Michigan State football adds 3-star WR Charles Taplin to 2025 class

Michigan State football started the weekend strong, landing three-star receiver Charles Taplin, their third commit in eight days.

Michigan State football has landed another commit. Charles Taplin, a three-star receiver from Red Oak, Texas, announced his commitment on Friday. Taplin was part of the group that visited East Lansing last weekend and has decided to commit to the Spartans on the eve of his scheduled visit to Washington State.

Taplin becomes the second receiver in this class, alongside Sandusky’s Braylon Collier. Both prospects are ranked similarly by 247Sports, with Collier (No. 134 at receiver) ranking just ahead of Taplin (No. 141). Taplin has yet to receive a composite rating, but that will be coming soon if his flock of offers is anything to go off of. Taplin held no offers to start the year and is now at 15 before the summer begins.

#AGTG After an amazing weekend at Michigan State University , I've decided to join the family and make them my new home. I'm 100% committed. Thank you to my family, coaches, and teammates for the support on this journey. #Gogreen #Icegang @MSU_Football @Coach_Smith pic.twitter.com/TEDgpFoMR8

— Charles Taplin (@Tapgoind1) June 14, 2024

Michigan State keeps the momentum strong under Jonathan Smith

In the last eight days, the Spartans have landed three commitments from players, all of whom have visited the Spartans recently. Jonathan Smith, Courtney Hawkins, and the staff have been on the prowl, landing six of the eight members of the 2025 class in the last month and a few days.

Considering that the Spartans had a zero-person class until late April, it has been an impressive turnaround for the new staff.

However, there is a small drawback. The Spartans’ class is now eight strong, and six of those come on the offensive side of the ball. Additionally, both defensive commits come at a position (linebacker) that sees 2024 early enrollee Brady Pretzlaff and transfers Semaj Bridgeman and Jordan Turner. That comes before mentioning Jordan Hall, who had a breakout freshman campaign in 2023. Both the offense and defense had much to improve on this upcoming season, and I am alright with this offensive surge if there will be a defensive one this fall. I have zero doubts that this staff will be landing loads of defensive help well before signing day in December.

Taplin becomes the second receiver that this staff has landed from Texas since stepping foot in East Lansing, joining 2024 class member Jaylan Brown.

More on Charles Taplin

Taplin has been part of a resurgent Red Oak team, one that has gone from a 4-8 campaign his freshman season into a buzz saw that only lost to eventual state champion Aledo last season. Taplin put up 265 yards and four touchdowns last season, also adding four yards on the ground and 151 yards on special teams. In addition to football, Taplin runs track, where he is quite the athlete as well. He was part of a Red Oak team that won a silver medal last season as the leadoff runner in the 4×100 relay.

With an admittedly small sample size, that production has caught the attention of multiple FBS teams, as he holds 14 Division 1 (or future D1, in terms of Delaware) offers. One of those offers comes from Power Four (feels weird to write four) program Arizona.

Taplin is a rising receiver in this class. Michigan State football originally offered Taplin on May 8, and since then, he has gained five more FBS offers. Per his 247Sports profile, the Spartans were the first of Taplin’s three scheduled visits, the others being at Washington State and Tulsa.

It is safe to say that Michigan State’s future got brighter this week.