Tag: Michigan State Football

Locked On Spartans Podcast: Former MSU fullback Trevon Pendleton joins the show

Pendleton joins the show to talk about some of his best moments and biggest games while at MSU.

Wil and Matt talk to former Michigan State fullback Trevon Pendleton about his career at MSU, including a touchdown in the Rose Bowl, scoring in the huge upset over Ohio State, and nearly slicing his heel off before the Michigan game in 2013.

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

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Australian Punter Mitchell Crawford officially joins MSU Football as Grad Transfer

Michigan State Football has a new punter that has officially joined the team in UTEP Grad Transfer Mitchell Crawford.

At the beginning of April, Michigan State released their Spring Football roster. On that roster, there was one surprising piece of information revealed and that was the absence of presumptive 2020 starting punter Jack Bouwmeester. Instead, he was replaced on the roster by UTEP Grad Transfer Mitchell Crawford and walk-on Bryce Baringer. The addition of Crawford the MSU roster was made official today when the Spartans announced that Crawford has officially signed on to join the team.

Bouwmeester, also an Australian, was in line to be the heir apparent to Jake Hartbarger but instead decided to return home, opening the opportunity up for Crawford.

Crawford averaged 39.7 yards per punt over two seasons at UTEP. Before his time in the States, he was a standout in the AFL (Australian Football League) where he was the leading goal kicker in the Black Diamond AFL while playing for the Newcastle City Blues back in 2016.

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NFL Network analyst ranks MSU Football’s NFL Draft prospects

Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network took the time to rank the top MSU Football NFL Draft prospects for 2020.

Leading into the NFL Draft, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah has been hosting calls with media members to give his thoughts on the 2020 draft class. On a call with media members on Thursday, Jeremiah gave his thoughts on the various Michigan State football players who will be involved in the draft this year and, interestingly, took the time to rank them by their draft potential.

He ranked them like this:

  • CB Josiah Scott
  • LB Joe Bachie
  • DE Kenny Willekes
  • QB Brian Lewerke
  • DT Raequan Williams

Some interesting takeaways here:

  • I would not have expected Lewerke to be above Raequan Williams, who I think has a solid chance at a future NFL career, but I think this goes to show that Lewerke does have some solid NFL skills that might have gone under the radar given a pretty anemic offense the last two years at Michigan State that wasn’t entirely his fault.
  • Willekes being below Bachie also surprised me. Bachie is a tremendous player but Willekes is probably underrated by many draft analysts. I personally think he has a ton of upside, and at least one NFL GM was impressed by his virtual pro day.
  • Jeremiah said he considers Scott to be a day-one starter at the nickel corner position. Not surprising but awesome to hear from an analyst. Scott will be one of the last defensive backs in the NFL to come from the Dantonio system and the defensive backs were certainly a point of pride for his administration.
  • Jeremiah didn’t comment on a few players including Darrell Stewart, Cody White, and Matt Seybert.

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NCAA allots more virtual meeting time for division one coaches, athletes

Coaches can now require up to eight hours of virtual meetings per NCAA ruling.

The NCAA’s latest COVID-19 determination is a big one for Mel Tucker and Michigan State football.

The NCAA has announced an increase in how much time coaches can spend meeting virtually with their players, starting next week.

“Division I coaches in all sports will be allowed more virtual connection with their teams beginning Monday, April 20, and continuing through May 31, the Division I Council Coordination Committee determined Wednesday,” reads the opening paragraph from an NCAA release. Committee members, “voted to allow teams in all sports to require up to eight hours per week of virtual nonphysical countable activities like film review, chalk talks and team meetings.”

Athletes will be required to have at least one day off per week. Required physical activities are still prohibited as they require a sports-safety certified staff member to be present at all times.

Previously all sports were considered to be “out of season” once the NCAA canceled the entirety of the spring sports schedule. That put all coaches and teams in offseason mode, which limits the amount of time coaches and players can be in contact.

For programs breaking in new coaching regimes, like Tucker’s Michigan State team, this move is especially important as it will allow more time for the staff to hold positional and team meetings, install new plays, and get to know their new players. It should help alleviate some of the catching up thrust on a new coach hired a few weeks before a global pandemic would shut the sports world down.

The coordination committee will be reevaluating the access in mid-May to determine whether to extend of amend the current rules.

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 3-star QB/ATH Caleb Hood

Michigan State has offered a 3-star multi-position athlete out of Richmond High School in North Carolina.

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Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker continues to do his due diligence in putting together his 2021 recruiting class, this time offering a scholarship to a 3-star multi-position athlete who is currently projected to go to North Carolina in Caleb Hood.

Hood is listed as both an ‘athlete’ and a pro-style quarterback on 247sports, but it looks like he was recruited by running backs coach William Peagler, who was tagged in Hood’s announcement of the offer on Twitter, which you can see below:

Hood is the No. 30 ranked player in North Carolina according to the 247sports rankings and the No. 43 ranked athlete in the 2021 class. Hood is currently attending Richmond High School in Rockingham, North Carolina.

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Former MSU Football center Brian Allen first NFL player diagnosed with COVID-19

Former Michigan State Football center Brian Allen is the first NFL player diagnosed with Coronavirus.

The first NFL player has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and it is, unfortunately, a former Michigan State Spartan. Brian Allen, now playing for the Los Angeles Rams, was reported to have been diagnosed with the illness by Jay Glazer of FOX.

Brian played for Michigan State from 2014-2017 and was a four-year letter winner. He started in 28 consecutive games to finish his career at MSU before heading to the NFL, where he was drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams.

Brian’s brother Jack also played for Michigan State before heading to the NFL where he played until 2018. Their brother Matt will be entering his fourth season at Michigan State this year.

Here is Jay Glazer’s announcement of Brian Allen’s COVID-19 diagnosis:

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3-star DE/OT Tyson Watson puts Michigan State in his top-5 schools

Michigan State is in the top-5 schools for Waterford Mott prospect Tyson Watson.

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Michigan State Football already secured the commitment of one 3-star player out of Waterford Mott in 2020 athlete Kobe Myers. It looks like they also have a solid chance at securing the commitment of another Waterford Mott product in 3-star 2021 lineman Tyson Watson. On Wednesday, Watson included MSU in his top-5 final choices for his recruitment process.

Watson lists himself on Twitter as both an offensive tackle and a defensive end. 247sports has him evaluated as a strongside defensive end and has him listed as the No. 39 ranked player for that position in the 2021 class.

Here is Watson’s announcement, also noting that he will announce his final decision on April 17 at 3pm ET.

For what it’s worth, Allen Trieu of 247sports has Watson as a lock to go to Michigan State in their Crystal Ball Predictions.

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Michigan State Football offers four 2022 prospects scholarships

Michigan State and Mel Tucker offered a total of four 2022 prospects scholarships on Tuesday.

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Right now, all eyes are on the 2021 football recruiting class at Michigan State as head coach Mel Tucker looks to play catch-up and put together a strong class, but that does not mean his staff isn’t making progress for the future as well. On Tuesday, the Spartans offered up four 2022 players future scholarships to come to East Lansing.

They are:

  • DE Derrick Moore, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, MD
  • TE/WR Elijah Brown, Wayne High School, Huber Heights, Ohio
  • T/TE George Fitzpatrick, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, CO
  • T Grant Bingham, Johnson Central High School, Paintsville, KY

You can find there announcements below:

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 3-star LT Zenuae Michalski

Michigan State football has made an offer to 2021 3-star Zenuae Michalski from Indiana. Read more about this potential prospect here.

Michigan State football has made yet another offer for the 2021 class. This time, 3-star 2021 LT Zenuae Michalski announced he has received an offer from the Spartans. Michalski hails from Floyd Knobs, IN and plays for Floyd Central high school.

Michalski stands at 6’6″ and weighs 265 pounds. According to 247 Sports, he ranks as the No. 81 LT in the nation in the 2021 recruiting class. Furthermore, he ranks as the No. 14 prospect in Indiana in the 2021 recruiting class.

He currently has offers from Louisville, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Syracuse, Cincinnati, and Boston College.

You can check out some of his highlights here.

Stay with us on Spartans Wire for more coverage of Michigan State football’s recruiting efforts.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Michin out on recruits, Wil’s favorite recruit ever

Plus, more evidence of Mel Tucker’s greatness and choosing historical figures to join MSU sports teams

Wil and Matt recap what was a wild and weird day in the Michigan State vs. Michigan rivalry. Then Wil talks about his favorite recruit ever and the guys answer a fantastic listener question about what historical figures they’d want to play or coach at MSU.

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

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