Former Michigan State football assistant is nation’s No. 1 recruiter

Former Michigan State football assistant Chris Kapilovic was named the nation’s top recruiter by 247Sports.

I’m bummed, to be honest. This exceeds even the high expectations us Michigan State football fans had for Chris Kapilovic during his time in East Lansing. That said, I think there are some other factors in play here.

During the last coaching regime, the foundation of the program was set on the recruiting trail. Former head coach Mel Tucker made it clear that the goal was to recruit better than MSU had ever recruited before and to a certain extent, he succeeded.

When Kapilovic was hired as the offensive line and assistant head coach, expectations were lofty. Known for his player development and eye for talent, I think its fair to say Coach Kap fell short of his potential. To be fair, the offensive line group takes the longest to prepare for high-level college football but what we experienced was an offensive line that didn’t make the jump we all had in mind. In some instances, it may have taken a step back.

Earlier this week, 247Sports shared their current recruiter rankings and who was No. 1? None other than former MSU offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, currently in Tuscaloosa, with five commits as the primary recruiter.

When the last staff was let go, Kapilovic spent a cup of coffee at Baylor before getting poached by Alabama and new head coach Kalen DeBoer. In his short time, he has landed:

• 5-star OT Ty Haywood
• 4-star OT Micah DeBose
• 4-star OT Jackson Lloyd
• 4-star IOL Micharl Carroll
• 3-star OT Mal Waldrep

Four out of five rank in the top 150 players nationally including the No. 2 offensive tackle in the country, Ty Haywood.

To put things in perspective, during his time at MSU – Kapilovic’s top commits included top-250 offensive tackle Stanton Ramil, JUCO transfer Keyshawn Blackstock, and interior offensive lineman Cole Dellinger. Both Ramil and Dellinger have yet to see any meaningful playing time. To add salt to the wound, Coach Kap was even more successful in bringing in higher-level talent during his time at North Carolina.

I mentioned earlier that there were a couple of factors that made things easier for Kapilovic at his new home. No. 1, it’s Alabama. No. 2, it’s Alabama. And No. 3, its Alabama.

I think what makes Michigan State football fans so frustrated is that we truly believed in Kapilovic’s ability to identify elite talent and develop it. USC tried to poach him away at one point. It’s just a bummer it didn’t work out here. One could argue he wasn’t given enough time, but with the reputation Kapilovic holds, it becomes expected that he could make the players he had gel better.

I’m always glad to see former coaches succeed. Kapilovic was dealt a tough hand at MSU given the Mel Tucker scandal. It’s just unfortunate that the elite recruiting couldn’t happen in East Lansing.

On the bright side, though: the Spartans might have even won the ‘trade’ when Jonathan Smith hired Jim Michalczik.

This story could still have a Hollywood ending.