BREAKING: Michigan State football lands California speedster in 2023 class
Chalk up another one for Mel Tucker and the Spartans!
Michigan State football is heating up on the recruiting trail with two commitments a week before early Signing Day. On Wednesday evening, the Spartans got a commitment from three-star Simi Valley (Calif.) Chaminade athlete Jaelon Barbarin.
Standing 5-foot-9 and weighing in at 190 pounds, Barbarin is an absolute speedster out of the Golden State. His 100-meter dash time has been clocked at 10.37 seconds. Michigan State recruited him as a running back, with position coach Effrem Reed leading the way.
Reed and Tucker did well to snag this hidden gem off the West Coast. Barbarin was also strongly considering Washington State, but it was the Spartans that won out in his recruitment.
Barbarin is a close friend of four-star 2023 quarterback prospect Sam Leavitt, who has been committed to the Cougars since July. In recent weeks, Michigan State quarterback coach Jay Johnson has been working on flipping Leavitt to the Spartans' class. MSU hosted the four-star QB prospect for a visit this past weekend.
Leavitt is ranked No. 377 overall and is the No. 23 quarterback prospect in the class of 2023, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Barbarin, meanwhile, is an underrated prospect, coming in ranked No. 1116 overall, the No. 94 athlete and the No. 99-ranked player from the state of California.
Despite some recent struggles on the recruiting trail, Michigan State has rebounded in a nice way this week. Earlier on Wednesday, the Spartans landed a commitment from three-star athlete Aziah Johnson, who will play wide receiver for MSU.
With the additions of Barbarin and Johnson, Michigan State's 2023 recruiting class is now ranked No. 33 in the country, with an average prospect rating of 90.24 (17th-best in the country, third-best in the Big Ten). The Spartans are back up to 12 committed prospects, with nine of those rated as four-stars.
The most four-stars that MSU has signed in one recruiting class is nine, so the Spartans could tie or break that mark during this cycle should they hold all nine of those commitments and receive their letters of intent during the early signing period (Dec. 21-23).
Michigan State verbal commitments, Class of 2023
- Four-star EDGE Bai Jobe; Community Christian School; Norman, Okla.; No. 82 nationally, No. 14 EDGE, No. 1 in state of Oklahoma
- Four-star DL Andrew Depaepe; Pleasant Valley High School; Bettendorf, Iowa; No. 137 nationally, No. 16 Defensive Lineman, No. 2 in state of Iowa
- Four-star LB Jordan Hall; IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.; No. 179 nationally, No. 16 Linebacker, No. 41 in state of Florida
- Four-star DL Jalen Thompson; Cass Technical High School; Detroit, Mich.; No. 219 nationally, No. 32 Defensive Lineman, No. 3 in state of Michigan
- Four-star OT Stanton Ramil; Thompson High School; Alabaster, Ala.; No. 222 nationally, No. 20 Offensive Tackle, No. 17 in the state of Alabama
- Four-star TE Brennan Parachek; Dexter High School; Dexter, Mich.; No. 327 nationally, No. 18 Tight End, No. 6 in state of Michigan
- Four-star LB Jayvant Brown; St. Thomas Aquinas High School; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; No. 394 nationally, No. 31 Linebacker, No. 72 in state of Florida
- Four-star IOL Cole Dellinger; Clarkston High School; Clarkston, Mich.; No. 403 nationally, No. 26 Interior Offensive Lineman, No. 7 in state of Michigan
- Four-star CB Chance Rucker; Ryan High School; Denton, Texas; No. 406 nationally, No. 40 Cornerback; No. 68 in state of Texas
- Three-star CB Eddie Pleasant III; Carrollwood Day High School; Tampa, Fla.; No. 854 nationally, No. 83 Cornerback; No. 125 in state of Florida
- Three-star ATH Aziah Johnson; Thomas Jefferson High School; Richmond, Va.; No. 1013 nationally, No. 80 Athlete, No. 28 in state of Virginia
- Three-star ATH Jaelon Barbarin; Chaminade High School; Simi Valley, Calif.; No. 1116 nationally, No. 94 Athlete, No. 99 in state of California
