Michigan State football signee Payton Stewart earns 4-star status

Michigan State football now has two four-star tackles joining the program before the fall. Payton Stewart is now a four star on On3.

Just a day after another Michigan State football signee saw a massive boost in prospect rankings, another Spartan saw the same. Offensive tackle Payton Stewart, another player Jonathan Smith and Jim Michalczik flipped when coming over from Oregon State, is now a four star according to On3.

Payton Stewart’s fourth star adds to a loaded class

Payton Stewart is a 6-foot-7, 270-pound lineman from Kelso, Wash. He was named first-team all-league this season, and his time at MSU will not be the first time he paves the way for an FBS running back. Kelso High School sent running back Connor Noah to Nevada in the 2023 cycle. He was highly coveted by Northwestern, prior to their firing of Pat Fitzgerald. He also committed to Oregon State right before Smith left, and reopened his options.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Stewart is the third four-star according to On3, joining Nick Marsh and Brady Pretzlaff. Additionally, Rustin Young, another incoming Spartan lineman, is a four-star with every other service besides On3. These rankings are not to be confused with their “industry ranking” which is much like the 247Sports Composite. According to that, Marsh and Young remain the only four-stars.

Stewart has jumped up over 200 spots, as he came in at No. 858 in the On3 Industry Rankings on early signing day. Now, he sits at No. 636. Much like Alessio Milivojevic, the prospect is getting a lot more favorable rankings with the season over. On3, however, is extremely high on Stewart. They rate him as the No. 286 product and No. 25 tackle in the class. This massive jump to a fourth star by On3 also boosts Stewart’s 247Sports Composite rating, too. Just last week, the Kelso product was No. 905. Now, Payton Stewart rates as No. 731. Alongside Young (No. 207 in the nation, No. 18 tackle according to 247Sports), the Spartans have a pair of very talented tackles coming in.

When I wrote on each prospect and their projected playing time, I noticed there was a trend with 247Sports being higher than the rest on most of our signees. It appears On3 is starting to join that train as well. I think what we can learn from this is that Jonathan Smith knows the talent he is bringing to East Lansing. The talent is coming in, and the future is looking brighter each day for Michigan State football.