Why Anthony Carrie picked MSU and why it could translate to more recruiting success

Anthony Carrie recently discussed why he chose MSU. Let’s talk about how MSU can use that to better itself on the recruiting trail. 

If you’ve been living under a rock over the past few weeks, you may have missed that Michigan State football has been on a hot streak on the recruiting trail of late. In just over two weeks, the Spartans have landed eight total prospects for the 2024 class, two of which rank in the top 270 nationally. One of the prized commits from the “Red Cedar Heater” — as Justin Thind called it — that is taking place is four-star running back Anthony Carrie.

We’ve talked about Carrie in great detail here. Everything so far points to him being one of the gems of this class. Both on and off the field. He has already stated that now he is turning into a recruiter to help further the class.

Also, his interests off the field lead one to believe he in fact is a model person and goal-oriented. Something the football staff looks for in a future Spartan Dawg.

Carrie released a video on his YouTube channel on Sunday discussing just why MSU was the fit for him. Check out his full reasoning:

So to summarize why he chose MSU, he felt they were the school for him for the reasons below:

• Was the best fit for him in terms of playing time
• Felt schematically it was the best fit for him
• The level of comfort with the staff was outstanding
• Supporting his apparel brand/content-creating endeavors
• Loves the business school and the opportunities it provides
• East Lansing as a town and location

The biggest takeaways for me from this were two things: one, how self-aware and driven Carrie is as a person, and two, it gives a lot of insight into how MSU is selling itself to players.

It is always nice getting to see players in a setting such as a personal social media channel. YouTube/blogging is a great way for fans and outsiders to see players in a setting they are comfortable with and can possibly open up. This video showed a little of that about Carrie for me. As he went through each reason as to why he is coming to East Lansing, it was very apparent that he is extremely driven and works hard.

Carrie mentions in the video that he has a clothing/apparel brand called “Swift6ix” and also strives to produce content for his social media and that brand. Showing these off-the-field interests and how driven he is to make them succeed shows the exact type of player Mel Tucker and staff aims for. Someone who does not only want to pick a school for football reasons. Having a staff that aspires to help recruits build their brand will resonate hugely with new recruits.

Moving forward, I’d like to see Mel and his staff use similar tactics with other recruits. I’ve talked about in past articles how the “family appeal” from MSU’s staff resonates with parents and players alike. That is critical to land some big-name targets. Something that doesn’t get talked about enough to me is the level of comfort players feel with Mel and his coaches. Athletes feel like they can relate to our coaches and that is something not every school can offer.

The coaching staff at MSU does an amazing job of making players feel welcome and part of a family. Making players comfortable enough to be themselves seems like a simple task but that isn’t always the case. Players often cite not being the right fit as one of the main reasons for transferring.

In the video, Anthony mentioned having to not hide who he is and being extremely comfortable with Mel and the staff. He also discusses the benefits of having a number of African American coaches that will allow him to have multiple people in the building that can relate to him and serve as great role models. Having a coaching staff that not only is highly-regarded on the field, but that can serve as highly respected role models for students off the field is not something every program can boast.

Carrie really loves the opportunities MSU offers educationally as well. We often see MSU listed as a party school or not on the tier of Michigan in terms of academics. While some of that may be true, MSU is widely considered among the top academic public universities in the country. The recruiting staff often does a good job of trying to set potential athletes up with professors or people of interest within the player’s desired academic field. Most schools do this, but if MSU continues to showcase to its players what benefits MSU graduates have later in life, it can only aid in recruiting.

The final thing that really struck me from Anthony’s video and other recruits of late is the resources that are being dedicated to players once they leave MSU. The phrase “Spartan Dawg For Life” is said a lot in the Tucker era. This is something the school is striving for and really means it when it comes to athletics. Once players become Spartan Dawgs, they really join a fraternity that will support each other no matter what.

Since former player Darien Harris has joined the football staff as the Director of Player Relations and Program Advancement, he has set up MSU in an amazing spot to help players translate to the workforce post athletics. Harris often has former players, business executives, and networking experts speak to the players and work with them on smoothly entering the workforce. This is a big thing for players. Especially having so many examples of successful former Spartans to speak on their experiences. Players like Mat Ishbia, Jayson Strayhorn, Keith Nichol, and Otis Wiley have all been a part of presentations to the current players about their respective fields.

When recruits see how many former athletes succeed in the athletic world and post-athletics, it really sets up a future if they attend MSU. Having a recruiting staff and coaching staff that really wants to see you win off the gridiron even more than on it is what sets MSU apart. Tapping into that will be a big reason MSU will be a force on the recruiting trail in the future. Look for this to resonate with the remaining targets for the 2024 class and beyond.

Shout out to Tucker, the rest of his coaching staff, the recruiting staff, and Darien Harris. They do such an amazing job and are some of the absolute best at what they do.

Big things are happening in East Lansing and I am excited to see the results. Go Green.