Michigan State football OT target Rustin Young decommits from Oregon State

Four-star Michigan State football offensive tackle target Rustin Young has decommitted from Oregon State and is back on the market.

On Dec. 6, Michigan State football received some intriguing news. Rustin Young, the headlining prospect of Oregon State’s 2024 class, decommitted from the Beavers. Young, an offensive tackle, certainly can fill a need if the Spartans land him.

Rustin Young provides a chance for an early recruiting win for Smith

Since Jonathan Smith was announced as the next head coach for Michigan State, Spartan Nation has waited to see who Smith will be trying to bring with him to bolster the 2024 Spartan recruiting class. Our class currently holds Nick Marsh, the No. 109 prospect, and six others. Young would be the best lineman in the class, joining the Luniewski twins to give the Spartans three linemen coming in.

Young has been a player I have been advocating for since Smith was announced as the head coach of Michigan State. The last two seasons of offensive line play have been brutal for the Spartans, capped off with a game against Penn State where the Spartans were in negative yards rushing by the end. Having a borderline top-200 prospect (per 247Sports) come in certainly helps Michigan State’s trenches.

Speaking of Spartan trenches, there is no bigger need for offensive linemen than there is now. Michigan State lost multi-year starter Spencer Brown to Oklahoma, as announced earlier today. Additionally, Ethan Boyd, Geno Vandemark, and Kevin Wigenton are all in the portal. Additionally, Gavin Broscious and Stanton Ramil are each returning off of injuries and surgeries that forced the pair to miss the entire 2023 season. There is a chance for immediate playing time for the Hawaiian.

With Smith moving over to East Lansing, Young expressed interest in the staff reaching out to him, and it appears they have done that. The Spartans are likely competing with Oregon State, Auburn, and Arizona State for the highly-touted prospect’s commitment. While flipping any of Smith’s previous commitments would certainly help out the Spartans next season, I believe it would be extra sweet to grab the former gem of the Beavers’ 2024 class.