Michigan State: 2021 Recruiting Trail
Last Updated: August 24, 2020
Recruiting is where a majority of a college football roster is built. Obviously a team wants to get the best players they can each year, but no two years are the same on the recruiting trail. Based on what a team is able to do one year the needs and expectations for the next year change. In this feature we will track what the Michigan State Spartans have done and what they still need to achieve on the trail in the 2021 cycle.
2020 Recruiting Recap
Michigan State’s 2020 recruiting class was not up to the standard the Spartans have set recently. The Spartans did not sign any recruits who were ranked four stars or higher in the 247Sports Composite. They only signed three recruits that ranked in the Top 500 in the composite rankings. The Spartans have a history of finding underrated recruits that become good players but they have always signed some higher rated prospects as well. Five of the top six players signed in the 2020 class play on offense, three wide receivers, a running back and a guard. The class was not great as a whole, but the top of the class definitely leaned toward the offense.
The defense had been Michigan State’s calling card under Mark Dantonio. Unfortunately this class was not a strong one on the defensive side of the ball. Of the Spartans top 6 recruits only one was a defensive player. Some of these players may be unheralded players who prosper in East Lansing but this was a down year recruiting defensive players for the Spartans. Michigan State will need to have a bounce back year on the recruiting trail in 2021.
Michigan State has always done a good job recruiting locally, consistently being a thorn in rival Michigan’s side in the home state. During the 2020 recruiting cycle the highest ranked in state players the Spartans signed was the fifteenth ranked player in the state. Michigan State also has a history of pulling in good recruits from Ohio. But again in the 2020 class this was not the case, the highest ranked player the Spartans signed from Ohio was the 20th ranked recruit in the state. The Spartans season did not go as planned and rumors persisted after the season about Coach Mark Dantonio’s departure and those factors probably had an impact on the 2020 recruiting class.
Michigan State 2021 Recruiting Landscape
Mark Dantonio resigned in February, leaving Michigan State scrambling to find a new Head Coach. The Spartans made the most of a tough situation and signed Mel Tucker away from Colorado. Tucker overhauled the coaching staff retaining only two of Dantonio’s assistants. Tucker’s staff will have their work cut out for them as they attempt to rebuild the Michigan State roster, but there is a promising group of recruiters now working to build the program in East Lansing.
The 2021 recruiting class in Michigan is a strong one. There is elite talent at the top of the class and good depth to pick up recruits that may not get national attention but are still good players. It remains to be seen if the Spartans will still target Ohio as heavily as they have in the past, but the Ohio class in 2021 is a strong one as well. Michigan State will have to compete with their rival Michigan in state for the top recruits locally. Competition will also come from Penn State who has elevated it’s profile under James Franklin and poaches recruits across the Midwest. Mel Tucker and his staff have their work cut out for them to get Michigan State recruiting back to the level it needs to be at.
Goals For Michigan State 2021Recruiting
1. Sign a few of the top 15 recruits in state. Michigan State needs to assert itself as a recruiting threat within the state. A few years ago they were pulling top in state players away from Michigan, they need to build back up to that point.
Status: According to the latest composite rankings update, Michigan State has only signed one of the top 15 prospects in state so far. Ethan Boyd is the 15th ranked prospect in Michigan. The Spartans need to do better here.
2. Recruit at least three recruits that are rated four stars or higher. There is no guarantee a higher rated commit will succeed but the odds are more favorable. The teams that perform the best on the field recruit the the higher ranked talent. Michigan State signed no four star recruits last year and will need to find some in 2021.
Status: The Spartans have landed a commitment from OL Geno VanDeMark and could be considered the favorites right now for RB Audric Estime. They will need to finish the job with Estime and hopefully find one or two more higher rated prospects to add to the class.
3. Recruit a quarterback to build around. Quality quarterback play is the easiest way to elevate your program. The quarterback is the most important position on the field and can raise the level of the entire offense. If Tucker can find a good quarterback to build around it will kick start the program.
Status: Michigan State has signed Hampton Fay who was limited to three games as a junior due to injury. We would like to see more film before grading him as a prospect.
4. Find talented prospects to add on defense. The Spartans defense has been the strength of the team and Mel Tucker is a defensive coach as well. For Michigan State to compete for Big Ten titles the defense will have to get better. Getting more talent is the best way to get better.
Status: Michigan State has not signed any top 500 prospects on the defensive side of the ball yet this cycle. This will need to change before signing day.
This post will be updated throughout the cycle.
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