Michigan State football: Looking at the last 5 recruiting “crown jewels”

With Michigan State football practices starting and College Football 25 out, let’s look back at the best part of the offseason: recruiting.

With the release of EA Sports College Football 25, I thought of one of the best parts of the college football game series: recruiting and their battles. I figured now would be a great time to cover previous recruiting victories, in terms of the highest-ranked players. As both old NCAA video games and previous Michigan State football stars have shown, rankings do not show the true crown jewel in most classes.

Spartan legends like Le’Veon Bell, Connor Cook, Darqueze Dennard, Jack Conklin, and Tony Lippett do not make an appearance on this list.

For this edition, I am dating back to 2020. That said, players like Bell, Kirk Cousins, and Dennard would not make this list as the top player in their class, even if I dated this back to their respective classes.

These rankings will be compiled using the 247Sports and 247Sports Composite. In the previous five classes, there were two instances where 247Sports was higher on a player than the composite. For those wondering the difference at home, the composite is made using other recruiting site rankings — 247Sports rankings are exclusively their own experts’ opinions.

Now lets get into these Michigan State football classes and recruits.

MSU’s 2024 class: Nick Marsh, WR (River Rouge, Mich.)

Nick Marsh was the consensus top player of Jonathan Smith’s “first” class. Originally a commit under Mel Tucker, Marsh stayed the course despite a decommitment, the uncertainty for Michigan State football, and valiant efforts of schools such as Alabama. While it is too early to go over players who have yet to take an official snap for the Spartans, early returns are good for Marsh: he had over 100 yards in the spring showcase.

Marsh stands to make an impact right away and be the best player from the class, although he faces some stiff competition. Brady Pretzlaff and Justin Denson loom on the defensive front, and Rustin Young, Payton Stewart, and Alessio Milivojevic all could take the title as the top player from this class on offense.

MSU’s 2023 class: Bai Jobe, DE (Norman, Okla.)

Bai Jobe was a massive recruiting victory for Tucker and the Spartans when he originally committed. He picked the Spartans over the local Oklahoma Sooners, and finished the rankings as No. 54 prospect in the nation. Jobe was thought to be an immediate impact player who could record multiple sacks in his first campaign with the Spartans. Unfortunately, this was not the case. In part, this came from the Spartans losing coach BT Jordan before Jobe arrived on campus and Tucker before Jobe got to play a snap.

Jobe only saw the field once last year, in a late blowout loss to Washington. After this spring, Jobe entered the portal, ranking as the No. 18 edge rusher in and No. 186 overall. Jobe announced his commitment to Kansas for next season. In retrospect, analysts were calling Jobe a player that stood out in “shorts camps” as opposed to shining on the field.

With the benefit of watching these prospects play for a year, Jordan Hall (No. 3 in the MSU class, No. 200 nationally) made the most impact for the Spartans. Hall lived up to expectations and then some, where he was the best Spartan defender for most of the season.

MSU’s 2022 class: Alex VanSumeren, DL (Essexville, Mich.)

Alex VanSumeren is another recruiting victory for the Spartans, this time being part of a flip from Michigan alongside his older brother Ben.

Ben transferred from Michigan to MSU, and Alex reopened his recruitment. Michigan State football prevailed over Penn State, Texas A&M, and Northwestern, among others. The younger VanSumeren entered the Spartans as the No. 200 player in the country, and was quick to make an impact. Alex played in the first four games of his freshman season, and recorded three tackles despite only being on field for 21 snaps. However, as of this writing, those are Alex’s only career snaps. He missed all of last season with injury, and was also on the sidelines in the most recent Spring Showcase. If he can regain his health, there are still three years of eligibility left for him to reclaim the mark as the top player in this class.

Of the 23 enrollees from this class, 11 have already left the program or are currently in the portal. Of those, Jaden Mangham (No. 5 in class, No. 311 nationally) and Germie Bernard (No. 4 in the class, No. 239 nationally) have made the biggest impact. Bernard started as a true freshman, and was a high value rotational receiver in Washington’s passing attack last season. Bernard is now in his third school for his third year of eligibility, as he followed  his coach from last season, Kalen DeBoer, to Alabama.

Mangham put up four interceptions last year, but transferred down the road to Ann Arbor. The less said, the better.

Of those that are currently a Spartan, Dillon Tatum (No. 6 in class, No. 279 nationally) or Malik Spencer (No. 14 in class, No. 635 nationally) have made the most impact. Both players enter this season with a lot to prove, as both have been in the secondary for Michigan State the last two seasons. It is safe to say, there have been more lows than highs for this class. That said, Spencer’s athleticism and instincts have him as a player who could shoot up draft boards, with some talking about first-round potential.

MSU’s 2021 class: Keon Coleman, WR (Opelousas, La.) or Ma’a Gaoteote, LB (Las Vegas, Nev.)

The Keon Coleman class is here.

Coleman was a highly rated player by 247Sports, and despite his stature and skill with both basketball and football, the Spartans won Coleman on signing day over Tulane. In retrospect, Tulane having an offense headed by Michael Pratt throwing to Keon Coleman is terrifying, but I digress. Keon Coleman entered MSU and instantly saw the field, catching his first touchdown late in a blowout loss to Ohio State. Coleman took over for Jalen Nailor next season, and was a star. He had nearly 800 yards and seven touchdowns, at times taking over the field to try to will the Spartans to victory. Then, he entered the portal on the last day of it being open, and took his talents to Florida State.

Coleman, who are already mocked as an early Day 2 pick, did nothing but improve his stock with the Seminoles. He had a massive game against LSU to open the season, and was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. He went No. 33 overall to the Buffalo Bills last NFL draft.

Ma’a Gaoteote was a late flip to Tucker’s Spartans, picking them after flipping from USC. Gaoteote was a player who saw the field early, but was hampered with injury. He was also limited on an athleticism standpoint, and only recorded 15 tackles (one for loss), a pass defended, and a forced fumble in 16 career games. He entered the portal before spring ball started this season.

Of the 18 enrollees, only two of them are still at Michigan State. Brandon Baldwin (No. 15 in class, No. 50 from JUCO) and Chuck Brantley (No. 4 in class, No. 520 nationally) remain in green and white. While Baldwin has been a multiyear starter, Brantley still provides the most impact with his game-sealing interception against Michigan as a freshman, and his pick-six against Ohio State as a sophomore. That said, I do believe Coleman’s two seasons in green and white outweigh both Brantley and Baldwin, so far.

MSU’s 2020 class: Angelo Grose, DB (Mansfield, Ohio) or Ricky White, WR (Marietta, Ga.)

This class is the final from the Mark Dantonio era. This class was one where people accused Dantonio of “mailing it in” and not doing enough. Seventeen of the 22 prospects from this class wound up transferring, with a majority heading out during Tucker’s first season.

Angelo Grose was the top prospect from this class, and made an instant impact. He started four of the seven games as a true freshman under Tucker, and recorded 23 tackles and a forced fumble. He has remained on the field since, bouncing between safety and nickelback for the Spartans. For his final season of eligibility, he seems to have settled in at the more natural nickelback position. Entering his last season, Grose has three interceptions and 231 tackles in 40 career games.

Ricky White was the top prospect via the 247Sports Composite, and he also made an impact. White had a monster game against Michigan in his second career game, recording 196 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Unfortunately, White only caught two passes outside of that game for the whole season. Following a suspension for the 2021 season, Ricky White transferred to UNLV. There, he has become one of the best receivers in the nation, being named a third team All-American following his nearly 1,500-yard campaign last year. Instead of looking to cash in and go to the NFL draft or a top team to ring chase, White elected to stay with the Rebels for his final season in 2024.

This class has a few heavy hitters, and could change in the final year of player eligibility. Cal Haladay (No. 19 in class, No. 967 nationally) and Montorie Foster (No. 13 in class, No. 1103 nationally) each have had a season where they have shined. Haladay was a freshman All-American in 2021 where he had a Peach Bowl-sealing pick six, but has struggled against the pass for most of his career and now faces a lot of competition to stay on field this season. Montorie Foster has taken the opposite career path of Haladay, as Foster sparing saw the field until this last year. Foster had nearly 500 yards last year and stands to be a top option for Aidan Chiles in the fall.

Simeon Barrow was also part of this class and would be the top player, but after four portal entries, most of the Spartan faithful do not have fond memories. He will be suiting up for Miami, allegedly, next year. Darius Snow (No. 2 in class, No. 430 nationally) would likely play a factor into this decision as well if not for his injury against Western Michigan in 2022, which he is still working to get back from.

That said, I do believe that the top player from this class currently stands with Grose.

Takeaways

Of the seven “top” prospects from the last five classes, over half (4-of-7) have transferred away from Michigan State. However, of those remaining three, one has been a multiyear starter (Grose), one has shown potential but cannot stay healthy to be on field (VanSumeren), and the other will see their first collegiate snaps this fall (Marsh).

Michigan State football has been hit hard by this new era of the transfer portal and the attrition that comes with it, and this list highlights that. Between multiple coaching, personnel, and scheme changes, the members of the last five classes that have stayed have been hard pressed to develop when there is a lack of consistency year-to-year. Additionally, it can be argued that the amount of transfers impacts morale and unity as a class and team. Under Tucker, Michigan State football had plenty of recruiting highs, but very few on field highs outside of 2021.

Hopefully, with Jonathan Smith here and reprioritizing home-grown talent instead of a big flash, the results can turn around. While the “high” recruiting wins may not come for Smith, the development is much more crucial.

Another takeaway from this list is that stars and rankings are not everything. Excluding Marsh’s class, which has yet to play a game at Spartan Stadium, there are only three top recruits (Keon Coleman, Grose, class of 2015’s LJ Scott) that I would call best in their class from all MSU classes dating back to 2013. Last year’s freshman standouts, Jalen Thompson and Jordan Hall, both were not the top recruits from their 2023 class.

I think this can double as a message to calm down for the Spartan faithful who have not seen Smith and Co. land a “major” name for the 2025 class (until Bryson Williams, perhaps?). Relax, and let the staff provide consistency and development.