Michigan State football made a great impression on 4-star Pitt commit

Folks, it’s officially flip season. And Michigan State football is looking to join in on the fun.

It’s always fun to watch summer commits change their minds after realizing there may be a better option right in their own backyard. While I’m not saying Pitt isn’t a solid option for a young recruit as Pat Narduzzi is a solid coach and the team is ranked, the future looks bright in East Lansing.

And one local recruit is starting to see that.

Four-star safety Elijah Dotson was on campus for an unofficial visit this past weekend with Iowa in town and he loved what he saw. So much so, in fact, that he’s already planning a return trip to East Lansing, per Allen Trieu of 247Sports.

Partly on the strength of yesterday's visit to Michigan State, Belleville (Mich.) four-star and Pitt commit Elijah Dotson plans to return to MSU for an official.

(VIP) https://t.co/s3zWeRmgvc pic.twitter.com/ViLsEAPDVq

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) October 21, 2024

Dotson has been committed to Pitt since May, but seeing the local team dominate Iowa in person in an electric Saturday night atmosphere right down the road had to be more enticing than he originally expected. And like Trieu said above, it was because the visit on Saturday was so good that Dotson is planning to return on an official trip.

This is what happens when you start winning games — recruiting starts to improve.

It’s hard to sell hope to recruits when you take over a program that has been a doormat for the past two seasons, but Smith already has Michigan State more competitive this season than it’s been in three years. Heck, this team played Ohio State tougher than the 11-2 team from 2021.

Michigan State is trending in the right direction, and when that happens, in-state recruiting — and recruiting in general — gets a massive boost. We’re seeing that in real time with the No. 2 prospect in the state of Michigan and No. 118 recruit in the nation, per 247Sports.

If the Spartans can flip Dotson, they’d have two of the top three in-state recruits committed in the 2025 class, and five of the top 12.