Tag: Michigan State Football

Michigan State Football makes top-12 for 2021 3-star WR Ahmari Huggins

MSU has made the top-12 for the recruitment of 3-star WR Ahmari Huggins out of Dillon, South Carolina.

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Ahmari Huggins is a 2021 3-star wide receiver out of Dillon High School in South Carolina, and on Monday, he announced that Michigan State has made his top-12 for recruiting.

Huggins is the No. 5 ranked player in South Carolina according to the 247Sports composite rankings and their No. 78 ranked wide receiver in the 2021 class.

Here are the teams that will join MSU in Huggins’ final 12 schools:

  • Baylor
  • Pitt
  • West Virginia
  • USC
  • Duke
  • TCU
  • Georgia Tech
  • Louisville
  • Virginia Tech
  • NC State
  • Arkansas

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WATCH: Michigan State defensive line reviews offensive line’s Spotify playlist in the Battle of the Aux

The position groups battle it out in who can curate the best Spotify playlist

Michigan State is doing a lot to stimulate fan engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently competing position groups are battling it out musically in what has been dubbed “The Battle of the Aux”. For informational purposes, auxiliary cords, A.K.A “aux” cords are used to hook up phones–or if you’re old, MP3 players–to stereo systems. Whomever controls the aux cord controls the music and that is an incredibly important responsibility, especially in a football locker room.

The concept is that a position group will make a Spotify playlist to be reviewed by their opposing position group. We’re not sure yet if there will be fan voting on who wins, but that would be a fun way to increase the fan engagement. Anyway, today’s battle is between the offensive and defensive lines, dubbed the “Juice Squad” and “A.W.O.L” (Animals Without a Leash) respectively. In this video the D-line reviews the tracks put together by the O-line.

Fair to say A.W.O.L wasn’t a big fan of the music Juice Squad brought to the table. Next up the roles will be flipped with the O-line evaluating the D-line’s choices.

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Michigan State Football offers 2 of the Top Five 2022 recruits from Nevada

Michigan State football has made offers to 2 of the top 5 2022 recruits in all of Nevada. Learn more about these potential recruits today.

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Mel Tucker and the Michigan State football staff have put forth another note-worthy recruiting offer. This time, 2022 4-star OLB Cyrus Moss and 2022 4-star CB Fabian Ross both announced they received offers from the Spartan football program. Both Moss and Ross play for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV.

Moss is 6’5″ and weighs 200 pounds. According to 247Sports, he ranks as the No. 1 player in his class in Nevada and the No. 2 OLB in the entire 2022 recruiting class. Also, he is the 28th ranked player in the entire 2022 recruiting class.

Moss has offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Tennessee. Check out some of his highlights here.

Fabian Ross stands at 6’0″ and weighs 185 pounds. He currently ranks as the No. 4 prospect in Nevada amongst 2022 recruits, per 247Sports. Also, Ross is the 15th ranked CB in the entire 2022 recruiting class. He currently has offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Kansas, and Minnesota.

You can check out some Fabian Ross highlights here.

Stay in touch with the 2021 commitments using our 2021 recruiting tracker here.

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Projecting the post-spring Michigan State football defensive depth chart

The MSU defense has a handful of surefire starters and a lot of intrigue behind them.

Sorry I’m late!! This post was initially meant to be published two weeks ago as a companion piece with the offensive depth chart projection and the soon-to-be-published special teams depth chart projection. Well, a surprise and prolonged hospital visit followed by the birth of a child (everyone is doing well) was set in my lap and here we are; with me two weeks behind on everything.

So I’m not going to waste much more time. Expedition is the mission.

This is a somewhat informed/somewhat blind shot at projection what Michigan State’s depth chart currently looks like. This is based on previous roles and comments from coaches’ press availabilities. That’s the somewhat informed part. The somewhat blind part is that none of the new coaches–including the head one–have led these players in a real, live practice. That makes this difficult. What is clear is that on defense there are a handful of surefire starters and a lot of youth and intrigue behind them.

Let’s get to the defensive depth chart. Later in the week we’ll hit special teams.

Defensive Tackle

  1. Jacob Slade, Naquan Jones
  2. Jalen Hunt, Deshaun Mallory
  3. Maverick Hansen, Evan Brunning

Salde and Jones are the obvious starters. They paired well as a tandem backing up Mike Panasiuk and Raequan Williams in 2019 and have the most experience in the group. Ron Burton has alluded to the fact that they well be counted on to lead the line. Behind them Jalen Hunt is really intriguing. He was supposed to go to Iowa in 2019, but wasn’t going to academically qualify. The Hawkeyes went another direction and then Hunt did end up qualifying and MSU swooped in late to get him. Mallory appeared in a couple games last season and could be used as a backup nose tackle. The interesting thing to watch here is how MUS aligns on defense in 2020. They’ll be slowly transitioning from a base 4-3 to a 3-4/hybrid defense. This means slight position changes for the front seven, which could shake up the depth chart.

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2021 4-star WR Keon Coleman puts Michigan State in top-6

MSU Football has made the top-6 for 4-star wide receiver Keon Coleman.

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Early on Sunday, 4-star tight end Michael Trigg put Michigan State in his top-20 for recruiting. Just a few hours later, Keon Coleman, the 4-star wide receiver from Opelousas, Louisiana put the Spartans in his top-6.

Michigan State originally offered Coleman back in mid-march and it looks like they have made a strong impression on the talented wide receiver who currently plays for Opelousas Catholic. The 6’4″ Coleman is the No. 8 ranked player in the state of Louisiana and the No. 48 ranked wide receiver in the 2021 recruiting class according to 247Sports.

Michigan State is joined by Florida State, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Kansas, and Oklahoma in Coleman’s top-6.

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MSU Football makes top-20 for No. 3 ranked 2021 TE Michael Trigg

Michigan State has made the top-20 for the recruitment of 4-star tight end Michael Trigg out of Seffner Christian Academy.

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Michigan State has taken a significant step forward in the recruitment of one of the top tight ends in the country as 2021 4-star TE Michael Trigg announced his top-20 on Sunday and the Spartans were included in that list.

Trigg is reportedly close with Spartan commit Charles Brantley, another 4-star player out of Florida. Trigg is the No. 3 ranked tight end in the 2021 class according to 247Sports and the No. 16 ranked player in the state of Florida. Trigg is currently projected by 247Sports to commit to Florida State but a lot could change before that commitment is made.

Trigg currently attends Seffner Christian Academy where he is also a talented basketball prospect. Rivals has him ranked as a 3-star shooting guard.

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2020 Saints UDFA class graded one of the NFL’s strongest

Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom praised the class of 2020 undrafted free agents signed by the New Orleans Saints, LB Joe Bachie in particular.

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The 2020 NFL Draft is well behind us, but the selections made are just part of the equation that determines whether teams improved by adding young talent out of the college ranks. The flurry of recruiting and signing of rookies who were not picked impacts every team in the league, and the New Orleans Saints are one franchise that appreciates that area of roster-building.

According to a ranking put together by Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom, the Saints have put together the third-best group of undrafted free agents around the NFL. While Nystrom particularly valued pickups like Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Malcolm Roach and Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie (who received more contract guarantees than some recent Saints draft picks), he also lauded the Saints for their aggressive strategy of making moves to draft high-end players while getting an early start on the post-draft recruiting circuit. He wrote:

The Saints use their late Day 3 picks to trade up for prospects they’ve targeted who are falling. When New Orleans is out of picks and ESPN analysts say they’re “done drafting for the year,” that isn’t exactly true… it seems to be part and parcel of a larger prospect acquisition strategy. While other teams are drafting on Saturday, monitoring their boards and negotiating trades, the Saints are calling their top UDFA targets. They literally get a jump on the rest of the league. It’s genius.

Nystrom was also a fan of the 2019 Saints undrafted free agent class, ranking it the best in the league. Last year’s group saw contributors like returns specialist Deonte Harris and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle create an immediate boost, so he’s clearly right to point out that New Orleans knows what it’s doing in this phase of the offseason.

You can find Nystrom’s full writeup and NFL rankings at this link, or where we’ve embedded them below:

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Mel Tucker hosting Instagram live chat with former Jacksonville Jaguar Maurice Jones-Drew

MSU’s head coach is hosting his second live talk dubbed “Tucker Talks” today at 3 PM.

Tucker Talks is back.

Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has been making steady use of social media since taking over in East Lansing. Two weeks ago he held a Q&A session on Instagram live entitled “Tucker Talks” and today will be round two of what looks like it could be a recurring event.

Tucker will be talking with former Jacksonville Jaguars running back and the 2011 NFL rushing leader Maurice Jones-Drew. The chat will start at 3 PM on Tucker’s Instagram page. Tucker was the defensive coordinator in Jacksonville from 2009-2012. He was also the interim head coach for five games in 2011–Jones-Drew’s best season.

Tucker has been a constant presence on Twitter and Instagram in his three months as head man of the MSU football program. He often interacts with fans, answers questions, and sends out behind the scenes pictures of him and his staff.

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MSU DE Jacub Panasiuk second highest-graded returning pass-rusher per PFF

Michigan State football DE Jacub Panasiuk received the second-highest pass-rushing grade among returning edge defenders, per PFF.

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Michigan State football saw the departure of multiple key defensive players to the NFL including Joe Bachie, Raequan Williams, Kenny Willekes, and Mike Panasiuk. Luckily, one returning defensive player is receiving high praise. According to Pro Football Focus College’s grades, returning DE Jacub Panasiuk boasts the second-best pass-rushing grade among returning edge defenders. He is only second to Duke DE Chris Rumph.

In the 2019 season, Panasiuk racked up 18 solo tackles, five sacks, and three forced fumbles. According to PFF, Panasiuk will produce plenty on defense for the Spartans next year. This is a necessity due to the aforementioned departures on the defensive side of the ball.

Panasiuk took to Twitter and boy he was hype. Check out his response below:

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Michigan State Football offers 2022 4-star SDE Joe Strickland

Michigan State Football has made an offer to 4-star SDE Joe Strickland, No. 3 prospect in all of Indiana. Read more details today.

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Mel Tucker has been on an absolute tear lately, capturing the hearts of Michigan State Football fans. Especially as he lays the foundation for the future with offers to talented 2021 and 2022 recruits. Now, 2022 4-star Strong-Side Defensive End Joe Strickland announced he has received an offer from the Spartans.

Strickland hails from Indianapolis, IN, where he currently plays for Brebeuf Jesuit High School. He stands at 6’4″ and weighs 245 pounds. According to 247Sports Composite Rankings, he ranks as the No. 3 prospect in Indiana in his class. He also ranks as the No. 14 Strong-Side DE in the entire 2022 recruiting class.

Check out some of Strickland’s highlights here.

Stay up to date with all of 2021 recruiting commitments using our tracker here.

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