Tag: 2024 recruiting class

4 recruits to pay attention to before signing day for Michigan State football

4 recruits to monitor as the late signing period approaches:

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith has made it known that the late signing period was going to be used by Michigan State to aid their 2024 recruiting class, and they are doing just that.

There is one position group that the staff is really focused on, and that is the defensive line, pursuing multiple prospects on the defensive front.

Along with the defensive line, the Spartans picked up commitments from kicker Martin Connington and wide receiver Jaylan Brown, who are expected to sign without hiccups.

Now, all the attention turns to four prospects as the official end of the 2024 recruiting cycle nears:

Michigan State football lands PWO commitment from in state RB

MSU lands a PWO commitment from Plymouth High School’s Jaxon McCaig:

Michigan State has landed another member to their 2024 recruiting class, this time in the form of a preferred walk-on.

Jaxon McCaig, a Canton (MI) native attending Plymouth High School, has made the decision to commit to Michigan State. He is a 6-foot-2, 225 pound running back.

READ: MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL 2024 TRANSFER TRACKER

McCaig held offers from Butler, Valparaiso and an FBS offer from Marshall, as well as PWO opportunities from Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Michigan.

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Michigan State football 2024 commitment tracker

UPDATED: Tracking all of Michigan State’s 2024 commits

Mel Tucker is out. Jonathan Smith is in. This all happened during a critical time of the 2024 recruiting cycle and now Michigan State football needs to solidify that class.

Some players will fall out, new names will join, and it will continue to be a mad dash and scramble as MSU tries to fight to bring a strong recruiting class into the first year of the Jonathan Smith era.

Buckle up as we track every recruit confirmed in the 2024 class below.

Oklahoma firmly in the mix for top-50 2025 PF John Clark

Oklahoma still in the mix for 2025 power forward John Clark.

Oklahoma is putting together its best season in years and is looking to leverage that on the recruiting trail. In the 2025 class, the Sooners are firmly in the mix for 2025 four-star power forward prospect John Clark.

Clark is a 6-foot-9 power forward from the Houston, Texas, area and plays his high school ball at Klein Cain High School. Clark is a consensus four-star prospect across all the primary services and is rated as a top-five player in Texas for the 2025 cycle.

Oklahoma is in the mix with a stacked group of regional powerhouses. Without much surprise, the hometown team, the Houston Cougars, are in the mix. The rest of the list that Joe Tipton of On3 says is contacting Clark the most are Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor. It seems highly likely, barring something wild, that Klein will leave the Texas or Oklahoma area to play collegiate ball.

Oklahoma offered Clark last summer when he dominated the AAU circuits playing for Texas basketball legend T.J. Ford. Clark has visited the Longhorns twice and made multiple visits to Houston. Clark also has family in Austin, so it’s reasonable to surmise that Texas may be the leader of his recruitment at this point.

Oklahoma has a chance to make a push, but they’ll have to up the ante soon. Clark acknowledged last summer that he’d like to decide on college after his junior season. Porter Moser and his staff have some ground to make up.

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Clemson lands commitment from four-star DL Isaiah Campbell

Clemson landed four-star DL Isaiah Campbell to its 2025 recruiting class on Monday.

Clemson added a third four-star prospect in a span of 24 hours to its 2025 recruiting class when Isaiah Campbell, one of the nation’s top defensive lineman, announced his commitment Monday.

Listed at 6’5″, 265 pounds, Campbell (Southern High School, Durham, N.C.) chose Clemson over ACC rivals Florida State and North Carolina, and regional rivals Alabama and Auburn. Campbell was in Tiger Town over the weekend for Clemson’s Elite Junior day Event on Saturday.

He announced his commitment to Clemson in a post to Twitter/X early Monday morning.

 

247Sports’ Composite rankings rates Campbell as the 72nd best prospect in the nation, as well as the fifth best defensive lineman in the country. He’s also rated the fourth best prospect from the state of North Carolina. Both on3 Sports and Rivals.com rates Campbell as the third best prospect in North Carolina.

Clemson is on quite a run with its recruiting this month. The Tigers have now netted four 4-star recruits in the past week. Campbell joins OL Jaylan Beckley (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) and OL Brayden Jacobs (Buford High School, Ga.), who committed on Sunday. Defensive end Ari Watford (Maury High School, Norfolk, Va.), who committed on Wednesday.

Oklahoma trending for four-star RB Tory Blaylock after OU Junior Day visit

Oklahoma received three FutureCasts for four-star running back Tory Blaylock after his Junior Day visit.

Fresh off landing the number one running back in the nation for the 2024 cycle in [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] is back on the grind for [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag].

The Sooners’ running back coach has been rock solid on the recruiting trail since taking over the role. In fact, it’s possible to say he’s getting even better.

2025 brings new prospects, new relationships, and new challenges for Murray. With the depth Oklahoma has at running back, likely, Oklahoma won’t take three backs like they did in 2024, but that doesn’t mean they’ll dip in quality.

[autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag], one of Texas’ best running backs, is on Oklahoma’s radar. Apparently, junior day went well for the Sooners. Three Rivals FutureCasts have been logged in favor of the Sooners landing Blaylock.

OUInsider’s Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm each logged predictions in favor of Oklahoma. As did Landyn Rosow, who covers the Texas A&M Aggies for Rivals.

Blaylock’s social media presence was active during the visit, and by and large, he seemed to enjoy Norman with his family as well.

Blaylock is a five-foot-eleven every-down back with a track background. As a freshman, he posted several sub-11.00 100-meter times, including 10.70 and 10.83. He also shows explosion, power, and the ability to be a pass catcher out of the backfield. In short, he’s a complete back.

Oklahoma’s efforts at Junior Day have seemed to resonate with Blaylock and his family. The Sooners have put themselves in an excellent position to land their first running back commit of 2025.

He’s got an NFL lineage. His father, Derrick Blaylock, played five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets after his collegiate career at Stephen F. Austin.

The Oklahoma Sooners don’t currently have a running back committed for the 2025 cycle, but if the FutureCasts hold, they could be closing in on their first runner in the class.

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5 positions where the Oklahoma Sooners are better than they were a year ago

Every year there is roster turnover, but where are the Sooners better? Here are five positions Oklahoma’s better than they were a year ago.

Every offseason teams around college football have to deal with a significant amount of turnover to their roster. That’s been the case for the Sooners each season of the Brent Venables era.

No position group was hit harder than the offensive line. They lost the five guys that were starters for the majority of the season. Though they’ve been able to retool the lineup with transfer portal additions, it will be months before we know if those additions will work out.

Elsewhere, however, the Sooners look to be in really good shape, especially when you compare it to how several positions looked this time last year.

Here are five position groups that look better compared to where they were a year ago.

Alabama lands commitment 2024 four-star EDGE Noah Carter

Alabama Football and Kalen DeBoer land a big-time commitment from 2024 four-star EDGE Noah Carter.

The new Alabama coaching staff continues to strike gold on the recruiting trail. On Thursday, Alabama landed a commitment from former Washington signee and 2024 four-star edge rusher Noah Carter. The news comes just one day after the Crimson Tide landed a commitment from 2024 five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams.

Carter, an Arizona native, is listed at 6-foot-3.5 and 218 pounds. The product of Centennial High School played tight end and outside linebacker his senior season. His athleticism and versatility could allow for him to choose which position he prefers to play in Tuscaloosa.

It will be interesting to see where Carter lines up for the Crimson Tide next season. Needless to say, he is a player that could make an immediate impact during his true freshman season.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Noah Carter’s recruiting profile.

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Michigan State football getting OV from Auburn defensive line commit

MSU will be hosting an Auburn DT commit on an official visit this weekend:

As part of Michigan State’s coaching staffs recruiting plan to round out the 2024 cycle, defensive tackle and Auburn commit Dimitry Nicolas will be visiting East Lansing on an official visit.

Nicolas is a Opa Locka (FL) native, attending Norland High School. He is ranked as a high 3-star prospect as a 6’3″, 295 pound defensive tackle.

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Michigan State football offers, to get visit from 2024 Chicago DL Mikeshun Beeler

A 2024 Chicago defensive tackle will be on campus this weekend:

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa have made it a priority to add defensive tackles to the roster. More specifically, the staff is pushing several defensive tackle prospects in the 2024 recruiting class.

One of those prospects, Mikeshun Beeler, a Chicago native, attending Simeon High School, is the latest prospect the staff is pursuing. The staff offered the 6-foot-3, 280 pound 3-star defensive tackle prospect, and according to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu, he will be officially visiting East Lansing this weekend.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.