Michigan State football recruiting recap for the month of April

As April blends in to May, Michigan State football switches gears from balancing recruiting and practice into full-blown recruiting. As the month draws to a close, it is time to check how the Spartan recruiting effort is going.

Here is a recent recap of what is going on with Michigan State football recruiting.

MSU starts month with a bang, lands DB commitment

The Spartans did not have to wait long to land a commitment in April, with 2027 defensive back Ty’ire Clark announcing his commitment on April 4. The New Jersey native gave a verbal after his unofficial visit.

Clark became the first defensive verbal commit of the class. The 5-foot-10 defensive back is a projected safety, and is rated no. 1170 in the class. He chose MSU over offers from Penn State, Boston College, and Vanderbilt, among others.

Spartans land 2 defensive line commits

The big news to end April for Michigan State football was two commitments on the defensive front, giving the Spartans their second and third defensive commitments of the month.

Illinois-born defensive lineman Ohimai Ozolua was the first defensive lineman to give a verbal pledge, committing April 24. Ozolua is a four-star on the 247Sports Composite, currently ranking no. 409 in the nation out of St. Rita Of Cascia High School in Chicago, Ill.

He is the first defensive lineman to pledge to MSU out of high school with Winston DeLattiboudere III during the coach’s short stint with the Spartans so far. The 6-foot-5 prospect held offers from Illinois, Iowa, Miami (Fl.), Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.

The second verbal pledge occurred just before the month ended, with Ohio native and EDGE Jack Schuler giving the Spartans a verbal early in the morning of April 30. Schuler is a three-star on 247Sports, being ranked no. 1035 in his class out of Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio.

Schuler also plays basketball in high school, and finished his junior campaign with nine sacks, including a hit on verbal Spartan quarterback commit Eli Stumpf. The 6-foot-5 EDGE also had an impressive nine pass breakups. He is the second prospect to commit to Winston DeLattiboudere III at MSU. His offer list was shorter, with the main competition appearing to be UConn for Schuler’s services.

Transfer portal gives one more gift

The Spartans utilized spring as a chance to see their depth, and the staff felt the need to add one more player for the 2026 season. Upon the ending of the spring showcase, the Spartans landed one more player, with receiver Jameel Gardner Jr. committing to MSU.

Gardner enters his last year of eligibility. He was teammates with Chrishon McCray at Kent State before heading to Jackson State. Gardner had 32 catches for 445 yards and two touchdowns last season with the Tigers.

Spartan coaches hit recruiting trail, sending out offers

With their services in East Lansing being less taxing after spring football wrapped up, Michigan State football ‘s coaches took their recruiting on the road to visit players at their schools and homes, along with offering scholarships for those they wanted to make into the next Spartans.

Here is a recent recap of who the Spartans have offered:

• 2028 S Kaden Golston, 4-star (No. 185 on the Composite), Stone Bridge HS (Va.)
• 2028 WR Malachi Lee, 4-star (No. 54), Westfield HS (Va.)
• 2028 EDGE Asa Burch, 4-star (No. 117), Harding HS (Ohio)
• 2028 ATH Tristan Thomas, Unranked, Calvert HS (Md.)
• 2028 OL Kavon Blackmon, Unranked, Springfield HS (Ohio)
• 2027 LB Jerrell Bridges, Unranked, Midlothian HS (Texas)
• 2027 LB Matthew Brady, 3-star (No. 1206), Central Catholic HS (Ill.)
• 2027 WR Zach Forbish, Unranked, Frisco Lone Star HS (Texas)
• 2027 DL Kyle Davis, Unranked, Georgetown Preparatory (Md.)
• 2027 WR Kyron Brown, 3-star (No. 724), Palo Duro HS (Texas)
• 2027 EDGE Dallas Ward, Unranked, McIntosh HS (Ga.)
• 2027 DL Carter Napier, 3-star (No. 1035), Springsboro HS (Ohio)
• 2027 DL Will Zaccagnino, 3-star (No. 1035), St. Joseph HS (Ohio)—Wisconsin commit
• 2027 WR Steele Harris, 3-star (No. 724), Great Falls HS (Mont.)
• 2027 TE Saleh Atariwa, 3-star (No. 1035), Cardinal Hayes HS (NY)—Rutgers commit

Visits locked in

With the recruiting dead period approaching, the Spartan football staff is locking in sets of spring visitors for the last weekend of May and the first few weekends of June. Here is who has locked in their visits to East Lansing among the 2027 class.

May 29-31

• LB Matthew Brady, Central Catholic HS (Ill.)
• DB Ty’ire Clark, St. Peter’s Prep (NJ)—MSU commit
• DB Trey Hopkins, La Salle College Prep (Penn.)
• OL David Tarawallie, Riverside HS (Ohio)
• RB Caleb Mattison, Bishop Kenny HS (Fla.)
• TE Anthony Cartwright III, Detroit Country Day HS (Mich.)

June 5-7

• DL Carter Napier, Springsboro HS (Ohio)
• EDGE Munir Lewis, Brush HS (Ohio) — has since announced Louisville commitment

June 19-21

• WR Steele Harris, Great Falls HS (Mont.)
• CB Kayden Battle, McEachern HS (Ga.)
• DB Rashaad Silver, Columbia HS (Ga.)
• LB Lundon Hampton, Kenowa Hills HS (Mich.)
• DB Elijah Goins, Dakota HS (Mich.)
• DB Larry Morgan III, West Boca Raton HS (Fla.)

Spartans among the finalists

As recruiting hits the summer, many athletes look to lock in their commitments to avoid having one more thing to stress about as they enter their last season under the Friday night lights. The Spartans have “made the cut” for quite a few players. Here are those that have narrowed their lists with MSU still in contention.

• OL Dominic Black, Tri-Village HS (Ohio) — top 8
• WR Chad Willis, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS (Mich.) — top 4
• CB Larry Morgan III, West Boca Raton HS (Fla.) — top 6
• TE Anthony Cartwright III, Detroit Country Day (Mich.) — top 5
• OL Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) — top 6

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.