The Nick Marsh re-commitment was rare, but exactly how rare?

Nick Marsh re-committed to Michigan State football on Friday evening which is a rare move, but just how rare is it?

Mel Tucker and Co. pulled off a rare task.

Back like he never left

Michigan State picks up a huge commitment from 2024 @RougeFootball Top 100 WR @NickMarsh_11 who is back in the Michigan State recruiting class pic.twitter.com/EvhTJkKCoT

— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) July 7, 2023

The Spartans got some good news on Friday when Nick Marsh committed to Michigan State. The four-star in-state talent from River Rouge High School is no stranger to the green and white. Marsh made headlines back in 2022 when he became the first player to commit to the Spartans 2024 class in July. To the surprise of Spartan fans, Marsh withdrew his commitment eight months later to explore more options.

Marsh would go on to take visits to Kansas, Pitt, and Penn State. Penn State was seen as the primary threat for Michigan State, but Marsh’s recent visit with the Spartans pulled him back to East Lansing.

With the transfer portal now in place, we’ll continue to see player movement increase. Fluidity is the name of the game. While players changing their commitments isn’t rare, players re-committing to the same school they de-committed from is. But how rare is it?

Since 2012, Michigan State had a total 0f 21 players that committed to the Spartans but eventually withdrew their commitment:

• Nick Marsh
• Jaylon Braxton
• Kedrick Reescano
• Colton Hood
• Jayvant Brown
• Demetrius Bell
• Naquan Jones
• Clay Wedin
• Johnathan Slack
• Bo Edmundson
• Shannon Blair
• Rayshaun Benny
• Audric Estime
• Jah’von Grigsby
• Gabe Nealy
• D’Wan Mathis
• Jordan Huff
• Joseph Scates
• Cassius Peat
• Raheem Blackshear
• Chris Durkin

Nick Marsh joins Naquan Jones as the only two players to recommit to the Spartans. While this may not seem significant, it works out to be 9.52%. That percentage puts Michigan State as the third-highest team in the Big Ten in this category. This shows how rare this feat really is. In this same timeframe, Wisconsin had a total of 11 de-commitments with 2 returning (18.18%). This put the Badgers as the No. 1 team in the conference. Second is Indiana with three of their 27 de-commitments returning (11.11%).

In total, the Big Ten had 466 players withdraw their commitments from the schools they initially committed to. Of these, 22 (4.72%) of them eventually returned to the same school. The lowest on the list are Maryland and Purdue tied at zero percent. Maryland had a total of 39 decommits while the Boilermakers had 28.

What Mel Tucker and his staff were able to do with Nick Marsh is impressive and deserves recognition. More than ever, college sports isn’t just about finding the players you want but also keeping them. Once a player is in the portal or no longer committed to a school, it’s a free for all.

Trying to regain a player in this process is extremely difficult and the stats reflect that.

All stats provided by @GreatLakesFungi and @Stats_R4_Losers on Twitter.