Tag: Michigan State Football

Locked On Spartans Podcast: Josh Langford back?! Curtis Blackwell . . . not back

It was a random busy day of MSU sports in mid-May. Let’s talk about it.

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Wil and Matt talk about a day with sports news! The NCAA is allowing athletes to gather again. Josh Langford wants to return! Curtis Blackwell’s lawsuit against Mark Dantonio and MSU gets tossed out! What a day of content!

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

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Report: Curtis Blackwell lawsuit against Mark Dantonio, Mark Hollis dismissed

According to The Detroit News, Curtis Blackwell’s lawsuit against Mark Dantonio, Mark Hollis, and Lou Anna Simon has been dismissed.

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According to Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News, the multi-year saga surrounding Curtis Blackwell’s lawsuit against former MSU Football head coach Mark Dantonio, former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis, and former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon is now concluding as the lawsuit has reportedly been dismissed.

The case was recommended to be dismissed back in March by a judge and that recommendation was apparently put into action today. This is a lawsuit that has spanned multiple years and one that some fans and onlookers thought could have even been a factor in Mark Dantonio’s retirement back in February.

With the lawsuit now concluded, the Spartans and new head coach Mel Tucker can look forward to a fresh start for the program.

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Report: NCAA votes to approve voluntary athletic activities in three sports starting June 1

Starting June 1 football and men’s and women’s basketball teams can resume athletic activities.

College sports are slowly coming back.

According to Yahoo!’s Pete Thamel, the NCAA Division 1 Council has voted to approve voluntary athletic activities for football and men’s and women’s basketball to start on June 1.

Stadium’s Brett McMurphy also reported the news.

This is obviously noteworthy for Michigan State, as new head coach Mel Tucker has yet to coach his new football team in an official capacity. It is not yet known the extent of these activities or what restrictions will be placed on them. The NCAA will probably be releasing these guidelines at some point today.

The vote comes as the moratorium on voluntary team activities exceeded two months. The moratorium was issued at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Thamel also is reporting that other sports will be addressed in the near future.

We’ll have more on this story once the NCAA releases its new guidelines.

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MSU Football offers hot 2023 prospect Caleb Downs out of Georgia

Michigan State is one of many teams to offer 2023 prospect Caleb Downs in the last few weeks.

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College football recruiting has become a crazy part of the culture of American football. One thing about it that I always find fascinating is when a freshman or sophomore in high school gets an offer years ahead of his potential enrollment. Some of those prized prospects’ recruitment process can heat up a very young age if they have talent and pedigree, and that is the case with 2023 safety Caleb Downs, a safety out of Mill Creek who Michigan State offered on Tuesday.

Despite his youth and lack of ranking, the young defensive back has caught fire on the recruiting trail these past few weeks, receiving offers from teams like Georgia and LSU.

Caleb’s father is Gary Downs who played for NC State and went to the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons in 1998. His brother Josh is signed by North Carolina.

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Spartans offer 4-star safety Zion Branch out of Las Vegas, 2022 Top-100 recruit

Michigan State has offered a top-100 recruit a scholarship in Zion Branch out of Bishop Gorman.

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Something I have noticed over the last few weeks is that there seems to be a recent surge of Michigan State offering players who have already been offered by Alabama. Now, I think this is 100% coincidental, for the most part, but I do think it is highly indicative of the caliber of player that Mel Tucker is going after now that he is the head coach of the Spartans. 2022 4-star safety Zion Branch, who plays for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, is just the latest player to receive an offer from MSU who is also being heavily recruited by the Crimson Tide.

Branch is a 6’2″ defensive back and both the No. 3 ranked safety in his class and the No. 3 player in Nevada. He is also the No. 74 ranked player in the country by 247Sports.

Aside from Alabama, Branch also has offers from Michigan, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma and many more.

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Michigan State offers 6-foot-5 2022 defensive end Anthony Smith

The Spartans have offered another tall lineman in 2022 DE Anthony Smith.

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One of my simple pleasures over the global pandemic has been Michigan State recruiting, and particularly, the recruiting of giant football players by new head coach Mel Tucker. The latest large prospect to get an offer is Anthony Smith, a 2022 defensive end out of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania who is 6-foot-5 and 260-pounds.

Smith is currently unranked but already had offers from Penn State, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Nebraska, Iowa State, Connecticut, and Bowling Green.

He currently attends Shippensburg Area High School where he plays strongside defensive end.

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MSU Football makes Top-5 for 3-star OG Kolinu’u Faaiu

3-star OG Kolinu’u Faaiu has placed Michigan State in his top-5 for recruiting.

We are now knee-deep in the ‘Top-X’ period of the recruiting season, with players around the country putting out their final lists of schools for their recruiting processes. One of these players, 2021 3-star OG Kolinu’u Faaiu out of North Creek High School in Bothell, Washington, has placed MSU Football in his final Top-5 for his own recruitment.

Kolinu’u, or Koli as his name is listed on 247Sports, is yet another massive offensive line target for Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic. Faaiu is 6’4″, 315-pounds, which would make him a great addition to the ‘Juice Squad’ as the Spartans’ offensive line is affectionately referred by.

Faaiu is the No. 12 ranked plyaer in Washington and the No. 28 ranked offensive guard in the 2021 class.

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Michigan State Football makes top-12 for 4-star S Andrew Mukuba

Michigan State has made the final 12 in recruiting for 4-star safety Andrew Mukuba.

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Michigan State has made the final cut in recruiting for yet another highly regarded football prospect as Andrew Mukuba, 2021 4-star safety out of LBJ High School in Austin, Texas announced that the Spartans were one of his final 12 schools for recruiting on Tuesday.

Mukuba is the No. 9 ranked safety in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports rankings and their No. 34 ranked player in the state of Texas.

Here is Mukuba’s full top 12:

  • Auburn
  • Georgia
  • Alabama
  • Texas
  • Arizona State
  • TCU
  • UCLA
  • Arkansas
  • LSU
  • Clemson
  • Missouri
  • Michigan State

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Michigan State Football makes Top-6 for 2021 3-star OLB Jordan Eubanks

Michigan State Football has made it into the top-6 choices for 2021 3-star OLB Jordan Eubanks. Learn more about this recruit today.

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Today, 2021 3-star OLB Jordan Eubanks announced Michigan State football is in his top-6 choices for recruiting. The Spartans made an offer to Eubanks back in April.

Eubanks is a 6’2″, 205-pound OLB from Denton, TX. He currently plays for Guyer High School. Per 247Sports Composite Rankings, he ranks as the No. 85 OLB in the entire 2021 recruiting class.

Here are the five other schools joining Michigan State in Eubanks’ final 6 choices:

  • University of Arizona
  • Colorado University
  • Pitt
  • FSU
  • Arkansas

Check out some of his highlights here.

Stay in touch with all of the commitments from the 2021 recruiting class with our 2021 recruiting tracker here.

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MSU Football offers 2023 DE Peter Woods, currently projected to go to Alabama

Michigan State has offered a 2023 defensive end who is currently projected to go to Alabama.

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If Mel Tucker has shown us anything during his brief tenure at Michigan State, it’s that he has the confidence to go after some of the biggest recruits in the country, even if it means going head-to-head on the trail with his old mentor Nick Saban. On Monday, 2023 defensive end Peter Woods announced that he has received an offer from the Spartans. Woods is currently projected by 247Sports to end up with Saban at Alabama.

This would make sense as Woods resides in Alabaster, Alabama where he currently plays football for Thompson High School.

Despite being a 2023 recruit, Woods already has offers out from some of the biggest schools in the country aside from Alabama including Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, Georgia, Notre Dame, LSU, and Penn State.

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