunrise has a highly regarded Top 25 point guard prospect Kennedy Chandler (No. 11), who is the team’s primary point guard. So although I would have liked to have seen Akins running the point more than he does for his current team, nothing that I’ve seen from Akins would lead me to doubt that he can play point guard at Michigan State.
I feel much better about Akins’ potential to play point guard than I did about Rocket Watts, whom I never thought had point guard potential coming into the program.
Chandler is an exciting player to watch and he is a talented scorer, but in the games that I’ve watched he isn’t head and shoulders above Akins in getting his team in and out of sets. In fact, from a pure point guard aspect, I think Akins does a better job running plays than Chandler. I’d argue that Akins has a higher basketball IQ than Chandler, and that Chandler plays outside set plays too much.
You can see Akins’ basketball IQ with his ability to play either on or off the ball, and do so without thinking about his responsibilities on either end of the floor. It’s high school, a lot less complicated than college is going to be, but Akins at point guard isn’t just a hopeful experiment.
Unlike his days at Farmington High School, when Akins brings the ball up the court at Sunrise and he is crossing the half court line, you can see that he is surveying the floor like a point guard, and not like the volume scorer he was two high schools ago.
Sunrise Christian runs some good pick-and-pop stuff, and I like the way Akins has shown the ability to get the ball to the four-man with good crisp passes. I like the way that Akins is using screens and letting plays develop, developing timing that is critical to being a successful point guard.
I really like the way Akins is playing with the ball in his hands on the break. He is making good decisions with where to go with the ball. He is making those decisions quickly, and he is making good passes, getting the ball to teammates in position to score. And some of those passes are touch passes going over or around defenders.
Akins is a completely different player than the one that impressed the heck out of me in a match-up with Bufkin last winter. And I’m pretty sure that same coach from Muskegon would be surprised to see how well Akins is playing within a structured system at Sunrise.
The mistake that so many people made about Akins is that he wanted to be a volume scorer and the primary scoring option on every play. Based on what I’ve seen from Akins this winter, it is pretty clear to me that he values winning more than stats. You can see it in his defense, both on and off the ball.
Akins at Sunrise is a win-win for all parties. He will arrive at Michigan State with a lot more maturity than he had prior to leaving home for Kansas back in late December, and playing for a structured team like Sunrise will help him with his transition to Michigan State.
Thanks Paul.
Back to football:
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Michigan State has been busier offering scholarships to younger players than at any time in program history. The Spartans offered a handful of ninth-graders this week and last week offered an eighth grade quarterback.
When Mel Tucker says he wants his staff members to work on recruiting every single day, well, at this time of year there’s a lot of evaluation going on. They do it fast. And they sleep fast. And then they do it again the next day.
The result? They sawed through the 2022 evaluations, and into the 2023s, and have made some looks into the top guys of 2024 and, why not offer?
They’ve offered a couple of best kids in Michigan, and then some guys that will probably be big-timers in Texas, Alabama and Georgia. Those big-timers in Texas, Alabama and Georgia are likely going to get hounded by the Tide, Longhorns and Bulldogs at some point. And when they do, it’ll be darn hard for anyone to get a foot in the door with them. So, if you’re Michigan State, might as well get the foot in the door now. And if Michigan State is winning the way Tucker expects to be winning by 2024, then who knows?
Michigan State is playing a long game with those guys. I don’t know how much of it will bear fruit, but it’s new. And you have to give credit to Michigan State for being organized and enterprising.
As for the names, you’ve probably seen them on the Bunker message board, but here they are (and there will be many more):
Zion Taylor, DE, Missouri Texas, 2024
Omar White, DT, Leesburg, Ga., 2024
Kavion Henderson, DE, Leeds, Ala., 2024
Sincere Edwards, DE, Orlando, Fla. 2024
Khalil Bolden, Ath., Buford, Ga., 2024
Brandon Davis-Swain, DE/LB/TE, West Bloomfield 2024
Nicholas Marsh, WR, River Rouge 2024
Bryce Underwood, QB, Belleville 2025*
*Underwood is most likely going to Belleville. He’s currently an eighth grader.
Never thought I would be writing about an eighth grader. Correction: I think the last time I wrote about an eighth grader it was when Clark Francis or someone like that ranked Charlie Bell’s younger brother, Brandon Bell, the best eighth grader in the country. I might have mentioned Bell once or twice in an overview article like this one, but never really wrote about Brandon Bell at that age.
This type of exposure is generally not a good thing for these athletes, in my opinion. I won’t be interviewing any of them any time soon. I might say hello so that we can establish a rapport for later years, but not now. They should be watching The Mickey Mouse Club. (Dating myself again?)
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RB JAMES JOINTER from Arkansas will be releasing a top schools list in the coming days. I asked him if it will be a Top 5 or a Top 10 or a … Top 18. He hasn’t said yet.
When I asked him which schools he received calls from on day 1, Feb.1, he listed: Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue, Utah, Arizona State, Virginia, Illinois, Vanderbilt.
Nice list, but not a bunch of nuclear powers. And I think that’s pretty fitting for his talent level.
Michigan State is in on a smattering of RBs from the sun belt region, including “The Boogie Man” JAYLON GLOVER (5.7 three-star from Lakeland, Fla.), RODNEY HILL (5.5 three-star from Statesboro, Ga.), JORDAN MCDONALD (5.7 three star from Alpharetta, Ga.), JUSTIN WILLIAMS (5.8 three-star from Dallas, Ga.), DAMARI ALSTON (four star from College Park, Ga.), plus West Bloomfield’s DILLON TATUM.
Tatum could project as a CB, WR or RB. Michigan State is recruiting him as a RB.
Michigan State had a virtual visit with Alston two weeks ago. He is ranked the No. 183 player in the country.
I’ve established some communication with Alston and will be trying to get further information and feedback on his virtual visit.
Evaluations are still ongoing with that group but Michigan State really seems to like Alston, Tatum, McDonald, Williams and The Boogie Man. I’ll keep my ear to the ground for more on this position. McDonald has good power. And Williams has home run speed.
So they all have something to offer. I think it makes good, practical sense for Michigan State to focus in the south for RB recruiting. Alabama, LSU and Georgia can’t sign all of them.
The Boogie Man flat out told me that Georgia is his favorite. He’s a Florida kid, but he says Georgia, to him, is “RBU” (Running Back University). He said if Georgia offered, that doesn’t automatically mean it would be a done deal. But he honestly said that’s his favorite, but he is real enough to know that Georgia only has room for one or two.
Michigan State needs some star power at RB. Michigan State signed one RB in the 2021 class, Davion Primm. Primm has a ways to go. He turns on some talent from time to time but needs to sharpen it up. He was an icebreaker type of recruit last year, the first player to commit for Tucker.
There are indications that Michigan State would like to sign two RBs in this class. There are several RBs on scholarship at Michigan State, but I don’t know how many will all be around at this time next year. You know how things are going with Michigan State and the portal. The RB position at Michigan State hasn’t been hit by the portal yet. Only Anthony Williams has been escorted to the portal. But the numbers suggest some attrition is likely.
As for position changes, sources tell me that current Michigan State RB BRANDON WRIGHT was given a look at outside linebacker at practice during the season. First take wasn’t all that great. Was he in love with the idea of playing defense? We don’t know.
There were some rumblings from good sources about CONNOR HEYWARD getting a look at LB or box safety, but I never heard more about it.
I liked ELIJAH COLLINS’ defensive film in high school. I thought he might be a candidate for a new assignment. However, when a cat has already had a season of 900-plus yards rushing, maybe you give him an off-season with the new strength coach and see if you roll a Yahtzee next fall. (Anyone know what Yahtzee is anymore? Dating myself?)
By the way, in MSU’s final game of the 2020 season, Collins got a carry in the opening series of the game. (AJ Arcuri missed a block and Collins was dumped for a loss, which seemed to be Collins’ luck all year with bad blocking. However, the fact that he got an early carry in that game suggests that he was doing something right in practice late in the season. He wasn’t so great in practice earlier in the year.)
Anyway, Wright was the guy who got a look on defense last fall. We’ll see if there is more of that this spring.
As for other position changes, sources tell me that wide receiver MONTORIE FOSTER has moved from wide receiver to cornerback. Not a big surprise. Michigan State needs bodies at cornerback, after losing Chris Jackson, Dominique Long, Davion Williams and Julian Barnett to the portal.
I’m hearing that safety TRE PERSON will not be back with the team. It sounds like a retirement type of thing. However, that was the word with Chris Jackson too, and the next thing you know, he enters the portal and lands at Washington State.
As for Person, he showed improvement from 2019 to 2020. He wasn’t great, but he was solid-to-serviceable at safety.
Michigan State is returning Xavier Henderson, capable of starting at either safety position. After Henderson, Michael Dowell is MSU’s most experienced safety. Dowell has some versatility too. Either of those two can play box safety with decent firmness.
Behind those guys, Emmanuel Flowers has bounced around a little bit, but isn’t a super hero.
Darius Snow would be in line to compete for a role. He saw action on special teams in 2020 as a true freshman. Can he turn and run with receivers at this level? We’ll probably find out soon.
Cole DeMarzo made the dress list a couple of times as a true freshman in 2020.
I heard some rumblings about Tate Hallock possibly being a portal candidate. After waiting for the rumors to simmer down, I lost patience and flat out made contact with his father, Ty Hallock, a guy I’ve known since the Reagan Administration. Mr. Hallock didn’t provide any clues, other than being positive about anything and everything that could be next. I didn’t press for an answer. That might make me a poor journalist, but when you’ve known a guy that long, it’s uncouth to be nosy. (I know, journalists are supposed to be nosy, but I have my limits. If he wanted to tell me something off-the-record to keep under my hat, he could have and I would have, but he didn’t, so I can respect that).
MICHAEL GRAVELY has enrolled and will practice with the team this spring. That will give him a chance to contend for a spot in the playing group.
AJ KIRK is the most physically-ready of the incoming freshmen to make an immediate dent at safety. He was expected to enroll early, but some things fell through on that end and he will instead wait until the summer to report. If he had practiced this spring, he might have been a good candidate for immediate noise.
As for Foster, he’s just kind of a natural footballer. He didn’t play football until his senior year of high school, at powerhouse Cleveland St. Edward (he was a four-year varsity basketball player). He made all-state in that one year of football.
He signed with Michigan State as a late bloomer. He saw action in all seven games as a true freshman, mostly on special teams.
Things were messy for Michigan State gunners at times in 2020. By the end of the season, Foster and Davion Williams were the starting gunners and were doing okay.
Foster can run, has a strong frame, and has taken a liking to making contact with folks.
He started at wide receiver against Northwestern.
The more assignments you give him, the more he proves he can handle. So now they’re going to see how he handles cornerback in the spring.
As for the rest of the CB picture, there’s ANGELO GROSE and KALON GERVIN. Grose had an excellent freshman year. I think some of the players who left could see the writing on the wall that Grose had moved ahead of them and wasn’t going to be sliding back. Gervin has shown some flashes here and there, but needs to take a major step forward in 2021. And there’s not much room for any hamstring tweaks.
Things are usually quiet on the portal front. We don’t hear names floated before the news hits. Both sides like to keep things quiet in most portal courtships. So I am not holding my breath for cornerback portal forecasts.
As for the portal landscape, most incoming transfers take place prior to the outset of a semester. That was the case for Michigan State in December. You might see players ENTER the portal between now and May, but it wouldn’t make much sense for players to come out of the portal and finish their transfer process until the end of the spring semester.
But I’m still new to the transfer portal business, and we’re learning as we go.
Mel Tucker says they will be accepting players out of the portal in June, and they’ll be open to it right up until August. So I have to expect there will be a cornerback in the three deep in August who is not yet in East Lansing.
That being said, I think incoming true freshman CHARLES BRANTLEY is as physically ready to step in an play as any true freshman I’ve seen. That doesn’t guarantee he will hit all of the other marks, in terms of learning the system, doing things correctly and doing coachable things. But in terms of frame, acceleration, hips, and hitting ability, he checks all the boxes.
His high school teammate, STEFFAN JOHNSON, was a high school quarterback and is something of a project at corner. But the quick acceleration and extra gear he showed as a read option QB was lickity.
I mean he showed some speed as a junior. But he was so slim. Then I didn’t see the good parts of his senior film until right around signing day, and there were some eyebrow-raisers in that final portion of senior film form him.
But if Michigan State is going to get immediate help at CB from the incoming recruiting class, the strong money on Chuck Brantley. If it wasn’t for me talking, I’d say Brantley is the best, college-ready player in the class.
Anyway, there are opportunities for so many new names and faces in the secondary. On one hand, that’s intriguing and exciting. On the other hand, Michigan State will be whistling through the graveyard a bit like an expansion team back there.
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In terms of defensive back recruiting, Michigan State has warmed up to RYLAND GANDY (6-0, 170, Buford, Ga.).
Gandy is a mid-level three-star recruit, ranked No. 63 in Georgia.
Michigan State offered him in November. Since then, he has picked up offers from Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Pitt.
The Notre Dame offer looks good. But what does it mean? Well, that’s why you come to your boy. Here’s the info:
On Feb. 1, the first day of phone calls, Gandy received calls from Michigan State, Indiana and Boston College. He later heard from Oregon State.
Notre Dame likes Gandy, but the Irish apparently have irons in the fire elsewhere.
Meanwhile, MSU’s interest in Gandy has gained a lift lately.
“Once Coach (Travares) Tillman got the promotion to cornerback coach, we started to talk a little bit more since he was the one who offered me,” Gandy said. “When I was offered by Colorado last year around this time, he was actually the one to offer me, so I’ve known him for a while now.“
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Also in Georgia, in the DB category, keep an eye on MUMU BIN-WAHAD (5-11, 180) of Loganville, Ga.
He is ranked No. 67 in Georgia.
He has offers from Michigan State, Arizona State, Arkansas, Boston College, Cincinnati, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, West Virginia and others.
He was part of a state title team in the fall and shows excellent ball judgement and ball skills.
He was committed to Cincinnati at one point but de-committed after Marcus Freeman left for Notre Dame.
He told Rivals.com: “I want to get back up to TCU, and see Arizona State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Minnesota, and Virginia. Those are the ones I need to see the most that have offered me. I went up to TCU a month ago, briefly, that's a great campus there. Definitely a place I can see myself."
On Feb. 1, he received phone calls from Michigan State, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
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Michigan State continues to be in contact with walk-on punter candidate BRENDEN SEGOVIA of Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian. He told me earlier this week that he planned to make flight plans to visit East Lansing at some point in February.
He punted to rave reviews at the kicking camps in the summer of 2019 and earned an invitation to play in the national All-Star Game in San Antonio, formerly known as the Army All-American Bowl.
Baylor and (to a lesser extent) USC are showing interest. We published a story earlier this week about his commitment to UCLA falling through.
I’ve heard that Michigan State has been eager to get a quick decision from Segovia. Michigan State has little to lose. They’ve invited him as a walk-on. BRYCE BARRINGER is coming back for is senior year, and technically has the ability to return in 2022 as well.
Barringer had some bouts of inconsistency in 2020, but let the record show that he finished ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten in punting average.
Segovia has a lot of talent. However, his stats as a high school junior were just okay, not great. So do you trust what you see in camp, and what the specialists see in his physical talent? It would have been good to see him punt in the fall of 2020, but California shut down high school football in 2020. He is hoping to punt this spring, if California opens things up. That’ll be interesting to watch, if it happens, but he may already be committed to walk-on somewhere by then. Maybe Michigan State, which would make it even more interesting. But I won’t be flying out to California to watch him punt.
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Driving down to Illinois to watch high school football this spring? That’s a possibility.
Michigan State is in on a couple of intriguing offensive linemen in Illinois. Paul Konyndyk did a story on YASER AL-AWADI, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound offensive tackle prospect from Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine East.
Al-Awadi has offers from Michigan State, Iowa State, Purdue, Kansas, West Virginia and MAC schools. Michigan State is that the very top of his list.
He is high on MSU’s list, and vice-versa. He is ranked the No. 15 player in Illinois by Rivals.com, and the No. 3 offensive lineman.
Michigan State is also very much in on the No. 1 offensive lineman in Illinois, DANNY (Deuce) McGUIRE of Evergreen Park (Ill.) Marist High School.
McGuire told me yesterday that Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern and Vanderbilt were among the colleges that called him on day one, Feb. 1.
Michigan State offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic has knocked McGuire and Al-Awadi out with his personable contact and relatable recruiting appraoch. Kapilovic has impressed a lot of o-line recruits on MSU’s big board, to the point that I feel like Michigan State could probably make a run at signing eight or nine good o-linemen in this class if they had room. Michigan State might get into position of having to choose which of the mid three-star recruits they want.
Meanwhile, Mel Tucker has extended a helping hand to Kapilovic in trying to secure ground on four-star, Top 100 offensive tackle KIYAUNTA GOODWIN (6-8, 305) of Charlestown, Ind.
Ohio State is considered the team to beat for Goodwin. And Michigan State normally hasn’t had the muscle to beat Ohio State outside of the state of Michigan. I mean it’s happened a time or two, with LJ Scott. And technically, OSU came after Nick Samac after he had committed to Michigan State (and Noah Listermann, apparently). But it’s rare.
Beating OSU for a Top 100 kid outside of the state of Michigan? That would take an LJ Scott type of recruiting campaign for the Spartans, and they are trying to make it happen with Goodwin. Goodwin is impressed with Tucker so far, and there are indications he is going to give Michigan State a good look.
Until I see otherwise, I’m going to assume that Michigan State is going to need to establish itself as a winner in the fall before it can beat Ohio State for a Top 100 player outside of the state of Michigan.
And Ohio State might not be MSU’s stiffest competition for Goodwin. Alabama has offered too, and might be serious about it.
But MSU’s ability to gain a serious audience with Goodwin reveals some of the recruiting potential that this staff has. If Michigan State can get the snowball rolling, Spartan fans might have some fun with recruiting in the years to come. But things are still just getting started (and they’re being delayed by the lack of visit opportunities).
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At tight end, Michigan State has made a couple of Nebraska natives priority targets in KADEN HELMS and MICAH RILEY-DUCKER. They attend Bellevue (Neb.) West High School.
Riley-Ducker (6-5, 228) is the No. 13 tight end in the country, and Helms (6-5, 220) is No. 29.
Michigan State is in on other tight ends, but what are the chances of getting either of these two out of Nebraska?
“Maybe not as hard as you think,” a Nebraska insider told me yesterday. “The Huskers signed three tight ends last year, including the No. 1 in the nation in Thomas Fidone.”
Riley-Ducker is a traditional, dual-purpose tight end.
Helms is more of a receiver/hybrid type.
My Nebraska insider tells me that Riley-Ducker is the most likely of the two to attend college out-of-state. They both plan to take several spring and summer visits to campuses.
They are both pretty much wide open. Riley-Ducker is extremely wide open. Iowa has offered both.
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Elsewhere in Nebraska, Michigan State extended an offer to low three-star outside linebacker ERNEST HAUSMANN of Columbus (Neb.) Senior High School this week.
Don’t hold your breath with this guy.
My Husker insider tells me, “He is one I see going to Nebraska. His family is big Husker fans.”
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Getting back to the tight end position, Michigan State offered GABE BURKLE (6-7, 230, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) last May. He’s a low three-star with offers from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State and MAC schools.
We weren’t able to get comments from him for our tight end HOT BOARD story that we ran earlier this week, by Jason Killop.
But we subsequently were able to make contact with him.
“I haven’t been in much contact with them (Michigan State) since they offered me,” Burkle said.
But Burkle said Michigan State messaged him on Feb. 1. So it looks like Michigan State is trying to keep him warm.
As for phone calls on Feb. 1, Burkle received calls from Iowa State, Minnesota, Kansas State and Indiana.
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At quarterback recruiting, our Kenny Jordan reported that recent Michigan State WR/DB commitment TYRELL HENRY has been enlisted to try to reach out to QB prospects AJ DUFFY and SAM HORN.
Duffy (6-2, 205) is a four-star QB, ranked the No. 6 pro style QB in the nation and No. 76 overall.
He is originally from Racho Verde, Calif. He has transferred to Florida IMG for his senior season.
He likes Michigan State, but he loves Arizona State.
Duffy doesn’t do many (any) interviews via text, direct messages or phone calls. However, Cody Cameron of the ASU Rivals.com site was able to catch up with him at a 7 on 7 tournament in Phoenix last week and was able to get an in-person interview with Duffy.
“Man, I just love (ASU) a lot,” said Duffy. “I have a really good relationship with Coach (Zak) Hill, Coach P (Prentice Gill), Coach C Hawk (Chris Hawkins), all of those guys. We talk weekly.
“I watched (Hill’s offense) back at Boise State because of Hank Bachmeier, my dad, coached him in high school. So, I’ve actually been introduced to it, and I do think it’s a really good fit.
“We get on zoom and talk about the offense,” said Duffy. “I love that offense; I think it’s a great fit. We’ve been getting to really know each other, and now we’re talking about life at this point.”
So this is a West Coast kid who is going to Florida for his senior year in high school, but it seems like the competition might have a hard time keeping him from heading back West to ASU.
As for the top contenders, Cameron handicaps it as Penn State and Oregon running in the top three for Duffy.
Horn (6-3, 180) is a four-star recruit, ranked the No. 8 pro style QB in the nation, and No. 138 overall.
He often mentions Michigan State firmly in his top five, although he hasn’t released an official top five. But Missouri is the definite team to beat at this point. In December, he said Missouri is the leader but is also looking hard at Michigan State and Louisville.
As for others on the board, sources tell me that Michigan State is evaluating film and making decisions on the order of their big board wish list. Stay tuned on that one.
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That’s all for The War Room this week. Be good.
Once again, today’s War Room is kind of long. They won’t always be nearly this long. But with a new recruiting cycle starting up, there are a lot of names coming and going, and a lot of scholarship offer action. So the word count grows long here in The War Room.
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I thought there was a chance Michigan State could get a commitment from Dearborn Fordson offensive lineman KA’MARII (pronounced Kuh-MARR-ee) LANDERS last weekend or in the days that followed. The big, nifty-footed offensive guard prospect loves Michigan State and seems to speak about the Spartan program in terms of when he arrives rather than if he arrives.
He says he is planning to make a decision by Mothers Day at the latest. That was his play prior to his virtual visit with Michigan State on Saturday.
I have played message tag with him a few times since the weekend, but haven’t been able to get a full quote or conversation with him since the virtual visit and what his thoughts were on the visit. Enough days have passed now since the virtual visit that I don’t think a commitment is at hand, for now. But I’ve seen recruits come to campus with Michigan State as the leader, and not intending to make a commitment, but then decide soon after their visit, “Well, if this is the place that I know I’m eventually going to choose, I might as well do it now.”
Landers is and was in that category. However, a virtual visit isn’t the same as an actual on-campus unofficial visit. So Landers is going to wait awhile longer.
I have confirmed that he is a “take” for Michigan State. They would like to put him in the hopper.
I’ve stated before that Landers carries a lot of unnecessary weight, but he’s still quick with all of those excess pounds. Coaches are betting on the rise with him, that after a good college conditioning coach gets ahold of him, Landers’ quick footwork will become even better. In the meantime, he has good natural power too.
Oregon, Kentucky, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Michigan and West Virginia are also jockeying for his attention. Nebraska has been working hard. He would like to visit Oregon just to see all the bells and whistles. Michigan was among the schools that called him on Feb. 1, the first day that coaches could call recruits. He says he likes the culture at Kentucky.
And West Virginia?
“That’s my momma’s thingy,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know why, but she likes West Virginia.”
First of all, that’s the first time I’ve heard a man use the word “thingy” since the old Ironhead Heyward soap commercials.
Secondly, if momma ain’t happy …
So don’t count out West Virginia for a visit, if this thing goes into the summer. But for now, Michigan State has a big lead, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the NCAA’s dead period. There are rumblings that it could be extended to May 31. This would crush the spirits of recruits who are hoping for a chance to visit campuses, soon.
I have heard several recruits say that college coaches told them that they were hoping and expecting the dead period to be lifted on April 15. But reports of an extension will make colleges continue to beef up their virtual visit game.
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As for other news on the virtual meeting front, Curlee Thomas IV - a three-star defensive end fro Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic - is scheduled to have a virtual visit with Michigan State on Saturday.
Thomas released his top 18 two weeks ago. (Yes, a Top 18 is a legit thing, if you want it to be a legit thing. It’s your recruitment, Curlee. Have phun with it).
Anyway, Michigan State was in the Top 18 along with Arkansas, Cal, Georgia Tech, Purdue and a bunch of schools like that, plus Penn State. No super heavyweights at this time.
I asked him which schools he is hearing from that have not offered. He mentioned a few, including Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma.
He recently had virtual visits with Oregon State, Texas Tech and California.
Thomas is listed as a 5.5 three-star, which makes him a low three star. He’s getting better scholarship attention than that, but I can’t argue with that rating, for now.
I’ve only seen his sophomore film. He doesn’t have junior film out yet. I just noticed that. I’m not sure why. I’ll have to ask him about that.
On his sophomore film, he looks young and lean at 6-foot-4. He uses his hands well in playing the run.
He reminds me of current Spartan Michael Fletcher a little bit.
He has decent closing speed.
I’ll need to see his junior film.
As for his recruitment, Michigan State d-line coach Ron Burton is on him, and tearing it up. Burton has resonated with Thomas.
I asked Thomas if he would seriously considering coming all the way up north to go to college.
“Absolutely,” Thomas said. “As long as I can bring a coat.”
He really said that, with one of those crying while laughing emojis.
But seriously, he is serious. His recruitment is still in the early stages, but Michigan State is serious about him, and vice-versa.
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Elsewhere at defensive end, Michigan State is staying warm with CHASE CARTER (6-6, 220). He’s a mid-range three-star recruit out of Minneapolis Minnehaha Academy.
He is ranked the No. 4 player in Minnesota and the No. 28 weakside defensive end in the country.
He has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Carter has basketball offers from Florida, Minnesota, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
As for football calls, he heard from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State and Northern Illinois on Feb. 1. Ron Burton and Scottie Hazelton have been recruiting him for Michigan State.
I haven’t heard back from him as to whether he wants to focus on football or basketball.
I did ask him if any colleges have talked to him about playing both sports. Only one has so far.
“Iowa State said they would love to have me play basketball there as well as football,” he said.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Michigan State makes a play in that category as well.
Carter plans to delay his decision until next winter.
He has been friends with freshman Michigan State wide receiver Terry Lockett since elementary schools, so the Spartans have an in with him.
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Six stars between these segments. Been doing it that way with various stories for awhile. Anyone want to guess the meaning of the number?
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As for other virtual visit, Trevon Howard, a high three-star safety from Minneapolis who now attends Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, had a virtual visit with Michigan State on Thursday.
No word yet on how that visit went. But I’ve had some contact with him and expect to get some impressions.
Howard released his top five on Tuesday: Michigan State, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa State and South Florida.
I think he’s a much better prospect than that top five list. Any of those five would do well to get this guy.
He’s 6-2, 200. He’s rangy, fast. Good hitter. Not a killer, but a good hitter who will stick his nose into a tackle, hard. Can turn real well and run for a safety frame. With a cushion and his size and speed, I think he can stay on top of WRs at the college level. Kurtis Drummond type.
I asked him when he started hearing from Michigan State, and he said pretty much Feb. 1, the first day that coaches were allowed to call recruits.
I asked him which schools called him on Feb. 1. He said Michigan State, Arizona, Iowa State, South Florida.
Then, blammo, he came out with a Top Five, including each of those four, plus Colorado.
I’ve been text-conversing with him for a couple of days. He wanted me to call him at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, which I did, but he didn’t pick up. That’s fine. That’s life in journalism. No big deal. Plus he’s not an elected official. He doesn’t have to make himself for interviews if he doesn’t want to. I respect that and give him his distance if he wishes.
But my point is that I haven’t had a chance to really speak with him. You know, with voices and stuff. Not just texting. But it sounds to me like he was ready to narrow it down to a Top 5 based on who was showing him the most love from the jump, as they say. Michigan State was in there, and made the top five.
I’ve been around the recruiting game for about 30 years, but if I’m reading this one right, and he narrowed down to a Top 5 based on the initial push, that’ll be a new one for me.
I’m still getting a read on this situation. But as of now, things seem to be moving fast.
Now understand, this is Florida recruiting. Sometimes they say a player’s recruitment doesn’t begin until after he makes a commitment. I don’t know if that’s the case here. But I can see why Michigan State offered him and MSU’s early-bird disposition on this thing might pay off pretty handsomely.
As for other info on Howard, his head coach released info on him earlier this week stating that he is a 3.5 student. Maybe it’s just a young man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to take a swing.
I’ll stay tuned on this one.
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Shifting gears to basketball, Paul Konyndyk recently wrote an excellent update feature on senior basketball signee Jaden Akins. Below are some extra viewpoints from Konyndyk in the wake for that feature story:
Last winter while watching a match-up between JADEN AKINS and KOBE BUFKIN, I had an interesting conversation with an assistant basketball coach from Muskegon, who was seated next to me watching the game with his players.
I posed the question to the Muskegon coach and some of his players.
“If you are Michigan State, and you could only take one of them in ’21, who would you take?”
At that time, it appeared that Bufkin and Akins were in contention for a shooting guard/wing spot at Michigan State. Neither player had committed.
Akins outplayed Bufkin in that game, so it’s not surprising that Muskegon players touted Akins as the guy that Michigan State should take. The Muskegon assistant coach said he’d take Bufkin. His rationale was solid. Although Akins had outplayed Bufkin, he said that he’d take Bufkin because he knew that Bufkin could play disciplined, winning basketball within a system. He could execute his role as coached, and that was important at the college level.
Neither of us were thinking about Akins as a point guard on that day.
I mention that conversation because it serves as a reminder of where Akins was a year ago, and how far he has come during the past 12 months. While researching material for my recent feature on Akins, I watched several Sunrise Christian games. I watched those games with a critical lens. I was looking for evidence that Akins can play point guard at the next level, because that is exactly what Michigan State needs him to do.
I was also looking for evidence that Akins couldn’t play point guard at the college level. Akins doesn’t play a lot on-ball offense for Sunrise Christian. Sunrise has a highly regarded Top 25 point guard prospect Kennedy Chandler (No. 11), who is the team’s primary point guard. So although I would have liked to have seen Akins running the point more than he does for his current team, nothing that I’ve seen from Akins would lead me to doubt that he can play point guard at Michigan State.
I feel much better about Akins’ potential to play point guard than I did about Rocket Watts, whom I never thought had point guard potential coming into the program.
Chandler is an exciting player to watch and he is a talented scorer, but in the games that I’ve watched he isn’t head and shoulders above Akins in getting his team in and out of sets. In fact, from a pure point guard aspect, I think Akins does a better job running plays than Chandler. I’d argue that Akins has a higher basketball IQ than Chandler, and that Chandler plays outside set plays too much.
You can see Akins’ basketball IQ with his ability to play either on or off the ball, and do so without thinking about his responsibilities on either end of the floor. It’s high school, a lot less complicated than college is going to be, but Akins at point guard isn’t just a hopeful experiment.
Unlike his days at Farmington High School, when Akins brings the ball up the court at Sunrise and he is crossing the half court line, you can see that he is surveying the floor like a point guard, and not like the volume scorer he was two high schools ago.
Sunrise Christian runs some good pick-and-pop stuff, and I like the way Akins has shown the ability to get the ball to the four-man with good crisp passes. I like the way that Akins is using screens and letting plays develop, developing timing that is critical to being a successful point guard.
I really like the way Akins is playing with the ball in his hands on the break. He is making good decisions with where to go with the ball. He is making those decisions quickly, and he is making good passes, getting the ball to teammates in position to score. And some of those passes are touch passes going over or around defenders.
Akins is a completely different player than the one that impressed the heck out of me in a match-up with Bufkin last winter. And I’m pretty sure that same coach from Muskegon would be surprised to see how well Akins is playing within a structured system at Sunrise.
The mistake that so many people made about Akins is that he wanted to be a volume scorer and the primary scoring option on every play. Based on what I’ve seen from Akins this winter, it is pretty clear to me that he values winning more than stats. You can see it in his defense, both on and off the ball.
Akins at Sunrise is a win-win for all parties. He will arrive at Michigan State with a lot more maturity than he had prior to leaving home for Kansas back in late December, and playing for a structured team like Sunrise will help him with his transition to Michigan State.
Thanks Paul.
Back to football:
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Michigan State has been busier offering scholarships to younger players than at any time in program history. The Spartans offered a handful of ninth-graders this week and last week offered an eighth grade quarterback.
When Mel Tucker says he wants his staff members to work on recruiting every single day, well, at this time of year there’s a lot of evaluation going on. They do it fast. And they sleep fast. And then they do it again the next day.
The result? They sawed through the 2022 evaluations, and into the 2023s, and have made some looks into the top guys of 2024 and, why not offer?
They’ve offered a couple of best kids in Michigan, and then some guys that will probably be big-timers in Texas, Alabama and Georgia. Those big-timers in Texas, Alabama and Georgia are likely going to get hounded by the Tide, Longhorns and Bulldogs at some point. And when they do, it’ll be darn hard for anyone to get a foot in the door with them. So, if you’re Michigan State, might as well get the foot in the door now. And if Michigan State is winning the way Tucker expects to be winning by 2024, then who knows?
Michigan State is playing a long game with those guys. I don’t know how much of it will bear fruit, but it’s new. And you have to give credit to Michigan State for being organized and enterprising.
As for the names, you’ve probably seen them on the Bunker message board, but here they are (and there will be many more):
Zion Taylor, DE, Missouri Texas, 2024
Omar White, DT, Leesburg, Ga., 2024
Kavion Henderson, DE, Leeds, Ala., 2024
Sincere Edwards, DE, Orlando, Fla. 2024
Khalil Bolden, Ath., Buford, Ga., 2024
Brandon Davis-Swain, DE/LB/TE, West Bloomfield 2024
Nicholas Marsh, WR, River Rouge 2024
Bryce Underwood, QB, Belleville 2025*
*Underwood is most likely going to Belleville. He’s currently an eighth grader.
Never thought I would be writing about an eighth grader. Correction: I think the last time I wrote about an eighth grader it was when Clark Francis or someone like that ranked Charlie Bell’s younger brother, Brandon Bell, the best eighth grader in the country. I might have mentioned Bell once or twice in an overview article like this one, but never really wrote about Brandon Bell at that age.
This type of exposure is generally not a good thing for these athletes, in my opinion. I won’t be interviewing any of them any time soon. I might say hello so that we can establish a rapport for later years, but not now. They should be watching The Mickey Mouse Club. (Dating myself again?)
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RB JAMES JOINTER from Arkansas will be releasing a top schools list in the coming days. I asked him if it will be a Top 5 or a Top 10 or a … Top 18. He hasn’t said yet.
When I asked him which schools he received calls from on day 1, Feb.1, he listed: Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue, Utah, Arizona State, Virginia, Illinois, Vanderbilt.
Nice list, but not a bunch of nuclear powers. And I think that’s pretty fitting for his talent level.
Michigan State is in on a smattering of RBs from the sun belt region, including “The Boogie Man” JAYLON GLOVER (5.7 three-star from Lakeland, Fla.), RODNEY HILL (5.5 three-star from Statesboro, Ga.), JORDAN MCDONALD (5.7 three star from Alpharetta, Ga.), JUSTIN WILLIAMS (5.8 three-star from Dallas, Ga.), DAMARI ALSTON (four star from College Park, Ga.), plus West Bloomfield’s DILLON TATUM.
Tatum could project as a CB, WR or RB. Michigan State is recruiting him as a RB.
Michigan State had a virtual visit with Alston two weeks ago. He is ranked the No. 183 player in the country.
I’ve established some communication with Alston and will be trying to get further information and feedback on his virtual visit.
Evaluations are still ongoing with that group but Michigan State really seems to like Alston, Tatum, McDonald, Williams and The Boogie Man. I’ll keep my ear to the ground for more on this position. McDonald has good power. And Williams has home run speed.
So they all have something to offer. I think it makes good, practical sense for Michigan State to focus in the south for RB recruiting. Alabama, LSU and Georgia can’t sign all of them.
The Boogie Man flat out told me that Georgia is his favorite. He’s a Florida kid, but he says Georgia, to him, is “RBU” (Running Back University). He said if Georgia offered, that doesn’t automatically mean it would be a done deal. But he honestly said that’s his favorite, but he is real enough to know that Georgia only has room for one or two.
Michigan State needs some star power at RB. Michigan State signed one RB in the 2021 class, Davion Primm. Primm has a ways to go. He turns on some talent from time to time but needs to sharpen it up. He was an icebreaker type of recruit last year, the first player to commit for Tucker.
There are indications that Michigan State would like to sign two RBs in this class. There are several RBs on scholarship at Michigan State, but I don’t know how many will all be around at this time next year. You know how things are going with Michigan State and the portal. The RB position at Michigan State hasn’t been hit by the portal yet. Only Anthony Williams has been escorted to the portal. But the numbers suggest some attrition is likely.
As for position changes, sources tell me that current Michigan State RB BRANDON WRIGHT was given a look at outside linebacker at practice during the season. First take wasn’t all that great. Was he in love with the idea of playing defense? We don’t know.
There were some rumblings from good sources about CONNOR HEYWARD getting a look at LB or box safety, but I never heard more about it.
I liked ELIJAH COLLINS’ defensive film in high school. I thought he might be a candidate for a new assignment. However, when a cat has already had a season of 900-plus yards rushing, maybe you give him an off-season with the new strength coach and see if you roll a Yahtzee next fall. (Anyone know what Yahtzee is anymore? Dating myself?)
By the way, in MSU’s final game of the 2020 season, Collins got a carry in the opening series of the game. (AJ Arcuri missed a block and Collins was dumped for a loss, which seemed to be Collins’ luck all year with bad blocking. However, the fact that he got an early carry in that game suggests that he was doing something right in practice late in the season. He wasn’t so great in practice earlier in the year.)
Anyway, Wright was the guy who got a look on defense last fall. We’ll see if there is more of that this spring.
As for other position changes, sources tell me that wide receiver MONTORIE FOSTER has moved from wide receiver to cornerback. Not a big surprise. Michigan State needs bodies at cornerback, after losing Chris Jackson, Dominique Long, Davion Williams and Julian Barnett to the portal.
I’m hearing that safety TRE PERSON will not be back with the team. It sounds like a retirement type of thing. However, that was the word with Chris Jackson too, and the next thing you know, he enters the portal and lands at Washington State.
As for Person, he showed improvement from 2019 to 2020. He wasn’t great, but he was solid-to-serviceable at safety.
Michigan State is returning Xavier Henderson, capable of starting at either safety position. After Henderson, Michael Dowell is MSU’s most experienced safety. Dowell has some versatility too. Either of those two can play box safety with decent firmness.
Behind those guys, Emmanuel Flowers has bounced around a little bit, but isn’t a super hero.
Darius Snow would be in line to compete for a role. He saw action on special teams in 2020 as a true freshman. Can he turn and run with receivers at this level? We’ll probably find out soon.
Cole DeMarzo made the dress list a couple of times as a true freshman in 2020.
I heard some rumblings about Tate Hallock possibly being a portal candidate. After waiting for the rumors to simmer down, I lost patience and flat out made contact with his father, Ty Hallock, a guy I’ve known since the Reagan Administration. Mr. Hallock didn’t provide any clues, other than being positive about anything and everything that could be next. I didn’t press for an answer. That might make me a poor journalist, but when you’ve known a guy that long, it’s uncouth to be nosy. (I know, journalists are supposed to be nosy, but I have my limits. If he wanted to tell me something off-the-record to keep under my hat, he could have and I would have, but he didn’t, so I can respect that).
MICHAEL GRAVELY has enrolled and will practice with the team this spring. That will give him a chance to contend for a spot in the playing group.
AJ KIRK is the most physically-ready of the incoming freshmen to make an immediate dent at safety. He was expected to enroll early, but some things fell through on that end and he will instead wait until the summer to report. If he had practiced this spring, he might have been a good candidate for immediate noise.
As for Foster, he’s just kind of a natural footballer. He didn’t play football until his senior year of high school, at powerhouse Cleveland St. Edward (he was a four-year varsity basketball player). He made all-state in that one year of football.
He signed with Michigan State as a late bloomer. He saw action in all seven games as a true freshman, mostly on special teams.
Things were messy for Michigan State gunners at times in 2020. By the end of the season, Foster and Davion Williams were the starting gunners and were doing okay.
Foster can run, has a strong frame, and has taken a liking to making contact with folks.
He started at wide receiver against Northwestern.
The more assignments you give him, the more he proves he can handle. So now they’re going to see how he handles cornerback in the spring.
As for the rest of the CB picture, there’s ANGELO GROSE and KALON GERVIN. Grose had an excellent freshman year. I think some of the players who left could see the writing on the wall that Grose had moved ahead of them and wasn’t going to be sliding back. Gervin has shown some flashes here and there, but needs to take a major step forward in 2021. And there’s not much room for any hamstring tweaks.
Things are usually quiet on the portal front. We don’t hear names floated before the news hits. Both sides like to keep things quiet in most portal courtships. So I am not holding my breath for cornerback portal forecasts.
As for the portal landscape, most incoming transfers take place prior to the outset of a semester. That was the case for Michigan State in December. You might see players ENTER the portal between now and May, but it wouldn’t make much sense for players to come out of the portal and finish their transfer process until the end of the spring semester.
But I’m still new to the transfer portal business, and we’re learning as we go.
Mel Tucker says they will be accepting players out of the portal in June, and they’ll be open to it right up until August. So I have to expect there will be a cornerback in the three deep in August who is not yet in East Lansing.
That being said, I think incoming true freshman CHARLES BRANTLEY is as physically ready to step in an play as any true freshman I’ve seen. That doesn’t guarantee he will hit all of the other marks, in terms of learning the system, doing things correctly and doing coachable things. But in terms of frame, acceleration, hips, and hitting ability, he checks all the boxes.
His high school teammate, STEFFAN JOHNSON, was a high school quarterback and is something of a project at corner. But the quick acceleration and extra gear he showed as a read option QB was lickity.
I mean he showed some speed as a junior. But he was so slim. Then I didn’t see the good parts of his senior film until right around signing day, and there were some eyebrow-raisers in that final portion of senior film form him.
But if Michigan State is going to get immediate help at CB from the incoming recruiting class, the strong money on Chuck Brantley. If it wasn’t for me talking, I’d say Brantley is the best, college-ready player in the class.
Anyway, there are opportunities for so many new names and faces in the secondary. On one hand, that’s intriguing and exciting. On the other hand, Michigan State will be whistling through the graveyard a bit like an expansion team back there.
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In terms of defensive back recruiting, Michigan State has warmed up to RYLAND GANDY (6-0, 170, Buford, Ga.).
Gandy is a mid-level three-star recruit, ranked No. 63 in Georgia.
Michigan State offered him in November. Since then, he has picked up offers from Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Pitt.
The Notre Dame offer looks good. But what does it mean? Well, that’s why you come to your boy. Here’s the info:
On Feb. 1, the first day of phone calls, Gandy received calls from Michigan State, Indiana and Boston College. He later heard from Oregon State.
Notre Dame likes Gandy, but the Irish apparently have irons in the fire elsewhere.
Meanwhile, MSU’s interest in Gandy has gained a lift lately.
“Once Coach (Travares) Tillman got the promotion to cornerback coach, we started to talk a little bit more since he was the one who offered me,” Gandy said. “When I was offered by Colorado last year around this time, he was actually the one to offer me, so I’ve known him for a while now.“
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Also in Georgia, in the DB category, keep an eye on MUMU BIN-WAHAD (5-11, 180) of Loganville, Ga.
He is ranked No. 67 in Georgia.
He has offers from Michigan State, Arizona State, Arkansas, Boston College, Cincinnati, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, West Virginia and others.
He was part of a state title team in the fall and shows excellent ball judgement and ball skills.
He was committed to Cincinnati at one point but de-committed after Marcus Freeman left for Notre Dame.
He told Rivals.com: “I want to get back up to TCU, and see Arizona State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Minnesota, and Virginia. Those are the ones I need to see the most that have offered me. I went up to TCU a month ago, briefly, that's a great campus there. Definitely a place I can see myself."
On Feb. 1, he received phone calls from Michigan State, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
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Michigan State continues to be in contact with walk-on punter candidate BRENDEN SEGOVIA of Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian. He told me earlier this week that he planned to make flight plans to visit East Lansing at some point in February.
He punted to rave reviews at the kicking camps in the summer of 2019 and earned an invitation to play in the national All-Star Game in San Antonio, formerly known as the Army All-American Bowl.
Baylor and (to a lesser extent) USC are showing interest. We published a story earlier this week about his commitment to UCLA falling through.
I’ve heard that Michigan State has been eager to get a quick decision from Segovia. Michigan State has little to lose. They’ve invited him as a walk-on. BRYCE BARRINGER is coming back for is senior year, and technically has the ability to return in 2022 as well.
Barringer had some bouts of inconsistency in 2020, but let the record show that he finished ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten in punting average.
Segovia has a lot of talent. However, his stats as a high school junior were just okay, not great. So do you trust what you see in camp, and what the specialists see in his physical talent? It would have been good to see him punt in the fall of 2020, but California shut down high school football in 2020. He is hoping to punt this spring, if California opens things up. That’ll be interesting to watch, if it happens, but he may already be committed to walk-on somewhere by then. Maybe Michigan State, which would make it even more interesting. But I won’t be flying out to California to watch him punt.
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Driving down to Illinois to watch high school football this spring? That’s a possibility.
Michigan State is in on a couple of intriguing offensive linemen in Illinois. Paul Konyndyk did a story on YASER AL-AWADI, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound offensive tackle prospect from Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine East.
Al-Awadi has offers from Michigan State, Iowa State, Purdue, Kansas, West Virginia and MAC schools. Michigan State is that the very top of his list.
He is high on MSU’s list, and vice-versa. He is ranked the No. 15 player in Illinois by Rivals.com, and the No. 3 offensive lineman.
Michigan State is also very much in on the No. 1 offensive lineman in Illinois, DANNY (Deuce) McGUIRE of Evergreen Park (Ill.) Marist High School.
McGuire told me yesterday that Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern and Vanderbilt were among the colleges that called him on day one, Feb. 1.
Michigan State offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic has knocked McGuire and Al-Awadi out with his personable contact and relatable recruiting appraoch. Kapilovic has impressed a lot of o-line recruits on MSU’s big board, to the point that I feel like Michigan State could probably make a run at signing eight or nine good o-linemen in this class if they had room. Michigan State might get into position of having to choose which of the mid three-star recruits they want.
Meanwhile, Mel Tucker has extended a helping hand to Kapilovic in trying to secure ground on four-star, Top 100 offensive tackle KIYAUNTA GOODWIN (6-8, 305) of Charlestown, Ind.
Ohio State is considered the team to beat for Goodwin. And Michigan State normally hasn’t had the muscle to beat Ohio State outside of the state of Michigan. I mean it’s happened a time or two, with LJ Scott. And technically, OSU came after Nick Samac after he had committed to Michigan State (and Noah Listermann, apparently). But it’s rare.
Beating OSU for a Top 100 kid outside of the state of Michigan? That would take an LJ Scott type of recruiting campaign for the Spartans, and they are trying to make it happen with Goodwin. Goodwin is impressed with Tucker so far, and there are indications he is going to give Michigan State a good look.
Until I see otherwise, I’m going to assume that Michigan State is going to need to establish itself as a winner in the fall before it can beat Ohio State for a Top 100 player outside of the state of Michigan.
And Ohio State might not be MSU’s stiffest competition for Goodwin. Alabama has offered too, and might be serious about it.
But MSU’s ability to gain a serious audience with Goodwin reveals some of the recruiting potential that this staff has. If Michigan State can get the snowball rolling, Spartan fans might have some fun with recruiting in the years to come. But things are still just getting started (and they’re being delayed by the lack of visit opportunities).
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At tight end, Michigan State has made a couple of Nebraska natives priority targets in KADEN HELMS and MICAH RILEY-DUCKER. They attend Bellevue (Neb.) West High School.
Riley-Ducker (6-5, 228) is the No. 13 tight end in the country, and Helms (6-5, 220) is No. 29.
Michigan State is in on other tight ends, but what are the chances of getting either of these two out of Nebraska?
“Maybe not as hard as you think,” a Nebraska insider told me yesterday. “The Huskers signed three tight ends last year, including the No. 1 in the nation in Thomas Fidone.”
Riley-Ducker is a traditional, dual-purpose tight end.
Helms is more of a receiver/hybrid type.
My Nebraska insider tells me that Riley-Ducker is the most likely of the two to attend college out-of-state. They both plan to take several spring and summer visits to campuses.
They are both pretty much wide open. Riley-Ducker is extremely wide open. Iowa has offered both.
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Elsewhere in Nebraska, Michigan State extended an offer to low three-star outside linebacker ERNEST HAUSMANN of Columbus (Neb.) Senior High School this week.
Don’t hold your breath with this guy.
My Husker insider tells me, “He is one I see going to Nebraska. His family is big Husker fans.”
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Getting back to the tight end position, Michigan State offered GABE BURKLE (6-7, 230, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) last May. He’s a low three-star with offers from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State and MAC schools.
We weren’t able to get comments from him for our tight end HOT BOARD story that we ran earlier this week, by Jason Killop.
But we subsequently were able to make contact with him.
“I haven’t been in much contact with them (Michigan State) since they offered me,” Burkle said.
But Burkle said Michigan State messaged him on Feb. 1. So it looks like Michigan State is trying to keep him warm.
As for phone calls on Feb. 1, Burkle received calls from Iowa State, Minnesota, Kansas State and Indiana.
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At quarterback recruiting, our Kenny Jordan reported that recent Michigan State WR/DB commitment TYRELL HENRY has been enlisted to try to reach out to QB prospects AJ DUFFY and SAM HORN.
Duffy (6-2, 205) is a four-star QB, ranked the No. 6 pro style QB in the nation and No. 76 overall.
He is originally from Racho Verde, Calif. He has transferred to Florida IMG for his senior season.
He likes Michigan State, but he loves Arizona State.
Duffy doesn’t do many (any) interviews via text, direct messages or phone calls. However, Cody Cameron of the ASU Rivals.com site was able to catch up with him at a 7 on 7 tournament in Phoenix last week and was able to get an in-person interview with Duffy.
“Man, I just love (ASU) a lot,” said Duffy. “I have a really good relationship with Coach (Zak) Hill, Coach P (Prentice Gill), Coach C Hawk (Chris Hawkins), all of those guys. We talk weekly.
“I watched (Hill’s offense) back at Boise State because of Hank Bachmeier, my dad, coached him in high school. So, I’ve actually been introduced to it, and I do think it’s a really good fit.
“We get on zoom and talk about the offense,” said Duffy. “I love that offense; I think it’s a great fit. We’ve been getting to really know each other, and now we’re talking about life at this point.”
So this is a West Coast kid who is going to Florida for his senior year in high school, but it seems like the competition might have a hard time keeping him from heading back West to ASU.
As for the top contenders, Cameron handicaps it as Penn State and Oregon running in the top three for Duffy.
Horn (6-3, 180) is a four-star recruit, ranked the No. 8 pro style QB in the nation, and No. 138 overall.
He often mentions Michigan State firmly in his top five, although he hasn’t released an official top five. But Missouri is the definite team to beat at this point. In December, he said Missouri is the leader but is also looking hard at Michigan State and Louisville.
As for others on the board, sources tell me that Michigan State is evaluating film and making decisions on the order of their big board wish list. Stay tuned on that one.
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That’s all for The War Room this week. Be good.
