Michigan State football: Final Junior Day of January yields big turnout

Eighteen prospects are in East Lansing this weekend for Michigan State football Junior Day festivities.

As the first month of 2023 winds down, the next football recruiting dead period is on the horizon. Teams everywhere are hosting recruiting camps trying to build some much-needed momentum for the 2024 cycle (and beyond) before February’s no-contact period begins. Michigan State football is certainly no different.

They had already had a successful Junior Day weekend on the weekend of Jan. 14, which was headlined by an unofficial visit to campus from five-star defensive line prospect David Stone. This weekend’s festivities might even be in line to top that.

For this round of weekend visits, MSU has 18 total players on campus. Most notably, one again from Stone who decided to come back to East Lansing for another unofficial visit after posting on social media his tentative spring plans. He planned to come back to MSU this weekend, go down to Miami in March, and then also to Texas A&M’s spring game. The IMG Academy standout has been continuing to pick up offers left and right. He most recently received one from Ohio State. MSU is doing well in that recruiting battle still and getting two visits in three weekends certainly reinforces that thought.

Whether or not MSU can keep the same momentum moving forward remains to be seen. Expect Mel Tucker and staff to keep the full-court press on him for as long as possible.

Another reason getting Stone and other defensive line prospects on campus this weekend is notable is because this will be the first weekend that new defensive line coach Diron Reynolds is able to participate. Getting Diron a first crack at building some new relationships with these players will be key in how MSU will be able to recruit on the defensive front in the future. Reynolds, like most of Mel’s staff, has a wealth of coaching experience including time in the NFL.

Other notable 2024 prospects arriving this weekend include four-star receiver Brandon Heyward and four-star defensive back TyShun White. In total, seven players from the 2024 class made the trip for the weekend.

Michigan State is also hosting seven players from the 2025 class and three from the class of 2026. Many of these recruits are players that will most assuredly become high-ranking players in their classes once the 2025 and 2026 rankings get released.

Of the 18 total players on campus this weekend, five states are represented, showing Tucker’s determination to recruit nationally. While planning to recruit nationally is a main focus, Mel has not been slacking in going after some homegrown talent. Fifteen of the 18 players this weekend are from either Michigan or Ohio. This reaffirms Mel’s commitment to try to win the battles in the Midwest as well.

Hopefully this weekend’s visits continue to build some solid recruiting momentum for when the contact period opens up in March. Look for MSU to start scheduling some more unofficial visits in March. After that, official visits can start in April. The 2024 class is off to a strong start and could get even better soon.