Tag: Michigan State Football

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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New Michigan State Football DC Scottie Hazelton to make $950,000 per year

Michigan State’s new defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton will be making $950,000 per year under Mel Tucker.

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Earlier today, it was reported that Michigan State defensive line coach Ron Burton would be making $510,000 per year. Soon after, Matt Wenzel of Mlive.com reported, through a Freedom of Information Act request, that MSU’s new defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton will be making $950,000 per year in his new role under head coach Mel Tucker.

This is nearly double what Hazelton was making last year at Kansas State as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, where hew as making $550,000 per year. In addition, Wenzel reported that the Spartans are also paying his $91,667 buyout from Kansas State.

Hazelton’s salary reflects the sizable investment Michigan State is making in Tucker and his coaching staff. Hazelton’s salary surpasses any assistant from last year by about $300,000. Pat Narduzzi made $835,000 in the role back in 2014.

It was reported earlier this year that the Spartans new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic will be making $700,000 per year and wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins will be at $387,000 per year.

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Report: MSU Football DL Coach Ron Burton gets new 2-year, $510,000 per year deal

According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News, Michigan State DL Coach Ron Burton will be making $510,000 per year.

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When Michigan State hired Mel Tucker away from Colorado to helm their Football program, he had some decisions to make on his administration. While Tucker did go out and find some new staff members, he also decided to keep a few members of Dantonio’s staff around. One of those staff members was defensive line coach Ron Burton, who will reportedly be getting a nice raise. Tony Paul of the Detroit News reported today that Burton has signed a 2-year deal worth $510,000 per year.

According to 247sports, Burton made $424,616 last season under Dantonio.

Burton was originally slated to depart MSU for Indiana but Tucker was able to get him to stay. That decision seems to have paid off for Burton.

It was reported earlier in the year that the Spartans new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic will be making $700,000 per year and wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins will be at $387,000 per year.

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Five top local HS football prospects visiting Michigan State on Sunday for Ohio State Basketball game

There will be five top prospects in the state of Michigan in attendance for Michigan State’s big basketball game against Ohio State Sunday.

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The stage is set for a huge conclusion to the Big Ten regular-season tomorrow, and one game that will determine who wins a partial share of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Regular Season Championship is Michigan State’s match-up against Ohio State. Given the stakes, it’s no surprise that many local athletes would want to be in attendance. We already know that 5-star basketball prospect Max Christie will be in East Lansing for an official visit this weekend. We also found out today that five of the best local Michigan High School football prospects will also be there on Sunday to watch the game in what will also be a huge recruiting opportunity for MSU Football and Mel Tucker.

The five players are as follows:

  • 4-star RB Donovan Edwards
  • 4-star LB Jamari Buddin
  • 4-star OT Rayshaun Benny
  • 3-star OT Caleb Banks
  • 2022 RB Dillon Tatum

The four 2021 prospects, Edwards, Buddin, Benny, and Banks are all listed as 247sports top 15 prospects in the state of Michigan. 247sports has Edwards ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the state and the No. 2 running back overall. Edwards is currently projected by 247sports to head to either Ohio State or Michigan.

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Michigan State Football Re-Offers 2021 3-star Offensive Tackle Caleb Tiernan

New Spartans head coach Mel Tucker has re-offered a Mark Dantonio recruit a scholarship to Michigan State.

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New Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker has been firing out scholarship offers left and right at a rapid-fire pace since showing up in East Lansing, Here at SpartansWire, we have done our best to cover all the new recruiting news that has been coming out of MSU and the Tucker administration. However, one thing we have not covered yet is any of the recruits that Mel Tucker has re-offered to Michigan State. On Thursday, one of those recruits, Caleb Tiernan, announced that he has been re-offered by Tucker and the Spartans.

What does it mean to be re-offered? It means that this is a player that former coach Mark Dantonio has already offered and Tucker has decided to re-affirm that offer.

Tiernan is the No. 32 ranked offensive tackle in the 2021 class and he is currently playing for Detroit Country Day and lives in Livonia, Michigan. He is the No. 11 ranked player in the state of Michigan according to 247sports composite rankings.

Tiernan is currently projected to end up at Michigan.

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 4-star Tight End Terrance Ferguson

Mel Tucker and the Spartans have offered a scholarship to a top tight end prospect in Heritage High School’s Terrance Ferguson.

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It seems as though a day hasn’t gone by where Mel Tucker and Michigan State Football haven’t given out a scholarship offer to a highly ranked recruiting prospect, and that was true on Tuesday when Terrance Ferguson announced that he had received an offer from the Spartans. The 2021 4-star Tight End out of Littleton, Colorado is currently ranked as the No. 12 tight end in his class according to the 247sports composite rankings.

Ferguson, who is currently playing for Heritage High School in Colorado, is also the No. 3 ranked player in Colorado and the No. 294 ranked player in the country. While 247sports’ composite rankings have him as a 4-star prospect, the 247sports site ranking has him as a 3-star. Nonetheless, he’s another highly touted prospect that new head coach Mel Tucker is gunning for.

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Ferguson also has offers from Oregon, Auburn, Arizona State, and Ohio State. It should be noted that he also had an offer from Colorado so Tucker must have had some kind of relationship with Tucker, which makes sense given the proximity.

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Michigan State Football offers scholarship to 2021 3-star RB Logan Diggs

Michigan State has offered a scholarship to a top 2021 running back in Logan Diggs out of Archbishop Rummel.

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If there is one thing new Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker has done since taking over for Mark Dantonio is send offers to top talents around the country, and that goes doubly so for top running backs as of late. On Monday evening, 2021 3-star running back Logan Diggs announced on Twitter that he had received an offer from new running backs coach William Peagler and the Spartans.

Diggs, who is currently enrolled at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, Louisiana, is the No. 12 ranked player in the state of Louisiana and the No. 33 ranked running back in his class, according to 247sports.

Last week, Tucker and Peagler offered three 4-star running backs on the same day. They also had offered another 3-star rusher in LJ Johnson Jr. Mel Tucker was recruited (had to use the wordplay) to Michigan State for his own recruiting reputation, and he has quickly started firing off offers left and right since joining the school. Only time will tell how many of these offers turn into recruits (and how many of those recruits turn into strong players), but it’s definitely an interesting story to keep an eye on.

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Full results for Michigan State football alumni at the NFL Combine

A roundup of how the former Michigan State football players tested at the NFL Combine

There were plenty of Spartans participating in the NFL Combine last week in Indianapolis.

Seven former Michigan State football players took part in the week-long job interview, tying for the most combine invitees in the Mark Dantonio era. The players, Brian Lewerke, Kenny Willekes, Raequan Williams, Joe Bachie, Josiah Scott, Cody White, and Darrell Stewart Jr. were put through a number of tests including physical measurements and on-field drills.

Below we have compiled the results from all seven Spartans and in some cases where those test results rank among their position group.

Brian Lewerke

Height: 6-2

Weight: 213

Arms: 32 1/8″

Hands: 10 5/8″

40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds

Bench press: N/A

Vertical jump: 31.0 inches

Broad jump: 113.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 7.14 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.4 seconds

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Kenny Willekes

Height: 6-3

Weight: 264

Arms: 31 1/4″

Hands: 9 1/2″

40-yard dash: 4.87 seconds

Bench press: 32 reps (3rd among DL)

Vertical jump: 32.5 inches (9th among DL)

Broad jump: 119.0 inches (9th among DL)

3-Cone drill: 7.39 seconds (10th among DL)

20-yard shuttle: N/A

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Raequan Williams

Height: 6-4

Weight: 308

Arms: 33 3/8″

Hands: 9 3/8″

40-yard dash: 5.04 seconds

Bench press: 17 reps

Vertical jump: 25.5 inches

Broad jump: 101.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 7.72 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.78 seconds

Josiah Scott

Height: 5-9

Weight: 185

Arms: 29 3/8″

Hands: 8 3/4

40-yard dash: 4.42 seconds (5th among corners)

Bench press: 17 reps (T-7th among corners)

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

3-Cone drill: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Cody White

Height: 6-3

Weight: 217

Arms: 32 1/2″

Hands: 10″

40-yard dash: 4.66 seconds

Bench press: N/A

Vertical jump: 35.5 inches

Broad jump: 120.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 7.19 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.52 seconds

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Joe Bachie

Height: 6-1

Weight: 230

Arms: 31 5/8″

Hands: 10 1/4″

40-yard dash: 4.67 seconds

Bench press: 26 reps (2nd among LBs)

Vertical jump: 33.5 inches

Broad jump: 119.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 6.93 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.34 seconds

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Darrell Stewart Jr.

40-yard dash: N/A

Bench press: 15 reps

Vertical jump: 35.0 inches

Broad jump: 117.0 inches

3-Cone drill: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Height: 6-0

Weight: 212

Arms: 32″

Hands: 9 5/8″

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Le’Veon Bell wants fellow Spartan Jack Conklin to join him on the New York Jets

Michigan State alum Le’Veon Bell has made it known that he would like his fellow Spartan Jack Conklin to come to New York.

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Jack Conklin is easily one of the biggest success stories of the Mark Dantonio era at Michigan State. Conklin went from being an unranked prospect who was not on anyone’s radar, to MSU standout, to a top ten NFL Draft pick for the Tennessee Titans. Now, Conklin will enter free agency for the first time since 2016 and the former All-Pro offensive tackle will be in extremely high demand. His former teammate at Michigan State, Le’Veon Bell, chimed in on Sunday on Twitter to express that he would like to unite with his fellow Spartan in New York on the Jets.

Here is Bell’s tweet:

While Schefter indicated that the Jets won’t be a favorite to land Conklin, it is awesome that MSU has two high-profile former players in the league right now and I’d love to see them on the same team.

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