Tag: Michigan State Football

Locked On Spartans Podcast: This sucks, but we’re going to be OK

Reacting to the news that sports are shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic

Wil and Matt talk about sports shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, plans for the show over the next month.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 3-star DE Hammond Russell

Mel Tucker and MSU have offered one of the top defensive ends in the 2021 recruiting class an offer.

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If you thought the widespread concerns over the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak was going to keep new Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker from recruiting new talent to East Lansing, well, you were wrong. At least as of this morning, Tucker is still sending out scholarship offers to some of the top high school football players in the country, and on Friday, 3-star 2021 defensive end Hammond Russell announced on Twitter that he has been offered by the Spartans.

As Russell notes in his tweet, this is his 18th recruiting offer as he is the No. 40 ranked defensive end in the 2021 class and the No. 26 ranked player in Ohio according to 247sports’ composite rankings. Russell currently plays for Dublin Coffman High School in Ohio.

This is a player to keep an eye on. As of right now, Michigan State, in my opinion, is the highest-profile team that has offered Russell and 247sports has already called him a ‘2021 defensive end to know in Ohio.’

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Michigan State Spring Football practices, Pro Day not yet canceled due to COVID-19

Michigan State has not yet canceled their Spring Football practices or NFL Pro Day due to Coronavirus concerns.

In perhaps some of the most shocking and eye-opening news in recent sports history, the NCAA Tournament and Men’s and Women’s Conference Basketball Tournaments have all been canceled due to rising concerns over the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. While those basketball events are now off the board, along with all Big Ten athletic competitions, the Michigan State Football program has not yet announced a cancellation of their Spring Football practices or Pro Day which are still scheduled for next week. A representative of the football program has called the situation “fluid.”

The news was reported by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press and Matt Wenzel of Mlive.com.

While it may seem insignificant to postpone or cancel these events, the Pro Day is still highly important for fringe NFL prospects looking for a chance to impress NFL teams. MSU tight end Matt Seybert took to Twitter to advocate for Michigan State to continue holding the event:

Spring Football practices are scheduled to start on Tuesday next week while the Pro Day is scheduled for Wednesday.

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Big Ten cancels all athletic events through the end of the academic year

The move comes as the NCAA Tournament is canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic

College sports are shutting down for the time being.

In addition to the cancellation of all NCAA championships, including the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, the Big Ten Conference has announced all conference and non-conference events will be canceled through the end of the academic year. This is all due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conference has also announced a moratorium on all recruiting events, both on-campus and off, for the foreseeable future.

The full statement released by the conference reads as follows, “The Big Ten Conference announced today that in addition to the Men’s Basketball Tournament it will be canceling all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, and participation in all NCAA tournaments and competitions. In addition, the Conference has announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.

“The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.”

The move comes as sports are being shut down across the United States and world. The NBA suspended its season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The MLB and MLS followed suit Thursday morning, as has professional tennis. Conference tournaments have been canceled across the country, as have high school postseason tournaments. Arizona State, Duke and Kansas were among the first college programs to shut down all athletics, essentially withdrawing from any potential tournament. The entire Atlantic Coast Conference suspended athletics mid-day Thursday, as did the Mountain West. More conference are expected to follow suit.

We will have more on this story as it develops.

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Every allegation Curtis Blackwell has made against Mark Dantonio and MSU Football

With two new allegations this week, we compiled every accusation Curtis Blackwell has made against MSU and Mark Dantonio.

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With the introduction of two new accusations this week that Mark Dantonio had made MSU Football staff members record other teams’ practices without consent and to also contact players at other schools about transferring to Michigan State, we have yet another chapter of the Curtis Blackwell lawsuit and his subsequent claims of NCAA misconduct committed by Michigan State under Dantonio.

Here is a record of every allegation the former director of college advancement Blackwell has made against Michigan State and Mark Dantonio:

  • According to Blackwell, Mark Dantonio instructed staff members to record an opposing team’s practices without their knowledge.
  • Blackwell accused Dantonio of reaching out to players who were already enrolled at other universities to try and recruit them to the Spartans.
  • Blackwell says that Dantonio brought Blackwell with him to the home of top recruit Daelin Hayes although Blackwell wasn’t designated by the NCAA to attend the home visit. Blackwell also said that Dantonio helped find jobs for Hayes’ family.
  • Title IX violations in the recruit of Auston Robertson, who was convicted of sexual assault in April of 2017.
  • Blackwell also claimed that Mark Dantonio fired him because of his race.
  • Finally, Blackwell claimed that Mark Dantonio, athletic director Bill Beekman, former AD Mark Hollis, and former MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon all made false statements meant to defame him.

Michigan State AD Bill Beekman called the claims “patently false” in a February 4 press conference after Mark Dantonio resigned.

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Michigan State Football offers highly touted 2022 prospect DT Tyler Booker

Michigan State has offered Tyler Booker, a 2022 DT prospect out of IMG Academy who has offers from top programs around the country.

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Ever since Mel Tucker took over as the new head coach of Michigan State Football, they have been throwing their hat into the ring for a number of top prospects around the country. The latest recruiting prospect to receive an offer? 2022 defensive tackle Tyler Booker out of IMG Academy, one of the top prep schools in the country for high school football.

The 6’4″, 290 pound Booker has scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country like Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Michigan. Tucker, who has been known as a strong recruiter from his days at Ohio State, Alabama, and Georgia, clearly has no fear of going up against some of the big boys when sending out his scholarship offers. It’ll be interesting to see if Tucker can swing a couple big-name recruits away from some of the highest-profile teams in the SEC and Big Ten.

Here is Booker’s announcement of the offer, which he revealed on Twitter:

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Tom Izzo is going to pile up some FCC fines

Plus, betting on the Big Ten Tournament and a football jamboree

Wil and Matt discuss the FCC fines Tom Izzo is going to rack up, betting on the Big Ten Tournament, and Mel Tucker dunking on a Colorado fan. #GetMelTuckerOnLockedOnSpartans

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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Michigan State Football offers 4-star CB Charles Brantley out of Venice, Florida

Michigan State defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett has offered a scholarship to 4-star CB Charles Brantley, who he recruited at FSU.

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The football recruiting train continues to roll and this time it comes at the hands of new Michigan State Defensive Backs coach Harlon Barnett. The Spartans have offered a scholarship to 2021 4-star cornerback Charles Brantley from Venice, Florida. Brantley was being recruited by Barnett at Florida State before he headed to East Lansing.

The Venice, Florida product is listed as a 4-star CB by Rivals and the No. 18 best cornerback in the country.

Brantley announced the news on Tuesday on his Twitter account.

247sports doesn’t have Brantley ranked quite as high, but they still have him as a 3-star and the No. 40 cornerback in his class. 247sports had him projected to go to Florida State but with Harlon Barnett jumping ship to Michigan State things could change quickly with Brantley’s future.

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Michigan State F Xavier Tillman Sr. named Third-Team All-American by NBC Sports

Michigan State big man Xavier Tillman Sr. was named a Third-Team All-American by NBC Sports on Tuesday.

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The past year of Xavier Tillman Sr.’s life must have been surreal. Tillman got married last May and had his second child during the 2019-20 basketball season, and still managed to have one of the best seasons in the country outside of that. Tillman has already been named a Second Team Academic All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. On Tuesday, he was named a Third-Team All-American by NBC Sports.

From NBC Sports’ Rob Dauster:

“The most underrated player in college basketball. The stats speak for themselves. What doesn’t necessarily show up in these stats is just how good of a defender he is. He can take away any five in the country. He’s also just a terrific passer and decision-maker when forced into 4-on-3 situations after teams double Cassius Winston in ball-screens. He’s one of those guys that makes things just run more smoothly whenever he is on the floor, and he will get the proper credit for that here.”

You can’t really argue with any of that. Cassius Winston was also recognized by NBC Sports, being named a Second-Team All-American.

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Former MSU Football defensive coordinator Mike Tressel moving to Safety Coach under Mel Tucker

Michigan State’s former defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is moving over to the Safety Coach position under Mel Tucker.

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The final domino of the Mel Tucker administration at Michigan State is now complete. In a video released on the MSU Football Twitter account, former Spartans defensive coordinator Mike Tressel revealed that he will be moving over to a role as a position coach to work with the Safety position at MSU.

It was announced back in February that Tressel would be remaining with the team in an unspecified role. With this announcement, we now have the complete picture of Tucker’s staff for his first season with the Spartans.

It will be interesting to learn more about Tressel’s role, as Harlon Barnett will also certainly be spending some time with the Safeties as the Defensive Backs Coach for Michigan State.

We will continue to cover more about Tressel’s new role as information is released.

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