Michigan State Football Locks In Visit From Three-Star Colorado TE

During the recruiting process, Michigan State football has been moving in silence when it comes to making moves for the tight end room. The Spartans and tight end coach Brian Wozniak had secured early commitments during the 2026 class, but 2027 has been a different story. Now, Wozniak has made a move, bringing in three-star Colorado tight end Ryan Pankey in for a visit.

More About Ryan Pankey

Pankey is a three-star EDGE rusher via 247Sports, ranking no. 1326 nationally, no. 108 among athletes, and no. 9 among players from Colorado. He hails from Montrose High School (Colo.).

He is a multi-sport athlete, batting over .375 with 18 runs batted in his junior season of baseball, putting up 3.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game on the hardwood, and then playing both sides of the field with football, catching five passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns alongside 84 tackles, with 28 for loss, five pass breakups, and three sacks on the gridiron.

Pankey has received quite a bit of interest from the Spartans recently, but is yet to officially be offered a scholarship from Pat Fitzgerald. However, the staff will be bringing the prospect in for an official visit on June 5-7.

As it stands, the Spartans are set to lose offensive weapon (primarily tight end) Carson Gulker and Kai Rios to graduation upon the end of the 2026 season.

Who is Michigan State Football Competing With?

The Spartans, as mentioned above, have yet to officially offer Pankey. However, with them bringing him in on a visit, they are the first official visit set up with the two-way athlete. The other remaining offers for Pankey thus far are from Group of Six schools, including the two remaining holdovers of the PAC-12, the 2-PAC set of Oregon State and Washington State.

Currently, Pankey is the only scheduled tight end visit besides in-state legacy recruit Anthony Cartwright. Pankey is a player to monitor once Cartwright announces his commitment, as the Spartans could be in play if Cartwright takes his talent somewhere besides Michigan State.

Who is Visiting June 5-7?

The Spartans are bringing in quite a few players for their second official visit weekend, including two current Michigan State football verbal commits and an SEC commit.

EDGE Jack Schuler, a verbal commit, was set to visit June 19, but has bumped his visit to the Spartans up two weeks. That, alongside Pankey’s visit, is the main update in this list.

• DL Nehemiah Ombati, Four-Star, Shakopee HS (Minn.)—MSU Commit
• WR Isaiah Alvarez, Three-Star, Don Bosco Prep (Nj.)
• LB Caleb Green, Three-Star, Lee’s Summit North HS (Mo.)—Missouri Commit
• EDGE Lawrence Kanneh, Three-Star, Whitehall Yearling HS (Ohio)
• RB Keyon Thomas, Three-Star, Warren Central HS (Ind.)
• DL Carter Napier, Three-Star, Springboro HS (Ohio)
• OT Drew Aagesen, Three-Star, Goodrich HS (Mich.)
• EDGE Jack Schuler, Three-Star, Bishop Watterson (Ohio)—MSU Commit
• TE Ryan Pankey, Three-Star, Montrose HS (Colo.)
• CB George Murray III, No Ranking, Apalachee HS (Ga.)
• CB Shyne Parham, No Ranking, Jefferson HS (Ga.)

Follow along for more Spartan recruiting updates as they come along. My X is @E_Matasovsky57 and I will be keeping things as up-to-date as possible.