Michigan State football trending with 6 recruits after big weekend

Michigan State football is trending with six recruits after a big official visit weekend to kick off the Jonathan Smith era.

Jonathan Smith is not wasting any time when it comes to his first Michigan State football recruiting class in East Lansing.

Ever since being hired, the Spartans have heard many names that could contribute to their program in the near future. On Tuesday morning, Michigan State 247Sports insider Justin Thind posted seven crystal balls (all public) — one of them has already committed.

Flips

Of the seven projected to land in East Lansing two of them are already committed elsewhere. Three-star linebacker Brady Pretzlaff is currently committed to Minnesota while three-star quarterback Alessio Milivojevic is committed to Ball State.

Pretzlaff is an athletic player who has shown the ability to make a lot of plays in the offensive backfield. He is also a home-state kid out of Gaylord, Mich., who committed to Minnesota under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi who now assumes the same role at Michigan State, which also trends positively for the Spartans to flip the 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker.

Moving onto Milivojevic or “A-Mili” as Spartan Shadows has adopted, you see a dynamic playmaker. When watching the tape of “A-Mili”, one will see a strong, accurate arm with a beautiful deep ball. He does not appear afraid to stay in the pocket and take a hit, but also has the ability to extend plays with his legs. Michigan State is still Milivojevic’s only Power Five offer, so hopefully the Spartans can secure a commitment soon.

First commitment

Looking at the five remaining, uncommitted crystal balls, there is a lot of talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Three-star running back Makhi Frazier comes from a football hotbed down in McKinney, Texas. He is a dynamic runner with great vision, and seemingly a knack to be able to find space. He is a versatile back who has shown potential to be an extra pass catcher out of the backfield. His versatility is on full display in his highlight tape, as he made many plays at linebacker as well. Frazier has a small collection of Power Five offers that Michigan State football beat out — he committed on Tuesday afternoon.

Three-star athlete Andrew Brinson IV is a 6-foot, 175-pounder out of Tampa, Fla. During his time in high school, he played a lot both offensively and defensively at wide receiver and cornerback. In his senior year, he primarily played defense. He showed that he is both a great coverage corner, along with somebody that is not afraid of contact. Brinson has a lot of potential that could be a big get for the Spartans to bolster their play in the defensive backfield.

Wyatt Hook is the next prospect, and he is a three-star tight end from Cupertino, Calif. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Hook already has the frame to be MSU’s next solid tight end. He is a very physical blocker with the willingness to carry his blocks many yards downfield. Wyatt also possesses great hand-eye coordination and can go up and make many contested catches.

On to the offensive line where the Spartans have two more crystal balls. The first is three-star Rakeem Johnson who is a little on the smaller side of interior linemen at only 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, but he has an incredible motor. Johnson can get to the second level, and one of the themes when watching his tape is that he always finishes plays. The relentless attitude is likely what the Spartans coaching staff loves most about Johnson. Finally, to our last crystal ball, three-star offensive tackle Payton Stewart. He measures 6-foot-7, 270 pounds and uses that size to abuse inferior defenders. On top of his size, he also contains impressive athleticism that allows him to continue blocks or pull when necessary. Stewart could be a big get for MSU as it tries to reimagine its offense under Jonathan Smith.

Final thoughts

If Smith and Co. want this rebuild to be as quick as possible, they need to make a splash on the recruiting trail. With these seven prospects they are hoping to do just that. Many of these guys were recruited by the same staff members while they were still a part of Oregon State. Even though none of these players were ranked higher than “three stars”, there is a lot of potential in this group. Plus, Michigan State has won with three-stars before…

Go Green.